HANNIBAL. 



629 



Cisalpine Gaul to join him. These auxiliaries would 

 have been still more numerous, had not Publius Sci- 

 pio approached, by forced marches, at the head of 

 a Roman army, which had landed at Pisa. On the 

 banks of the Ticinus the armies engaged, and a 

 charge of the Numidian horse left Hannibal master 

 of the field. Scipio avoided a second battle, and 

 retreated beyond the Trebia, leaving the strong town 

 ofClastidinm in the enemy's hands. Meanwhile Sem- 

 pronius arrived with a second army, which held the 

 Carthaginian leader in check for a while ; but Han- 

 nibal soon provoked his impetuous adversary to an 

 engagement, disposed an ambuscade near the Trebia, 

 and surrounded and destroyed the Roman forces. 

 The Romans lost their camp and 26,000 men. Han- 

 nibal now retired to winter quarters among his allies, 

 in Cisalpine Gaul ; and, at the opening of the next 

 campaign, he found two new armies awaiting liis ap- 

 proach in the passes of the Apennines. He deter- 

 mined to engage them separately, and destroy Fla- 

 ininius before the arrival of his colleague. He de- 

 ceived him, therefore, by feigned marches, crossed 

 the Apennines, and traversed the Clusian marsh. For 

 four days and nights the Carthaginians were march- 

 ing through water. Even Hannibal, who had mounted 

 the only remaining elephant, saved himself with diffi- 

 culty, and lost an eye in consequence- of an inflam- 

 mation. He had scarcely regained firm footing, 

 when he employed every means to compel Flaminius 

 to a battle. He wasted the whole country with fire 

 and sword, and feigned a march to Rome ; but sud- 

 denly formed an ambush in a narrow pass, surround- 

 ed by almost inaccessible rocks. Flaminius, who 

 inconsiderately followed him, was immediately at- 

 tacked ; a bloody engagement took place near the 

 lake Thrasymenus, in which Roman valour was over- 

 come by artifice and superior skill. Assailed on 

 every side, the Roman legions were cut in pieces 

 without being able to display their columns. En- 

 riched with the spoils of the conquered, Hannibal now 

 armed his soldiers in the Roman manner, and marched 

 into Apulia, spreading terror wherever he approach- 

 ed. Rome, in consternation, intrusted her safety 

 to Fabius Maximus, the dictator, who determined to 

 exhaust by delay the strength of the Carthaginians. 

 He attacked Hannibal with his own weapons, and 

 hung upon him every where without attempting to 

 overtake him, convinced that the Carthaginians 

 could not long hold a desolated territory. These 

 were led by their general into the plains of Capua, 

 with the design of separating the terrified cities from 

 their alliance with the Romans, and drawing down 

 Fabius from the mountains. But he suddenly found 

 himself in the same toils in which Flaminius had 

 perished. Shut up between the rocks of Formiae, the 

 sands of Lecsternum, and impassable marshes, he was 

 indebted for his safety to a stratagem. Having col- 

 lected a thousand oxen, and fastened burning torches 

 to their horns, he drove the furious animals at mid- 

 night into the defiles which were guarded by the 

 Romans. Panic-struck at the terrible sight, they 

 abandoned the heights, and Hannibal forcea his way 

 through their ranks. The Romans, dissatisfied with 

 the delay of Fabius, now made Minutius Felix, master 

 of the horse, his colleague in the dictatorship. Eager 

 for combat, he fell into an ambush at Gerunium, and 

 would have perished, but for the aid of Fabius. After 

 this campaign, the other Roman generals seemed un- 

 willing to trust any thing to chance, and imitated the 

 delay of Fabius. Hannibal saw with grief his army 

 slowly wasting away, when the new consul, Teren- 

 tius Varro, an inexperienced and presumptuous man, 

 t(K>k the command of the legions. Hannibal had oc- 

 cupied Cannae, and reduced the Romans to the 

 necessity of risking an engagement. The two armies 



were drawn up in presence. Paulus /Emilias, the 

 colleague of Varro, wished to put oft' the batth-, on 

 account of the disadvantageous position of the Ro- 

 mans ; but Varro chose the day of his command, 

 gave the signal for the attack, and the Roman army 

 was destroyed. Hannibal now marched to Capua, 

 which immediately opened its gates. Although 

 the soldiers were enervated by a residence in this 

 luxurious city, no Roman general, after the battle 

 of Cannae, ventured to show himself in the plain. 

 Hannibal, however, was no longer in a condition to 

 prosecute his successes. His army was enfeebled ; 

 and, notwithstanding his splendid success and the in- 

 fluence of his party in Carthage, his enemies had 

 gained such an ascendency, that his brother Hasdru- 

 bal with difficulty procured him a small reinforce- 

 ment of 12,000 foot and 2500 horse, which he was 

 obliged to conduct by the way of Spain. Hannibal 

 was therefore compelled to assume the defensive. 

 Capua was invested by two consular armies, and was 

 on the point of surrendering. Hannibal hoped to 

 save it by a bold diversion. He marched to Rome, 

 and encamped in sight of the capitol, B. C. 211 ; but 

 the Romans were iiolrthusto be discouraged ; Capua 

 fell. This success gave the Romans a decided superi- 

 ority, and nearly all the people of Italy declared in 

 their favour. Held in check by the consul, Claudius 

 Nero, Hannibal could not effect a union with his 

 brother, who, after having passed the Apennines, was 

 attacked and defeated by Nero, in 207. Hasdrubal 

 himself fell, and his bloody head was thrown into the 

 camp of Hannibal. The latter then retired to Brut- 

 tium, where, surrounded with difficulties, he yet 

 maintained the contest with inferior forces against 

 victorious armies. But Scipio now carried the war 

 into Africa, and made Carthage tremble ; and Hanni- 

 bal was recalled to defend his country. " Not Rome, 

 but the senate of Carthage has conquered Hannibal," 

 he exclaimed in the deepest anguish, when he read 

 the orders recalling him from Italy. He embarked 

 his troops, put to death the Italian allies who refused 

 to accompany him, and, in 205, left tlie country 

 which, for sixteen years, he had held in spite of all 

 the efforts of Rome. He landed at Leptis, gained 

 over a part of the Numidians, and encamped at 

 Adrumetum. Scipio took several cities, and reduced 

 the inhabitants to slavery. Pressed by his country- 

 men to come to a decisive engagement, Hannibal ad- 

 vanced to meet him, and encamped at Zama, five 

 days' journey from Carthage. The two generals had 

 an interview, and Hannibal proposed terms of peace ; 

 but in vain. Hannibal was defeated ; 20,000 Cartha- 

 ginians were left upon the field, and as many more 

 taken prisoners. Hannibal fled to Adrumetum, rallied 

 the fugitives, and, in a few days, collected a new 

 army capable of checking the conqueror's progress. 

 He then hastened to Carthage, ana declared to the 

 senate that there was no safety but in peace ; and 

 persuaded that body to accede to the terms offered. 



Thus ended the bloody contest of eighteen years ; 

 doubly fatal to Carthage, which was at once stripped 

 of her former conquests, and of all hope of new ones, 

 by the loss of her fleet. Hannibal, nevertheless, still 

 retained his credit, and was made commnnder-in-chief 

 of an army in the interior of Africa. But the parti- 

 zans of Hanno, his bitterest enemy, continued to per- 

 secute him, and accused him to the Romans of main- 

 taining a secret correspondence with Antiochus, 

 king of Syria, with the design of lighting anew the 

 flames of war. Ambassadors were accordingly sent 

 to Carthage, to demand that he should be delivered 

 up. He saved himself, however, by fleeing to Cer- 

 cina, and thence to Tyre, where he was received 

 with the greatest honours. He afterwards went to 

 Ephesus, to the court of Antiochus, engaged him to 



