Hanno the Elder
Encyclopedia
Hanno the Elder was a Carthaginian
general who served under Hannibal during the Second Punic War. According to the historian Livy
, his track record was terrible: in 215 BC he was defeated by Tiberius Sempronius Longus at Grumentum
, in 214 BC he was defeated by Gracchus at Beneventum
, two years later he was again defeated at Beneventum, this time by Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
, then in 207 BC he and Mago Barca
were defeated in Celtiberia
, and he was finally killed by Scipio Africanus
in 204 BC.
, who led mobile Carthaginian forces that had crossed the Rhone River
higher up and then attacked the Gauls
from the rear as they gathered to oppose the crossing of Hannibal Barca in 218 BC. Hannibal, while he prepared to cross the river on boats and rafts, had sent Hanno upstream with a mobile force of light infantry and horse. Hanno found a suitable crossing place and crossed the river with the help of inflated water skins. He took position behind the Gauls and signaled Hannibal using smoke. Hannibal then launched his boats, prompting the Gauls to form up on the riverbank to oppose the crossing. Hanno launched his attack on the rear of the Gauls just as Hannibal's men reached the opposite bank, and completely routed the enemy after taking the Gauls by complete surprise. This Hanno is of noble birth, as Bomilcar had been one of the Suffets
of Carthage
. Hanno was a veteran officer who had served in the Punic armies in Spain.
Hanno is the name of the commander who commanded the Numidian cavalry on the Carthaginian right wing at the Battle of Cannae
in 216 BC. His troops held off the Italian allied cavalry successfully until Hasdrubal
and his heavy cavalry fell on the Italians from the rear. Hanno led the pursuit of the scattered Roman horse. This Hanno is identified as the same as above, or speculated as being the same person.
, Bruttium, Apulia
and Samnium
after Cannae, Hannibal sent Mago Barca
into Lucania with a detachment of troops in 216 BC to recruit troops and subjugate towns. Mago completed his mission, and when he sailed to Carthage
to report to the Carthaginian senate and ask for reinforcements, Hanno was left in command of his army. Hanno continued to subdue pro Roman towns in Bruttium. While marching back to Campania Tiberius Sempronius Longus defeated Hanno near Grumentum
, causing 2,000 casualties, and forcing Hanno to retreat back to Bruttium in early 215 BC. Hanno received the reinforcements landed by Bomilcar
, the leading Carthaginian admiral, consisting of 4,000 cavalry and 40 elephants, near Locri
and joined Hannibal near Nola
later that year. He was present at the Third Battle of Nola in the summer of 215 BC. After the battle, Hannibal sent Hanno back to Bruttium with an army.
Hanno led a mostly Bruttian army that captured Crotona in 215 BC, and with the defection of Locri, all of Bruttium except Rhegium was allied with Carthage. He had marched to join Hannibal in Campania
in early 214 BC, but, near the River Calor, at Beneventum, his army was intercepted by the praetor Gaius Grachhus and his legions of mostly freed slaves. In the ensuing combat, Hanno’s army of 17,000 foot (mostly Bruttians and Lucanians) and 1,200 horse was utterly routed, forcing Hanno to escape with only 2,000 soldiers, chiefly cavalry back to Bruttium. His situation improved when he destroyed a force of pro Roman Lucanians in early 213 BC in Bruttium.
In 212 BC, Hannibal ordered Hanno to arrange provisions for Capua, which was being threatened by the Romans. The Romans had fielded 6 legions, along with allied units and cavalry units, to besiege Capua and was circumventing that city with double palisades. Hanno, starting from Bruttium, slipped past the army of Gracchus in Lucania, then evaded the respective armies of the two consuls in Samnium, and finally reached Beneventum. He set up camp on a hill and collected provisions from his Samnite allies, then requested the Capuans for wagons to carry the provisions to Capua
from his camp. The tardiness of the Capuans, who were slow to send sufficient wagons, gave time for Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
to get wind of the enterprise from loyal Italians, and he attacked the Carthaginian camp when most of Hanno’s men were out foraging. Although the Carthaginians succeeded in repulsing the first assault, the Romans were galvanized by the actions of an Italian allied cohort and eventually captured all the supplies and wagons along with the camp.
Hanno, unable to do anything further for Capua, then retired to Bruttium, again evading the Roman armies that could have intercepted him in on the way.
in 207 BC, and was sent to Bruttium to raise fresh troops by Hannibal, another Hanno was sent to Spain in 206 BC by the Carthaginian senate, where he was defeated and captured by the Romans under Marcus Silanus in 207 BC, another Hanno was defeated and killed by L. Marcius in 206 BC near Gades and one, called the son of Bomilcar, was in command in Africa in 203 BC before the arrival of Hannibal.
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...
general who served under Hannibal during the Second Punic War. According to the historian Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, his track record was terrible: in 215 BC he was defeated by Tiberius Sempronius Longus at Grumentum
Grumentum
Grumentum was an ancient town in the centre of Lucania, in what is now the comune of Grumento Nova, c. 50 km south of Potenza by the direct road through Anxia, and 80 km by the Via Herculia, at the point of divergence of a road eastward to Heraclea.-History:The first settlements, of the...
, in 214 BC he was defeated by Gracchus at Beneventum
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
, two years later he was again defeated at Beneventum, this time by Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, son of Marcus Fulvius Flaccus , Quintus was consul in 237 BC, fighting the Gauls in northern Italy. He was censor in 231 BC, again consul in 224 BC, when he subdued the Boii...
, then in 207 BC he and Mago Barca
Mago Barca
Mago, son of Hamilcar Barca, also spelled Magon, Phoenician MGN, "God sent" , was a member of the Barcid family, and played an important role in the Second Punic War, leading forces of Carthage against the Roman Republic in Hispania, Gallia Cisalpina and Italy...
were defeated in Celtiberia
Celtiberians
The Celtiberians were Celtic-speaking people of the Iberian Peninsula in the final centuries BC. The group used the Celtic Celtiberian language.Archaeologically, the Celtiberians participated in the Hallstatt culture in what is now north-central Spain...
, and he was finally killed by Scipio Africanus
Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , also known as Scipio Africanus and Scipio the Elder, was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic...
in 204 BC.
Identity
There is a Hanno, son of BomilcarHanno, son of Bomilcar
Hanno, son of Bomilcar, was a Carthaginian officer in the Second Punic War, and nephew of Hannibal Barca, Carthages leading General as his mother was one of Hannibals three elder sisters. When Hannibal's army reached the Western bank of the Rhône River they began preparations to cross. A group of...
, who led mobile Carthaginian forces that had crossed the Rhone River
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
higher up and then attacked the Gauls
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
from the rear as they gathered to oppose the crossing of Hannibal Barca in 218 BC. Hannibal, while he prepared to cross the river on boats and rafts, had sent Hanno upstream with a mobile force of light infantry and horse. Hanno found a suitable crossing place and crossed the river with the help of inflated water skins. He took position behind the Gauls and signaled Hannibal using smoke. Hannibal then launched his boats, prompting the Gauls to form up on the riverbank to oppose the crossing. Hanno launched his attack on the rear of the Gauls just as Hannibal's men reached the opposite bank, and completely routed the enemy after taking the Gauls by complete surprise. This Hanno is of noble birth, as Bomilcar had been one of the Suffets
Shofet
In Hebrew and several other Semitic languages, shofet literally means "Judge", from the verb "Š-P-T", "to pass judgment". Cognate titles exist in other Semitic cultures, notably Phoenicia.-Hebrew:...
of 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...
. Hanno was a veteran officer who had served in the Punic armies in Spain.
Hanno is the name of the commander who commanded the Numidian cavalry on the Carthaginian right wing at the Battle of Cannae
Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
in 216 BC. His troops held off the Italian allied cavalry successfully until Hasdrubal
Hasdrubal
Hasdrubal was the name of several Carthaginian generals of the First and Second Punic Wars...
and his heavy cavalry fell on the Italians from the rear. Hanno led the pursuit of the scattered Roman horse. This Hanno is identified as the same as above, or speculated as being the same person.
Independent command
With the defection of several cities to Carthage in LucaniaLucania
Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium...
, Bruttium, Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
and Samnium
Samnium
Samnium is a Latin exonym for a region of south or south and central Italy in Roman times. The name survives in Italian today, but today's territory comprising it is only a small portion of what it once was. The populations of Samnium were called Samnites by the Romans...
after Cannae, Hannibal sent Mago Barca
Mago Barca
Mago, son of Hamilcar Barca, also spelled Magon, Phoenician MGN, "God sent" , was a member of the Barcid family, and played an important role in the Second Punic War, leading forces of Carthage against the Roman Republic in Hispania, Gallia Cisalpina and Italy...
into Lucania with a detachment of troops in 216 BC to recruit troops and subjugate towns. Mago completed his mission, and when he sailed to 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...
to report to the Carthaginian senate and ask for reinforcements, Hanno was left in command of his army. Hanno continued to subdue pro Roman towns in Bruttium. While marching back to Campania Tiberius Sempronius Longus defeated Hanno near Grumentum
Grumentum
Grumentum was an ancient town in the centre of Lucania, in what is now the comune of Grumento Nova, c. 50 km south of Potenza by the direct road through Anxia, and 80 km by the Via Herculia, at the point of divergence of a road eastward to Heraclea.-History:The first settlements, of the...
, causing 2,000 casualties, and forcing Hanno to retreat back to Bruttium in early 215 BC. Hanno received the reinforcements landed by Bomilcar
Bomilcar
Bomilcar may refer to:* Bomilcar , Carthaginian commander in the war against Agathocles* Bomilcar , Carthaginian suffete and commander in the Second Punic War, father of Hanno...
, the leading Carthaginian admiral, consisting of 4,000 cavalry and 40 elephants, near Locri
Locri
Locri is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. The name derives from the ancient Greek town Locris.-History:...
and joined Hannibal near Nola
Nola
Nola is a city and comune of Campania, southern Italy, in the province of Naples, situated in the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines...
later that year. He was present at the Third Battle of Nola in the summer of 215 BC. After the battle, Hannibal sent Hanno back to Bruttium with an army.
Hanno led a mostly Bruttian army that captured Crotona in 215 BC, and with the defection of Locri, all of Bruttium except Rhegium was allied with Carthage. He had marched to join Hannibal in Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
in early 214 BC, but, near the River Calor, at Beneventum, his army was intercepted by the praetor Gaius Grachhus and his legions of mostly freed slaves. In the ensuing combat, Hanno’s army of 17,000 foot (mostly Bruttians and Lucanians) and 1,200 horse was utterly routed, forcing Hanno to escape with only 2,000 soldiers, chiefly cavalry back to Bruttium. His situation improved when he destroyed a force of pro Roman Lucanians in early 213 BC in Bruttium.
The Capuan adventure
In 212 BC, Hannibal ordered Hanno to arrange provisions for Capua, which was being threatened by the Romans. The Romans had fielded 6 legions, along with allied units and cavalry units, to besiege Capua and was circumventing that city with double palisades. Hanno, starting from Bruttium, slipped past the army of Gracchus in Lucania, then evaded the respective armies of the two consuls in Samnium, and finally reached Beneventum. He set up camp on a hill and collected provisions from his Samnite allies, then requested the Capuans for wagons to carry the provisions to Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
from his camp. The tardiness of the Capuans, who were slow to send sufficient wagons, gave time for Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus
Quintus Fulvius Flaccus, son of Marcus Fulvius Flaccus , Quintus was consul in 237 BC, fighting the Gauls in northern Italy. He was censor in 231 BC, again consul in 224 BC, when he subdued the Boii...
to get wind of the enterprise from loyal Italians, and he attacked the Carthaginian camp when most of Hanno’s men were out foraging. Although the Carthaginians succeeded in repulsing the first assault, the Romans were galvanized by the actions of an Italian allied cohort and eventually captured all the supplies and wagons along with the camp.
Hanno, unable to do anything further for Capua, then retired to Bruttium, again evading the Roman armies that could have intercepted him in on the way.
Identity confusion
It is hard to say which Hanno is "Hanno the Elder" after 212 BC. There was a certain Hanno who was a cavalry commander at Capua, one was in command at MetapontumMetapontum
Metapontum, Metapontium or Metapontion , was an important city of Magna Graecia, situated on the gulf of Tarentum, between the river Bradanus and the Casuentus . It was distant about 20 km from Heraclea and 40 from Tarentum...
in 207 BC, and was sent to Bruttium to raise fresh troops by Hannibal, another Hanno was sent to Spain in 206 BC by the Carthaginian senate, where he was defeated and captured by the Romans under Marcus Silanus in 207 BC, another Hanno was defeated and killed by L. Marcius in 206 BC near Gades and one, called the son of Bomilcar, was in command in Africa in 203 BC before the arrival of Hannibal.