Hannibal Barca
Overview
 
Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca (247–183 or 182 BC)Hannibal's date of death is most commonly given as 183 BC, but there is a possibility it could have taken place in 182 BC. was a Carthaginian military commander and tactician. He is generally considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. His father, Hamilcar Barca
Hamilcar Barca
Hamilcar Barca or Barcas was a Carthaginian general and statesman, leader of the Barcid family, and father of Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Mago. He was also father-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair....

, was the leading Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War
First Punic War
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...

, his younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal, and he was brother-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair
Hasdrubal the Fair
Hasdrubal the Fair was a Carthaginian military leader.He was the brother-in-law of Hannibal and son-in-law of Hamilcar Barca...

.

Hannibal lived during a period of great tension in the Mediterranean, when the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

 established its supremacy over other great powers such as Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...

, the Hellenistic kingdoms of Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....

, Syracuse, and the Seleucid empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...

.
Quotations

Liberemus diuturna cura populum Romanum, quando mortem senis exspectare longum censent. (Latin, not original language)

Let us ease the Roman people of their continual care, who think it long to await the death of an old man.

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam.

I will either find a way, or make one.

 
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