Hannibal Barca (247-c.182 BCE) is one of the most well-documented Carthaginians and became legendary because of his efforts in the Second Punic War. Dr Eve MacDonald, Lecturer in Ancient History, School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, joins the show to share what’s known about who he was and the life he lived.
Dr Eve MacDonald was previously on the show in the episode Carthage w. Dr Eve MacDonald (June 23, 2021)
Some topics explored
- The main sources that scholars rely on to understand who Hannibal was
- Where he is thought to have been born
- Where he spent the first nine years of his life
- His father, Hamilcar Barca, who was a key military commander for Carthage during the First Punic War and events that occurred after the war
- His arrival with his family in Iberia (modern day Spain) at nine years old
- Hannibal thought to have five siblings
- Hannibal considered to be a polyglot and it being inferred that he would have known at least the following languages: Punic (a Semitic language known to have similarities to Hebrew), an ancient Numidian language (also commonly known as Amazigh people), Greek (common in the day as a lingua franca), and an ancient Iberian language
- Theories about Hannibal’s father, Hamilcar having founded Alicante in modern day Spain
- Cartagena being founded by Hannibal’s brother-in-law, Hasdrubal
- His main activities on the Iberian peninsula
- What’s known Hannibal’s siege of Saguntum and how that relates to the commencement of the Second Punic War
- At about 25 years old becoming the lead commander of the military forces in Iberia
- The Battle of Zama and why he may have lost
- Hannibal becoming a politician in Carthage after the Second Punic War
- Hannibal’s later years in the eastern Mediterranean including joining various courts, leading a navy, etc.
- Hannibal committing suicide in Libyssa (in modern day Turkey) in his 60s at a period when Rome was gaining hegemony of much of the Mediterranean Basin
- Sources from his later years
- Hannibal being known to have married a woman named Imilce from the Iberian town of Castulo and having a son
- Where he died becoming a place of pilgrimage
Listen to the episode
The episode can be streamed below and is also available on major podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Show Notes
- Dr MacDonald is author of the monograph Hannibal: A Hellenistic Life (Yale University Press, 2018)
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