The Handy Military History Answer Book. Samuel Willard Crompton

their religion and philosophy to many areas. How about in military terms?

      The Greeks brought the Western way of war—as described by historian Victor Davis Hanson—to the Middle East and beyond. Though the Greeks regarded all other peoples as barbarians, it is fair to say that Alexander and his successors introduced a much more barbaric method of warfare to many lands.

      As Victor Davis Hanson describes it, the Western way of war involves a subtle but profound relationship between the individual and his society. A man raised in a democratic society is more likely to care about his country in a time of peril; he is also, according to Hanson, capable of far greater acts of violence against any foes. Hanson’s theory is not without critics, but may help to explain how Alexander and his Greeks and Macedonians conquered such a vast amount of territory in little more than one decade.

EARLY ROME

      What was so different about that one city, located on the Tiber River?

      Historians, ethnologists, and archaeologists have attempted to answer this question for centuries. The best they have come up with is that early Rome experienced some success, built upon it and that the intense challenge later presented by Hannibal of Carthage forged Rome into the greatest warrior-society the world has ever known.

      The traditional date for Rome’s founding was in 753 B.C.E., and the Roman Republic, as distinguished from the Etruscan monarchy, commenced in 509 B.C.E. Rome, therefore, was a contemporary of Sparta and Athens, even though it received little attention in those early centuries.

      Who did the Romans fight against in the early years of the republic?

      Virtually all of their Italian neighbors. Rome possessed a genius for incorporation, for bringing other people into the fold, but lengthy wars took place beforehand. Rome fought and defeated the Etruscans, the Samnites, the Lamnites, and numerous other peoples. Though this was not planned, Rome moved north, south, and east, eventually taking over the entire Italian peninsula. The process required nearly two centuries of off-again, on-again warfare, and when it ended, the Romans were a much more militaristic people than before.

      How close is Italy to the island of Sicily?

      The “toe” of Italy’s “boot” is only three miles from the northeastern point of Sicily. It was, and is, natural for the Italians and Sicilians to trade and exchange ideas. In 264 B.C.E., Rome intervened on behalf of a Sicilian city seeking independence from the North African city-state of Carthage. This was the beginning of the so-called Punic Wars, which marked the rise of Rome from a medium-sized nation to establishing herself as a military superpower.

PUNIC WARS

      What and where was Carthage?

      Carthage was a city-state rather like Rome, except that it was located on the North African coast (its ruins lie, today, under the city of Tunis). Carthage and Rome were about the same size—half a million people—and both were led by merchants who wanted control of the island of Sicily for their wares. This was the reason the First Punic War began, but, over time, the Punic Wars became a truly homicidal affair, with each city-state wishing to obliterate the other.

      The First Punic War began with notable Roman successes on land, but also with Roman failures at sea. This is because the Carthaginians were a maritime people, who had far more experience in naval matters. Within a few years, however, Rome developed the corvus, a gangplank that came thundering down, embedding into the deck of the Carthaginian ship. Roman soldiers then charged across the bridge, fighting as if they were on land. In this type of man-on-man contest, the Romans nearly always won, thanks to their combination of patriotism and individual initiative.

      How long did the First Punic War last?

      The reason we might ask this question is because the First Punic War was a truly murderous conflict. It lasted twenty-four years, and many thousands of men died on both sides, including thousands of sailors who died in shipwrecks. The First Punic War ended when Carthage sued for peace. Rome imposed harsh terms that limited Carthage’s potential for future war, and Sicily became part of the Roman republic. A few years later, while Carthage was embroiled in war with its own mercenary army, Rome also seized the island of Sardinia. The former acquisition could be justified under the rules of war and conquest; the latter could not.

      Who was Hamilcar Barca?

      Hamilcar Barca was a young Carthaginian general during the First Punic War. When the war ended, he and his men descended from Mount Aetna, which had been their stronghold for several years. In the aftermath of the First Punic War, Hamilcar fought and defeated Carthage’s former mercenaries in a series of battles in North Africa. Distrusting the political leaders of his city-state, Hamilcar decided to establish a new Carthaginian colony in Spain. Tradition has it that he brought his nine-year-old son, Hannibal Barca, to a temple just before departure.

      Hamilcar asked his son to swear—before all the gods—that he would never be a friend to Rome in any way. The nine-year-old did as he was asked; Hannibal’s words have often been changed to make it sound as though he swore to be Rome’s eternal enemy, while in fact he swore only never to be Rome’s friend. In either case, this particular nine-year-old would make good on his vow.

      How long did it take for Hannibal to emerge as Carthage’s new military leader?

      Hannibal learned at his father’s side, in Spain, but he also learned much from his brotherin-law Hasdrubal. When both were killed in the fighting against the native Iberians, Hannibal became the leader of the Barca family, for which Barcelona is named. He showed himself a capable young man, but few people expected him to turn into a military giant.

      In 218 B.C.E., Hannibal laid siege to the city of Saguntum, in southeastern Spain. Saguntum asked Rome for protection, and the Roman republic sent envoys to Carthage, demanding that Hannibal cease and desist. Even if they wanted, the city fathers of Carthage could not control Hannibal, because he was too far away. They, therefore, dared Rome to do its worst, and the Second Punic War began.

      Where did Hannibal get the idea to march his men—and elephants!—over the Alps?

      It was an inspired decision, but there was also little choice. If Hannibal remained in Spain, he would be forced to fight an entirely defensive war, and there was a good chance that the mother city of Carthage would be overwhelmed. If, on the other hand, he could reach Italian soil, he could threaten Rome itself. However, since Rome controlled nine-tenths of the waterways, Hannibal, if he wanted to hit the Eternal City, had to go by land.

      One of the most memorable chapters in the Punic Wars was when Hannibal of Carthage took elephants across land and water to attack the Romans. This 1878 illustration by Henri Mote shows the general crossing the Rhone River in southern France.

      In 218 B.C.E., Hannibal brought about 40,000 men, and perhaps forty elephants, along the southern shore of the Mediterranean. His army forded, or even swam, across the Rhone River, in southern France, and then commenced the long climb through the Alps. The men and beasts climbed from about a hundred feet above sea level to almost 12,000 feet and kept going. Along the way, Hannibal recruited many Gallic tribesmen and incorporated them into his army.

      What did the Romans think, and say, when Hannibal appeared?

      Hannibal and his multiethnic army, composed of Greeks, Gauls, Spaniards, and Carthaginians, appeared in northern Italy during the spring of 217 B.C.E. The Romans were astonished he had made it so far, but they predicted his defeat. The First Punic War had clearly demonstrated Rome’s superiority in warfare on land.

      Hannibal astonished the Romans, however, by winning the Battle of the Tinicus