History: Hannibal

246- 183 BCE - Hannibal Barca was a Carthaginian general who was sworn to hatred of Rome by his father, Hamilcar Barca. Hannibal lead Carthage in several successful battles against Rome in the Punic Wars. Hannibal marched across the Alps with a significant army built of Spanish natives, however there were many casualties and he was later required to augment his force with Guallic reinforcements. Hannibal defeated the Romans at Trebia River, and again at Trasimene in Etruria. Though the Romans were able to delay Hannibal's advance for some years, they eventually determined that they must confront him. In 216 BCE, Hannibal won a decisive victory at Cannae, killing as many as 40,000 Romans. Though Rome suffered serious losses, they recovered and eventually sent an army directly against Carthage, this forced Hannibal to withdraw from northern Italy, and allowed the Romans to attain the victory they had been struggling for. In 202 BCE, Rome defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama. The Carthagians were forced into a peace treaty with Rome, which required them to relinquish control of Spain to the Romans.