Hannibal Barca the Father of Strategy Part 1

Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca,^{[n 1]} (248–183 or 182 BC^{[n 2]}), commonly known as Hannibal (in Punic:Annobal,^{[dubious – discuss]} meaning "Ba'al's grace/help/blessing", Greek: Ἁννίβας, Hanníbas)^{[7][8][9][10]}, was aCarthaginian military commander and tactician who is popularly credited as one of the most talented commanders in history. His father Hamilcar Barca was the leading Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War, his younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal, and he was brother-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair.

Hannibal lived during a period of tension in the Mediterranean, when Rome (then the Roman Republic) established its supremacy over other great powers such as Carthage, and the Hellenistic kingdoms ofMacedon, Syracuse, and the Seleucid empire. One of his most famous achievements was at the outbreak of the Second Punic War, when he marched an army, which included war elephants, from Iberia over thePyrenees and the Alps into northern Italy. In his first few years in Italy, he won three dramatic victories,Trebia, Trasimene, and Cannae, and won over several Roman allies. Hannibal occupied much of Italy for 15 years, however a Roman counter-invasion of North Africa forced Hannibal to return to Carthage, where he was decisively defeated by Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama. Scipio studied Hannibal's tactics and brilliantly devised some of his own, and finally defeated Rome's nemesis at Zama having previously driven Hasdrubal, Hannibal's brother, out of Spain.