History UsefulNotes / HannibalBarca

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mommsen_p265.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The last thing you saw before an elephant stomped on your head.]]

* ''WebAnimation/OverSimplified'': Hannibal first appears as a baby in the SequelHook at the end of the First Punic War videos, with his father Hamilcar telling young Hannibal that he will be vengeance against Rome. "The Second Punic War" videos have Hannibal as the main focus, taking the reins from his father and launching his war of vengeance against Rome.

Notably, this war was started without the full backing of the Carthaginian oligarchy, a decision that cemented his reputation as a bold maverick, but one that would come back to bite him. Leaving Iberia, Hannibal defeated a Gallic tribe and famously crossed the Alps. While taking this route allowed him to bypass land garrisons and Rome's naval dominance, it proved costly. Nevertheless, shortly after arriving in Italy, Hannibal proved that he was still a major threat to Rome. Starting in 218 BC, he won three [[CurbStompBattle crushing victories]] over the Romans in as many years: the Battle of the Trebia, the Battle of Lake Trasimene, and the Battle of Cannae. The most famous of these victories was Cannae, where he virtually annihilated a Roman army while taking relatively minor casualties despite being significantly outnumbered. Hannibal's victory at Cannae has gone down in history as one of the finest performances by any general, and is still studied in significant detail today in military academies all over the world.

* ''Literature/{{Salammbo}}'': Hannibal appears here [[YoungFutureFamousPeople as a child]]. [[spoiler:He's nearly [[HumanSacrifice sacrificed]] to Moloch, but his father sends a slave's child to die in his place]].

* ''Podcast/TwilightHistories'' had an episode, "Hannibal One", where Hannibal won the Second Punic War.

* ''WebAnimation/OverSimplified''; Hannibal first appears as a baby in the SequelHook at the end of the First Punic War videos, with his father Hamilcar telling young Hannibal that he will be vengeance against Rome. "The Second Punic War" videos have Hannibal as the main focus, taking the reins from his father and launching his war of vengeance against Rome.

Slowly, the strategic situation turned against Hannibal to. His allies in Southern Italy were either subdued or convinced to change sides again, Rome allied with the Aetolian League to counter Philip V, and much-needed reinforcements led by his younger brother Hasdrubal were decisively defeated at the Battle of the Metaurus, while another Carthaginian expedition by his other brother Mago was similarly defeated in Liguria. Finally, in 203 BC, Hannibal was recalled to Carthage to defend his homeland against a Roman invasion of Africa led by Scipio Africanus. After attempts to negotiate peace with Scipio failed, Hannibal gave battle against him. But Hannibal had finally met his match in Scipio, who decisively defeated him at the Battle of Zama, forcing the Carthaginian government to surrender and ending the Second Punic War.

* ''VideoGame/TotalWarRomeII'': The second expansion pack, Hannibal at the Gates, follows the Second Punic War. Naturally, Hannibal features heavily in the campaign.

Notably, this war was started without the full backing of the Carthaginian oligarchy, a decision that cemented his reputation as a bold maverick, but one that would come back to bite him. Leaving Iberia, Hannibal defeated a Gallic tribe and famously crossed the Alps. While taking this route allowed him to bypass land garrisons and Rome's naval dominance, it proved costly. Nevertheless, shortly after arriving in Italy, Hannibal proved that he was still a major threat to Rome. Starting in 218 BC, he won three [[CurbStompBattle crushing victories]] over the Romans in as many years. The most famous of these victories was the Battle of Cannae, where he virtually annihilated a Roman army while taking relatively minor casualties despite being significantly outnumbered. Hannibal's victory at Cannae has gone down in history as one of the finest performances by any general, and is still studied in significant detail today in military academies all over the world.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Due to modern sympathies, it's very tempting for adaptations to portray Hannibal as a freedom fighter or some kind of heroic rebel who opposed the (real or perceived) oppressive expansion of Rome, which has little basis in real life. While they were certainly very distinct cultures, Carthage and Rome weren't really different in their levels of expansionism, slaveholding, multiculturality or foreign policy at the time of the Punic Wars, and it could be said it was precisely the victory over Carthage and the acquisition of the rich Hispania which pushed Rome to the spiral of conquest it would be later known for.
* RaceLift: The real Hannibal was a Semite with some possible Spanish and Amazigh blood mixed in,[[note]]Punics often practiced AltarDiplomacy with those, with Hannibal himself marrying an Iberian princess, so it has been speculated this might have happened earlier in his family tree[[/note]] and so he was almost certainly a very Mediterranean-looking man. However, some depictions opt to make him black, likely on the idea that's the only possible phenotype for an African citizen (the same is applied for the Numidians, the Lybians and the Mauritanians in media). Ironically, Romans didn't consider Carthaginians to be a different race, but rather the opposite: the whole joke of Creator/{{Plautus}}' stage play ''Poenulus'' is precisely that you could not tell apart a Carthaginian from the rest of Mediterraneans except by his clothing and jewelry.

* ''Hannibal: Rome's Worst Nightmare'': a made-for-TV movie produced by the BBC

* RaceLift: The real Hannibal was a Semite with some possible Spanish and Amazigh blood mixed in,[[note]]Punics often practiced AltarDiplomacy with those, with Hannibal himself marrying an Iberian princess, so it has been speculated this might have happened earlier in his family tree[[/note]] and so he was almost certainly a very Mediterranean-looking man. However, some depictions opt to make him black, likely on the idea that's the only possible phenotype for an African citizen (the same is applied for the Numidians, the Lybians and the Mauritanians in media). Ironically, Romans didn't consider Carthaginians to be a different, but rather the opposite: the whole joke of Creator/{{Plautus}}' stage play ''Poenulus'' is precisely that you could not tell apart a Carthaginian from the rest of Mediterraneans except by his clothing and jewelry.

This crushing victory earned Hannibal further support. Many parts of Italy joined his cause, the Greek colonies in Sicily began revolting against Roman political control, and Philip V of Macedon pledged his support, starting what would later be known as the First Macedonian War. However, a lack of commitment from Carthage, as well as the fact that Hannibal was more or less the only general worth a cent left in his side, prevented him from bringing the war to Rome itself. To complicate matters further, the Romans refused to face Hannibal directly after Cannae, preferring to weaken him through attrition. Unable to bring about another decisive victory that could produce a change in the strategic situation, the war in Italy settled into a stalemate.

Slowly, the strategic situation turned against Hannibal. His allies in Southern Italy were subdued, Rome allied with the Aetolian League to counter Philip V, and much-needed reinforcements led by his younger brother Hasdrubal were decisively defeated at the Battle of the Metaurus. Finally, in 203 BC, Hannibal was recalled to Carthage to defend his homeland against a Roman invasion of Africa led by Scipio Africanus. After attempts to negotiate peace with Scipio failed, Hannibal gave battle against him. But Hannibal had finally met his match in Scipio, who decisively defeated him at the Battle of Zama, forcing the Carthaginian government to surrender and ending the Second Punic War.

* RaceLift: The real Hannibal was a Semite with some possible Spanish and Amazigh blood mixed in,[[note]]Punics often practiced AltarDiplomacy with those, with Hannibal himself marrying an Iberian princess, so it has been speculated this might have happened earlier in his family tree[[/note]] and so he was almost certainly a very Mediterranean-looking man. However, some depictions make him black.

This crushing victory earned Hannibal further support. Many parts of Italy joined his cause, the Greek colonies in Sicily began revolting against Roman political control, and Philip V of Macedon pledged his support, starting what would later be known as the First Macedonian War. However, a lack of commitment from Carthage prevented Hannibal from bringing the war to Rome itself. To complicate matters further, the Romans refused to face Hannibal directly after Cannae, preferring to weaken him through attrition. Unable to bring about another decisive victory that could produce a change in the strategic situation, the war in Italy settled into a stalemate.

* RaceLift: The real Hannibal was a Semite with some possible Spanish and Amazigh blood mixed in, and so he was almost certainly a very Mediterranean-looking man. However, some depictions make him black.

* RaceLift: The real Hannibal was a Semite with some possible Spanish and Berber blood mixed in, and so he was almost certainly a very Mediterranean-looking man. However, some depictions make him black.

Hannibal Barca (247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who is most famous for being the most prominent Carthaginian commander during the [[UsefulNotes/PunicWars Second Punic War]]. Historical reputation accounts him one of the greatest military commanders in Western history, if not human history.

Hannibal Barca (247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who is most famous for being the most prominent Carthaginian commander during the [[UsefulNotes/PunicWars Second Punic War]]. Historical reputation accounts him one of the greatest military commanders in Western history, if not human history--and for good reason, as seen below.

Hannibal Barca (247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who is most famous for being the most prominent Carthaginian commander during the [[UsefulNotes/PunicWars Second Punic War]].

There are multiple accounts of how Hannibal died, but the most commonly accepted one is that the Romans were attempting to negotiate with King Prusias I of Bithynia, and ex-consul Titus Quinctius Flamininus demanded that Hannibal be surrendered to their custody, also having the fortress where Hannibal was surrounded. Hannibal caught wind of this and, realizing there was no escape for him, took poison, [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled getting the better of his enemy one final time]].