Hannibal was a Carthaginian military commander who fought against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. He inherited his fighting skills from his father, Hamilcar Barca, and accompanied him during the conquest of Spain. Hannibal later assumed command of the Carthaginian army in Spain, where he gathered forces for two years before invading Italy by crossing the Alps. Some of Hannibal's most notable victories over Roman armies included the battles of Trebia River, Lake Trasimene, and Cannae, where he employed clever tactics and strategies to defeat larger Roman forces. Ultimately, however, Hannibal was unable to defeat Rome and was defeated by Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama.

1. Social Studies for 9th EBG
Teacher: Mauricio Torres

2. Hannibal’sFamily
His father was Hamilcar Barca. From
him he inherited his fighting skills.
He accompanied him during the
conquest of Iberia (modern day Spain).
Here, he made an oath to his father:
“he would never be a friend of Rome.”
When his father died, he was briefly
replaced by his brother in law:
Hasdrubal the Fair.
Hasdrubal was later assassinated and
Hannibal was chosen to be the new
Carthaginian commander.
He fought along his brothers Mago and
Hasdrubal

3. Hannibal assumed as commander of the
Carthaginian army in Iberia. He consolidated his
position for two years, gathering forces and
strength.
After he captured the city of Saguntum in
Iberia, Hannibal, he set out with his army across
the Alps, into the Italian peninsula to invade
Rome itself.

5. Hannibal was a great
strategist and considered
today by many
historians, one of the
greatest commanders in
history.
He was simply a military
genius!
Lake Trasimene CannaeTrebia

6. At the Trebia river, Hannibal
lured the Roman army
towards its camp and
destroyed half of it, killing
also the consul in charge of
the army.
At Lake Trasimeme, he
ambushed a whole Roman
army, nearly destroying it
entirely. It is the most
successful ambush in
military history.

7. His most known exploit was the battle of
Cannae on Italian territory.

8. Even though he was heavily
outnumbered, Hannibal
exploited the rashness of his
opponent (consul Varro)to
his own advantage.
He lured the Romans
towards him, and he knew
they were in a compact and
inflexible formation.
He placed his cavalry on both
flanks:
Carthaginian cavalry
outflanked the Roman
infantry and attacked the
Roman cavalry from behind.

10. Hannibal had set his troops in a crescent
formation, which was pushed inwards by the
Roman heavy infantry.
The Roman believed they were defeating the
Carthaginian army.
In truth, they were being enveloped by the African
flanks, which closed in behind them.
The rest of the battle was a massacre. The
Roman army on that field ceased to exist.

12. Roman losses:
Some sources say that the dead and captured were between 50-70000 Romans.
Consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus
Two consuls from the previous year.
80 senators (out of 300!)
Even to this day, this is one of the bloodiest battles in history.

13. After Cannae, Hannibal failed to
attack Rome. Instead he ravaged
the Italian countryside, while
Rome recovered its strength and
changed its strategy: attrition
warfare.
In order to lure Hannibal out of
Italy, Scipio Africanus invaded
northern Africa. He finally
defeated him at Zama, using
Hannibal’s own tactics!

15. A newsreel was a form of short documentary
film used in the first half of the twentieth
century.
It was regularly released in a public movie
theaters and containing filmed news stories.
It was a source of news, current affairs, and
entertainment for millions of moviegoers until
television supplanted its role in the 1950s.

16. Newsreels are now considered significant
historical documents, since they are often the
only audiovisual record of historical and cultural
events of those times.

17. Use the information learned in class today,
about Hannibal and the newsreels in order to
complete the classwork
Hannibal ad portas means: Hannibal is at the gates!