Hannibal Barca

Social Studies for 9th EBGTeacher: Mauricio Torres

Meet the BarcasHannibal’s Family

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

Hannibal’s Invasion of Italy

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.

Invasion of Italy

Main Battles won by Hannibal

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

Trebia and Lake Trasimeme

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.

Battle of Cannae

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

Battle of Cannae 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.

Battle of Cannae

Battle of Cannae

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.

Battle of Cannae

ConsequencesRoman losses:

Some sources say that the dead and captured were between 50-70000 Romans.Consul Lucius Aemilius PaullusTwo consuls from the previous year.80 senators (out of 300!)

Even to this day, this is one of the bloodiest battles in history.

Stalemate and return to Africa

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!

The

Newsreel

What is a newsreel?

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.

Why are they important?

Newsreels are now considered significant historical documents, since they are often the only audiovisual record of historical and cultural events of those times.

Hannibal ad portas!

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!