130 Fun Facts About Hannibal

Hannibal's home city of Carthage lay in which modern country?

He is revered there as a national hero, with a TV channel and a railway station named after him.

Who was Hannibal's father?

He drowned in battle while conquering Hispania for Carthage.

What does the cognomen Barca mean?

Hannibal's father earned it for the swiftness and ferocity of his attacks.

The name Hannibal combines the Phoenician name Hanno with which deity?

Suggested readings of the name mean the lord is gracious or the grace of Baal.

According to Polybius, what did Hannibal's father make him swear as a boy?

One story has the nine-year-old held over a sacrificial fire while he swore it.

How old was Hannibal when the army proclaimed him commander-in-chief in 221 BC?

Livy says the old soldiers fancied they saw his father Hamilcar in his youth given back to them.

Whose assassination in 221 BC brought Hannibal to supreme command in Hispania?

He was Hannibal's brother-in-law and had signed a treaty with Rome fixing the Ebro as a boundary.

According to the Roman poet Silius Italicus, what was the name of Hannibal's wife from Castulo?

Silius also mentions a son, otherwise unattested by Livy, Polybius or Appian.

Hannibal's attack on which Roman-allied city in Spain sparked the Second Punic War?

The city fell after an eight-month siege; a Roman envoy then offered Carthage the choice of war or peace.

How long did Hannibal's siege of the city that started the war last?

Hannibal sent the booty home to Carthage, a shrewd move that won government support.

From which Spanish city did Hannibal set out for Italy in the spring of 218 BC?

He left 20,000 troops behind to garrison the conquered region.

How many elephants did Hannibal's army have when it reached the Rhône?

Almost none survived the Alps, and most that did died of injuries or cold in the first winter.

According to Livy, what did Hannibal use along with fire to break through a rockfall in the Alps?

Polybius never mentions it, and no carbonised rock has been found at the likely spot.

Which pass does W. C. Mahaney argue Hannibal crossed, citing disturbed peat and horse-gut bacteria?

Radiocarbon dating of the churned ground gave about 218 BC, the year of the march.

According to Polybius, roughly how many foot soldiers did Hannibal have left when he reached Italy?

That would mean he had lost almost half his force since the Rhône.

Which Roman consul was wounded at the Ticinus in 218 BC and rescued by his teenage son, the future Africanus?

He had expected Hannibal to come by sea and had already sent most of his troops to Spain.

Fearing assassination by the Gauls in the winter of 218–217 BC, how did Hannibal disguise himself?

The Gauls' enthusiasm for his cause had cooled after a winter of hosting his army.

What caused Hannibal to lose the sight of his right eye during the march through the Arno marshes?

His men marched four days and three nights through flooded land, and many were lost.

Which Roman consul was killed with his army in the ambush at Lake Trasimene in 217 BC?

Hannibal searched in vain for his body on the lakeshore afterwards.

Hannibal's manoeuvre around the Roman flank before Trasimene is called the first recorded example of what?

It cut the Roman army off from Rome and provoked a hasty pursuit into a defile.

Which Roman was appointed dictator after Trasimene and refused to meet Hannibal in open battle?

Many Romans thought his strategy cowardice, and his term as dictator was not renewed.

What nickname did Fabius earn for refusing to engage Hannibal in open battle?

The strategy of attrition named after him is still called Fabian.

Trapped in Campania by Fabius, how did Hannibal slip his army out at night?

Romans chased the moving lights along the heights while the army crept through an unguarded pass.

At which 216 BC battle in Apulia did Hannibal envelop and destroy a Roman army of 50,000 to 80,000?

It remains one of the bloodiest single days in human history and is still taught in military academies.

Which two consuls commanded the Roman army on alternate days at the great battle of 216 BC?

Livy blamed the reckless Varro, whose turn it supposedly was, but the Senate later pardoned him.

How many Roman senators died in the great defeat of 216 BC?

That was a quarter to a third of a Senate of no more than 300 men.

Which cavalry commander told Hannibal, 'You know how to gain a victory, but not how to use one'?

He had led the Numidian horse that shattered the Roman cavalry on the right wing.

Which Macedonian king pledged support to Hannibal after 216 BC, starting the First Macedonian War?

He never sent Hannibal meaningful help and was soon tied down by Rome's Greek allies.

Which city, then the second largest in Italy, defected to Hannibal and became his base?

Rome besieged and retook it in 211 BC despite Hannibal's march on Rome to draw the armies off.

For roughly how many years did Hannibal occupy most of southern Italy?

He never lost a battle there but could not win a decisive victory without reinforcements.

Which Carthaginian led the peace party that denied Hannibal reinforcements after his greatest victory?

His faction relied on trade with Rome and resented being dragged into war over Saguntum.

Which city did Hannibal capture by surprise in 212 BC while failing to take its harbour?

Rome recovered it in 209 BC, all but ending his hold on the south.

Which famed Roman consul, conqueror of Syracuse, did Hannibal kill in battle in 208 BC?

Hannibal sent the dead man's ashes back to his family in Rome.

At which 207 BC battle was Hannibal's brother killed while bringing reinforcements from Spain?

The Romans cut off his head and tossed it over the palisade of Hannibal's camp.

Which brother of Hannibal had his severed head thrown into Hannibal's camp in 207 BC?

His other brother Mago later failed in Liguria, ending hopes of recovering Italy.

Hannibal recorded his expedition on bronze tablets at Crotona in the sanctuary of which goddess?

It was engraved in both Punic and Greek.

Which Roman general invaded North Africa and finally defeated Hannibal at Zama in 202 BC?

The two men held a fruitless peace conference before the battle, with mutual admiration.

Which Numidian king's defection to Rome gave Scipio the cavalry superiority at Zama?

He switched sides in 206 BC on a promise of land, and out of rivalry with Syphax.

How did the Romans neutralise Hannibal's 80 war elephants at Zama?

The panicked animals ran back into the Carthaginian lines.

What civic office did Hannibal win in Carthage after the war?

As chief magistrate he attacked corruption to pay Rome's indemnity without raising taxes.

How large was the indemnity Rome imposed on Carthage after the Second Punic War?

An audit showed Carthage could pay it without raising taxes if embezzlement was stopped.

How did Hannibal reform the oligarchic board of judges known as the Hundred and Four?

He also had them chosen by direct election rather than co-option, which earned him powerful enemies.

At which Seleucid king's court did Hannibal serve as a military adviser in exile?

Rome's suspicion that they were in contact prompted Hannibal's flight from Carthage.

According to Cicero, what did Hannibal say after the philosopher Phormio lectured on generalship?

He was equally dry about the Seleucid army: quite enough for the Romans, even though they are most avaricious.

At which 190 BC sea battle did the Rhodian navy defeat the fleet Hannibal had built in Cilicia?

The faster Rhodian ships damaged half his warships with the diekplous manoeuvre.

At which battle was the Seleucid king decisively defeated, after which he agreed to hand Hannibal to Rome?

Hannibal fled again, reportedly stopping in Armenia and Crete before reaching Bithynia.

How did Hannibal win a naval victory for Bithynia over Eumenes of Pergamon?

He beat Eumenes twice more on land in 184 BC.

At whose court in Bithynia did Hannibal spend his final years?

Rome eventually threatened Bithynia into surrendering him.

According to Livy and Cornelius Nepos, how did Hannibal die?

Pausanias tells a different tale: a fever from cutting his finger on his own sword.

Which Roman ex-consul travelled to Bithynia to demand Hannibal's surrender?

Hannibal's farewell letter mocked Romans for finding it too tiresome to wait for an old man's death.

According to Pliny and Plutarch, Hannibal's tomb was at Libyssa on the coast of which sea?

A prophecy said Libyssan earth would cover his remains; he had assumed that meant Libya.

What did Romans exclaim whenever disaster threatened, long after the Carthaginian's death?

Hannibal is at the gates! The phrase survives in modern languages.

Per Plutarch, whom did Hannibal name as greater generals than himself when Scipio asked?

Asked where he'd rank without his defeat by Scipio, he said above Alexander, a sly compliment.

Which North African-born Roman emperor is said to have built Hannibal a white marble tomb at Libyssa?

The Byzantine scholar John Tzetzes records the story.

Which German strategy for World War I drew on Hannibal's envelopment tactics of 216 BC?

Count Alfred von Schlieffen developed it from his military studies.

Which American general believed himself to be a reincarnation of Hannibal?

He also counted a Roman legionary and a Napoleonic soldier among his past lives.

Hannibal appears on which denomination of Tunisian banknote, first issued in 1993?

He also has a private TV channel, a street in Carthage and a railway station named after him.

Which founder of psychoanalysis called Hannibal a boyhood hero in The Interpretation of Dreams?

For him Hannibal against Rome symbolised the tenacity of Judaism against the Catholic Church.

A cenotaph to Hannibal was built in 1981 near Gebze, Turkey, reflecting the interest of which leader?

Studies under his patronage failed to pin down the exact tomb site.

Which actor was announced in 2023 to star in a Netflix film about Hannibal that later fell through?

Antoine Fuqua was to direct from a John Logan screenplay.

In what year was Hannibal born?

He commanded Carthage's forces in the Second Punic War and died between 183 and 181 BC.

How many infantry did Hannibal's army number when it set out for the Alps?

With 8,000 cavalry and 38 elephants; Polybius says he arrived in Italy with just 20,000 foot soldiers.

Which two ancient historians are the primary sources for Hannibal's crossing of the Alps?

Polybius was born about 20 years after the event and Livy about 160 years after.

Which three place names used by Polybius do modern theories of the Alpine route depend on?

No archaeological evidence exists, so scholars match his names to modern geography.

Hamilcar Barca set out to conquer the Iberian peninsula in which year?

Conservatives in Carthage opposed the expedition; the family later ruled from New Carthage.

Which Roman commander lost the Battle of the Trebia in December 218 BC?

It was the first major battle of the Second Punic War, fought near modern Piacenza.

How many cavalry did Hannibal lead at the Battle of Ticinus in November 218 BC?

Scipio's Romans had 3,600 horsemen plus javelinmen; it was the war's first clash in Italy.

Roughly how many Roman and allied troops did Rome field at Cannae in 216 BC?

Hannibal's double envelopment trapped and slaughtered most of them on 2 August.

Historian Adrian Goldsworthy compared the Roman death toll at Cannae to which later battle's first day?

It remains one of the most lethal single days of fighting in history.

After the ambush at Lake Trasimene, how many Romans at the front of the column initially escaped?

They were surrounded later that day and surrendered; 15,000 had died in the trap.

How many war elephants did Hannibal leave Iberia with, according to the Trasimene account?

Only an unknown number survived to reach Cisalpine Gaul with his 20,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry.

How many war elephants did the Carthaginians field at Zama?

The Romans, about 40,000 strong, were outnumbered but stronger in cavalry.

How many Numidians did Masinissa bring to the Roman camp before Zama?

His defection to Rome had already made him the leading Numidian ruler.

Carthage was settled around 814 BC by merchants from which city in present-day Lebanon?

Tyre lay in present-day Lebanon; Carthage was destroyed by Rome in 146 BC.

In legend, Dido cut an oxhide into strips to encircle a hill that was then named what?

The name means 'hide', and the citadel of Carthage stood on it.

Which epic poem, published around 19 BC, is the best-known source for Dido's story?

Virgil has the love-sick queen kill herself on a pyre when Aeneas leaves Carthage.

Which Roman senator ended his speeches with 'Carthago delenda est'?

He said it on any topic whatsoever, and the Third Punic War followed.

Polybius, historian of Rome's rise, was born around 200 BC in which Arcadian city?

He became a close friend and mentor to Scipio Aemilianus.

Livy, author of Ab Urbe Condita, was born in which northern Italian city?

A friend of Augustus, he encouraged the young Claudius to write history.

Which Italian city did Hannibal's brother Mago capture in his 205 BC invasion?

He held northern Italy for nearly three years after sailing from Menorca with 15,000 men.

Hamilcar Barca commanded Carthage's land forces in Sicily during which years?

He waged a successful guerrilla war and later crushed the Mercenary War.

Which two battles did Hamilcar win to end the Mercenary War?

The mutiny by Carthage's unpaid troops began around 240 BC.

Scipio's 206 BC victory at Ilipa was won against which of Hannibal's brothers?

It led to the Roman conquest of Carthaginian Iberia.

Which Numidian tribes did Masinissa lead during the Second Punic War?

He united eastern and western Numidia into a kingdom that became a regional power.

Sophonisba drank poison rather than face what fate?

Masinissa, her new husband, offered her the cup himself.

Where did the captured Numidian king Syphax die in 203 or 202 BC?

After his death Sophonisba married Masinissa.

Which Carthaginian commanders shared leadership at the Battle of the Great Plains in 203 BC?

Syphax fled, was beaten again at Cirta and captured.

At Utica in 203 BC, Scipio's night attack set fire to Numidian barracks made of what?

The Carthaginian and Numidian camps sat about 11 km from the Romans.

Archimedes was killed at the end of which siege, against the orders of Marcellus?

His Claw lifted Roman ships out of the sea during the 213–212 BC siege.

How long did the First Punic War last?

It was the longest continuous conflict and greatest naval war of antiquity, mostly around Sicily.

Which group of Italian mercenaries seized Messana in 289 BC, setting up the First Punic War?

Rome gained its Sicilian foothold at Messana in 264 BC.

Which naval battle on 10 March 241 BC ended the First Punic War?

Gaius Lutatius Catulus held overall authority, though Quintus Valerius Falto commanded on the day.

Which Roman consul co-commanded at Cape Ecnomus in 256 BC?

Hanno and Hamilcar led the Carthaginian fleet off southern Sicily.

By what other name is the Mercenary War known?

Unpaid troops mutinied at the end of the First Punic War, backed by rebelling African towns.

Which Carthaginian's periplus describes a voyage down the West African coast?

The Greek translation calls him a basileus, a term often used for senior Carthaginian officials.

Which Roman force did Hasdrubal Barca face at the Metaurus, after a secret forced march joined the two consuls?

Nero had just fought Hannibal at Grumentum hundreds of kilometres to the south.

Which battle is considered Scipio Africanus's most brilliant, featuring a 'reverse Cannae'?

Fought in 206 BC near modern Seville, it broke Carthage's hold on Iberia.

Which river did Hasdrubal Barca camp on at Baecula in 208 BC?

Scipio moved against him with 30,000 Romans and 10,000 Spanish auxiliaries.

Saguntum, besieged by Hannibal in 219 BC, lies in which modern Spanish province?

The Saguntines appealed to Rome for aid, but none was sent.

In 241 BC, who told Hamilcar Barca to make peace with Rome on whatever terms he could get?

Carthage's Senate told him to accept whatever terms he could get after 23 years of war.

After the First Punic War, Carthage's Spanish holdings were limited to Gades, Malaca, Abdera and which city?

The Barcids expanded from these coastal towns from 237 to 218 BC.

Which term was used in antiquity only for the artificial harbour of Carthage?

It combined a rectangular merchant harbour with an inner circular military one.

Punic, the language of Carthage, was an offshoot of which language?

It was still spoken in North Africa as late as the 6th century AD.

Which Roman middle-ranking officer distinguished himself in the setbacks of 149 BC and later took Carthage?

Public support was so great in 147 BC that age rules were lifted to make him consul.

For how many years did Rome and Carthage struggle in the Second Punic War?

Fighting spread from Italy and Iberia to Sicily, Sardinia and finally North Africa.

Which Punic War saw the Romans storm, sack and completely demolish Carthage in 146 BC?

The population was slaughtered or enslaved.

Which 1981 Thomas Harris novel first introduced Hannibal Lecter, in a small villain role?

Brian Cox played him, spelled 'Lecktor', in the 1986 adaptation Manhunter.

Which actor played the young Lecter in the 2007 film Hannibal Rising?

The prequel opens in Lithuania in 1941 with eight-year-old Hannibal and his sister Mischa.

The Silence of the Lambs was the third film to win which set of Academy Awards?

Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Adapted Screenplay; no film has done it since.

Jonathan Demme won which prize at the Berlin Film Festival for The Silence of the Lambs?

Ted Levine played the killer Buffalo Bill opposite Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling.

In Harris's 1981 novel, the killer hunted by Will Graham is first nicknamed what?

He is later referred to as The Dragon; Tom Noonan played him in Manhunter.

Who developed the NBC series Hannibal, which premiered in April 2013?

Mads Mikkelsen played Lecter opposite Hugh Dancy's Will Graham.

In the 2001 film Hannibal, who replaced Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling?

Ridley Scott directed and Gary Oldman played Mason Verger.

Which producer reportedly pressured Thomas Harris into writing Hannibal Rising?

He implied Harris might otherwise lose control of the Lecter character.

Thomas Harris worked for which news agency in New York from 1968 to 1974?

He then began his debut novel Black Sunday; his books have sold over 50 million copies.

Which author spent his boyhood in Hannibal, Missouri?

The Mississippi River town has long relied on river, rail and highway commerce.

Hannibal Hamlin served as vice president under which president?

He was the first Republican vice president, serving from 1861 to 1865.

Comedian Hannibal Buress's October 2014 routine drew attention to allegations against whom?

Buress was raised in Chicago's Austin neighbourhood and starred on The Eric Andre Show.

Which actor played Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith in the original A-Team series?

Cigar-smoking Hannibal's catchphrase was 'I love it when a plan comes together'.

Hannibal Goodwin patented flexible roll film that was used in which Edison machine?

An Episcopal preacher, he filed in 1887 but the patent was not granted until 1898.

Who directed Manhunter (1986), the first film adaptation of Harris's 1981 novel?

William Petersen starred as Will Graham and Dennis Farina as Jack Crawford.

Thomas Harris's novel Hannibal (1999) is set how many years after the Buffalo Bill case?

Its plot was adapted for the third season of the NBC series.

In Manhunter (1986), Brian Cox played Lecter under which variant spelling of the name?

It was the character's first screen appearance, adapting his small role in the 1981 novel Red Dragon.

In 2003, which body named Hopkins's Lecter the greatest screen villain in US cinema history?

Rolling Stone later ranked Mads Mikkelsen's TV version the 18th-greatest villain in television history.

Thomas Harris met the prison doctor who inspired Lecter while reporting in which country?

'Dr. Salazar', who treated a shot inmate at a Monterrey prison, turned out to be convicted murderer Alfredo Ballí Treviño.

In the novels, Hannibal Lecter was born into the nobility of which country?

He is also descended from the Visconti and Sforza families of Italy, according to Harris.

On what date did Orion Pictures release The Silence of the Lambs in 1991?

The Valentine's Day release grossed $272.7 million on a $19 million budget and finished fifth at the year's box office.

Who directed the 2001 sequel Hannibal, from a script by David Mamet and Steven Zaillian?

It grossed $351.6 million against an $87 million budget, with Gary Oldman as the disfigured Mason Verger.

Why did NBC cancel the Hannibal TV series in June 2015?

All three seasons won Saturn Awards for Best Network Television Series, and the finale aired first in Canada on City.

Which actor won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for season two of NBC's Hannibal?

Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy both won Best Actor for the series.