Telling the story of a man who stood against the overwhelming power of
the mighty Roman empire, Hannibal is the biography of a man who,
against all odds, dared to change the course of history.
Over two thousand years ago one of the greatest military leaders in
history almost destroyed Rome. Hannibal, a daring African general from
the city of Carthage, led an army of warriors and battle elephants over
the snowy Alps to invade the very heart of Rome's growing empire. But
what kind of person would dare to face the most relentless imperial
power of the ancient world? How could Hannibal, consistently outnumbered
and always deep in enemy territory, win battle after battle until he
held the very fate of Rome within his grasp?
Hannibal appeals to many as the ultimate underdog--a Carthaginian David
against the Goliath of Rome--but it wasn't just his genius on the
battlefield that set him apart. As a boy and then a man, his
self-discipline and determination were legendary. As a military leader,
like Alexander the Great before him and Julius Caesar after, he
understood the hearts of men and had an uncanny ability to read the
unseen weaknesses of his enemy. As a commander in war, Hannibal has few
equals in history and has long been held as a model of strategic and
tactical genius. But Hannibal was much more than just a great general.
He was a practiced statesman, a skilled diplomat, and a man deeply
devoted to his family and country.
Roman historians--on whom we rely for almost all our information on
Hannibal--portray him as a cruel barbarian, but how does the story
change if we look at Hannibal from the Carthaginian point of view? Can
we search beneath the accounts of Roman writers who were eager to
portray Hannibal as a monster and find a more human figure? Can we use
the life of Hannibal to look at the Romans themselves in an unfamiliar
way-- not as the noble and benign defenders of civilization but as
ruthless conquerors motivated by greed and conquest?
