In 218 BC, a young Carthaginian General, Hannibal, led an army of mercenaries from Carthage to Italy over the Alps. At the time, this feat was considered superhuman. Once in Italy, he defeated the Romans in three spectacular battles at Tesino, Trebia and Lake Trasimene. At Cannae in 216 BC, he massacred a powerful Roman army causing 65,000 casualties, an historic victory without precedent. For a numbers of years after Cannae, Hannibal remained in Italy fighting a series of indecisive battles until recalled by his fellow countryman who required his assistance countering threats against Carthage itself. He answered the call and went to the rescue but was subsequently defeated at Zama in 202 BC. The Romans constantly harassed him as they viewed him as a constant threat. In the end, Hannibal committed suicide rather than surrender. This book reveals his army and the warriors who idolized him and followed him anywhere, including the Carthaginians, Liby-Phoernicans, Celt-Iberians, Iberians, Gauls and Italians. They, who represented the backbone of the all-conquering army that followed him in his adventures against the might of Rome.
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