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HISTORICAL PE

CarthaginianBY DAN FOU

homajor

Introduction

Have you ever fo

pernicious habit

same names forbut they didn't use first or middl

Hasdrubals, Hamilcars, Bomilcar

have perplexed scholars and w

scorecard of Carthaginian gener

offered as relief for this vexing p

same names are repeated regular

of Carthaginian history). In orde

this confusing mess, each group

will be presented under the follocommanders will be listed and n

importance. Each general will b

with a list of battles. His counter

Second, the minor commanders

with a brief description.

The Hannibals

Fortunately, there was only one majorcommander named Hannibal during theSecond Punic War.

Hannibal Barca (#1)

Eldest son of Hamilcar Barca.

Born 247 BC. Subordinate ofHasdrubal the Splendid 229

221 BC in Spain. Commander in Chief ofthe Carthaginian Armed Forces, 221-201

BC. Theater Commander in Spain, 221218BC; Italy, 218-203 BC; and Africa, 203-201BC. Committed suicide to avoid capture bthe Romans in Bythinia, 181 BC. Counter:SPQR.

Battles: OC at Ticinus (W); Trebbia (W);

Trasimene (W); Cannae (W); Zama (L);Advisor at Magnesia.

SPECTIVE

Commanders of the 2NIE

as who in the Second Punic War? Acommanders and other leaders who

nd yourself confused by the

f the Carthaginians of using the

ll their generals? Not only that,e names either. The dozens of

s, Hannos, Hannibals and Magos

rgamers alike. Well, this

als of the Second Punic War is

roblem. (But be warned, the

ly throughout the other centuries

to bring a little organization to

of generals with the same name

ing format: First, majormbered, in a subjective order of

described in a short biography,

's source of origin is then listed.

of the same name will be listed,

Other Hannibals:Hannibal Monomachus (#2)A subordinate of the great Hannibal. No

recorded commands of any note. He isremembered chiefly for his logisticadvice before crossing the Alps. Hisplan to avert any food shortage was to

have the troops eat any of their com-rades who fell by the wayside. Hence

his catchy nickname, Hannibal theCannibal. By the way, no one appears tohave taken his idea seriously, except forRoman propagandists.

Hannibal (#3)

A junior officer on Hannibal's staff. Hewas sent as an escort with Hannibal'sagents Epicydes and Hippocrates fromItaly to Syracuse, Sicily in 215 BC.

The Has

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that plZamawas anHasdr

HamilsplendcommHamilcassassby HaSplendbut lai

in Spaiin SpaiGaul athe Bat

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lbumMetau r

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Theateand insuccesiAfricanHasdravoid lCarthaHasdrtemptrsucces

Both S

d Punic War

scoreboard listing withfought for Carthage.

drubals

ere four major commanders

Hasdrubal, as well as a fewasdrubals, a source of consider-

nfusion in many Punic War

s (including questionable calls innd the Consul for Rome Modulece Hasdrubal Gisgo at Cannae,nd Trebbia). By the way, there

other general of this name,bal the Splendid, who was

ar Barca's son-in-law. Thed one served as the Carthaginiannder in Spain from the death ofar Barca (229 BC) until he wasinated in 221 BC and succeedednibal (#1). So Hasdrubal theid missed the Second Punic War,

much of the groundwork for it.

Hasdrubal Barca (#1)The second son of HamilcarBarca. Born 244 BC. Subordi-nate of his brother Hannibal

, 221-218 BC. Theater Commander, 218-208 BC; Army Commander ind Italy 208-207 BC. Died fighting at

tle of the Metaurus in 207 BC.

r: Africanus/ C3iNr.4.: OC at Dertosa (L); Castrum(W); Ilorca (W); Baecula (L);s (L).

Hasdrubal Gisgo (#2)The son of Gisgo (a famousgeneral of the First Punic Warand rival of Hamilcar Barca).

ommander in Spain, 214-208 BC.

Commander in Spain 208-206 BC;frica 205-203 BC. Following three

ve defeats at the hands of Scipious (Ilipa, Utica and Great Plains),bal Gisgo committed suicide tonching by an angry mob ine in 203 BC. On the other hand,bal Gisgo's daughter, the beautifulss Sophonisba, proved veryful at seducing Numidian Kings.

phax and

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Masinissa married her, before Scipio hadMasinissa force her to drink poison.

Counter: Africanus/ C3i Nr.4.Battles: OCat Castulo (W); Ilipa (L);

Great Plains (L).

Hasdrubal (#3)One of Hannibal's marshals.Served variously as Chief of

Staff, Quartermaster General

and Cavalry Commander, in Italy 218203.His greatest moment came when hecommanded the Iberian and Gaulic heavycavalry at Cannae. Hasdrubal first

crushed the Roman cavalrywing, thenrode clear around the rear of the Romanarmy to rout the Allied cavalry wing andfinally charged the rear of the Roman

legions. This display of control over amass of barbarian cavalry is anunparallelled feat in the annals of militaryhistory.

Counter: generic Hasdrubal from SPQR.

Battles: Subordinate at Trebbia; CannaepossiblyZama.

Hasdrubal Calvos (#4)

The Bald. Commanded the invasion o

Sardinia, in 215 BC and taken captive athe Battle of Caralis.

OtherHasdrubals:

Hasdrubal (#5)

An admiral, he led the Carthaginian homfleet against Scipio's invasion, 204-202BC.

Hasdrubal the Kid (#6)

Leader of the pacifist, anti-Barca factioin the Carthaginian Senate at the end othe war, 205-201 BC.

The Hannos

The Hannos present the most problemsin identification. Not only were there

plenty of them around (ten listed here),but it's also just about impossible to trackany one Hanno throughout the war. Justabout all the Hannos were captured inthere first engagement, but we can't besure these Hannos weren't released laterfor ransom or in exchanges. Many of theseHannos may actually be the same guy,but there's no way to tell. Anyway,heregoes.

So far, there is only thegeneric Hanno counter

from SPQR to representall of them.

The Great Battles of Hi

Hanno son of Bomilcar (#1)

His father was Bomilcar the Suffete

(something like a consul or president),

not Bomilcar the admiral. Another of

Hannibal's marshals in Italy, 218-203BC. Army Commander and MilitaryGovernor of Lucania, in Italy, 215-203BC. Notable actions include commandof the flanking force at the crossing of

the Rhone River in 218 BC; Polybiuscredits Hanno with command of theNumidian cavalry at Cannae (Livynames Maharbal here); OC at the battlesof Beneventum 214 BC and a battle inBruttium 213 BC; active at the siege ofCapua, 212-211 BC. During theMetaurus campaign, Hanno brought his

corps up to Metapontum, in Apulia, to

reinforce Hannibal's main army. Hannowas then sent back to Bruttium to levyfresh forces. Led the advance party

when Hannibal returned to Africa

in 203 BC.

Battles: Subordinate at Trebbia; Cannae.

OC at Beneventum (L) (not the SPQRscenario, a later battle in 214 BC);

Subordinate at Zama.

Hanno (#2)

Army commander in Sicily from 212 to211 BC. Initially successful, he became

ealous of his subordinate cavalry

commander, Muttines (see below), andsacked him. Deserted by his Numidiancavalry, he was defeated and driven

from the island.

Hanno (#3)

Army Commander in Northern Spain,218 BC. Captured in 218 BC atthe BattleCissa, along with Indibilis, the IberianChief of the Illergetes. Indibilis waslater released, so this Hanno may havealso been freed. Some translations ofPolybius name this Hanno as one ofHannibal's brothers. In other transla-

tions the brotherlabel in the same

passage applies to Hasdrubal. So thiscould be the fourth son of HamilcarBarca, and possibly the same as Hanno#5 below. Maybe so, but he sure didn'tfight like a brother of Hannibal.

Hanno (#4)

Commander of a small reinforcingarmy sent from Africa to Spain in 207BC. Fought under Mago Barca'scommand and was captured at Celt-Iberia in 207 BC.

Battles: Subordinate at Celt-Iberia.

Hanno

Many

Hannofourth

calls hiwere awho kAfrica.

AgathoSome hthe sa

Battle:

Hanno (

Genera216 BCsubordduring

followeCaralis,

Other H

Hanno (

Garriso212-21in 211

Hanno (

Cavalrin Spairesistaby MarAfrica.

and/orHanno (

CavalryAmbushistoriof the

Tower.as #3 a

Hanno t

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at Phahave rachievLibyan

followeBC) duremainAfrica

becam247-24Revolt (botche

to surrHannothe wa

tion int

tory Series: SPQRon of Hamilcar (#5)

istorians maintain that this

was Hannibal's brother and aon of Hamilcar Barca, since Livy

m a son of Hamilcar. But thereot of other Hamilcars around, soows. Cavalry commander inKilled at the Battle of

les Tower in Africa, 204 BC.istorians believe this Hanno ise as #3, #8 and/or #9.

OC at Agathocles Tower(L).

6)

l and agent. Entered Sardinia inand instigated a native revolt. A

inate under Hasdrubal Calvosthe invasion of Sardinia that

d. Captured at the battle of215 BC.

nnos:

7)

commandant at Capua, in Italy1 BC. Captured when Capua fell

C.

8)

commander under Mago Barcain 206 BC. Attempted to rally

ce after Ilipa, but was defeatedcius Septimus. Escaped to

ay be the same man as #3, #5

#9.9)

commander in Africa, 204 BC.hed and killed by Scipio. Manyns feel this incident is a doublet

anno # 5 killed at Agathocles'

Could also be the same Hannond/or #8.

e Great (#10)

tiochus the Great (loser atia) and Pompey the Great (loser

salus) Hanno doesn't seem toally earned his title. Hannod his fame suppressing theand Numidian revolts that

d the invasion of Regulus (255ing the First Punic War. Hanno

ed as commander-in-chief inhile his rival, Hamilcar Barca

the commander in Sicily from2 BC. When the Mercenary241-239 BC) broke out, Hanno

the initial campaigns and had

nder his command to Hamilcar.returned to a command, late in

and survived with his reputa-

act. Hanno became the leader of

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Carthaginian Commandersthe appeasement/anti-Barca faction inthe Carthaginian Senate from 238 untilat least 215 BC. He was too old to do

any military campaigning during theSecond Punic War.

The Magos

There was only two major commandersnamed Mago, fortunately. But of course

there were others.

Mago Barca (#1)

The third son of Hamilcar

Barca.Bornaround240 BC.

Subordinate of his brother

Hannibal in Gaul and Italy, 218-216 BC.Led an important mission to theCarthaginian senate in 215 BC. Army

Commander in Spain, 215-206 BCwherehe fought numerous actions.Commanded the invasion of Liguria

in 205 BC, a campaign that culminated

in the extremely hardfought Battle of thePo River, 203 BC, where Mago wasseverely wounded. Died of his wounds,while sailing from Liguria to Africa in203 BC.

Counter: So far there is only a genericMago from SPQR (new counter in future

C3imagazine insert).

Battles: Subordinate at Trebbia;

Trasimene;Cannae;Castrum Album; Castulo;Ilipa.OC at Celt-Iberia (L);Po River(L).

Mago the Samnite (#2)

Another of Hannibal's marshalls in Italy,

215-203 BC. Polybius says hewas a seniorgeneral of equal rank with Hannibal,therefore they always operated separatelyso they would not have to share thecommander's portion of loot. Notmentioned in the early Italian campaigns,he may have arrived later. ArmyCommander and Military Governor of

Bruttium, 212-203 BC, heoften worked intandem with Hanno (#1). Ambushed and

killed the Roman Consul TiberiusSempronius Gracchus in212 BC.

Mago (#3)

Livy says this Mago was a relative of theBarcas. He was a subordinate commanderat the Battle of Caralis in Sardinia, 215BC, where he was captured.

Other Magos:

Mago (#4)

Commander of the Carthaginiangarrison at New Carthage, Spain.

Captured when the city fell in 210 BC.

Mago (#5)

An ambassador sent by Hannibal tonegotiate an alliance with King Philip of

Macedon in 215 BC.The Himilcos

There was only one important Himilco

in the Second Punic War, and a handfulof lesser Himilcos. There seems to havebeen a tendency among the ancienthistorians (not to mention the rest of us)to confuse Himilcos and Hamilcars.

Himilcos (#1)

Deputy Commander in Spain underHasdrubal Barca from 218 to 215 BC.

Defeated in a naval battle at the Ebroriver, 217 BC. Brought fresh drafts oftroops from Africa to Spain in 216 BC,

before the Battle of Dertosa.

Commander of the Carthaginianinvasion of Sicily, in support of therebelling city of Syracuse, 214-212 BC.Came near to reconquering Sicily forCarthage, but died of the plague along

with most of his army outside Syracusein 212 BC. Polybius gives his name asHamilcar in one reference, but Livyconsistently sticks with Himilco inmultiple references.

Other Himilcos:

Himilco (#2)

GarrisonCommandant at CastuloinSpain. Captured when the city fell in

206 BC.

Himilco (#3)

Senator, leader of the pro-Barca factionduring debates in 215 BC after the Battle

of Cannae.

The Hamilcars

Although Hamilcar was a very popularname in practically all of Carthage'sother wars, there were no Hamilcars of

significance in the Second Punic War.

Of course, Hamilcar Barca's long shadow

dominated much of the war effort, notonly through his sons (Hannibal,Hasdrubal, Mago and maybe Hanno)

but in that he trained the officers andmen and planned the invasion of Italy.

Hamilcar (#1)

A subordinate officer with Hannibal inItaly. Served with Hanno (#1) and Mago

the Samnite (#2) in Lucania & Bruttium,216-203 BC. Took Petelia in Bruttium bysiege in 216 BC and was the GarrisonCommandant of Locri in 205 BC.

Sometimes called Himilco in the sources.

Hamilcar son of Bomilcar (#2)

Possibly the brother of Hanno (#1). Anarmy commander in Spain, in 214 BC.

Only mentioned once, he may have onlybeen a recruiting officer bringing a freshlevy of African troops over. Could be thesame man as Hamilcar (#4) below.

Hamilcar son of Gisgo (#3)

Probably the brother of Hasdrubal (#2).Garrison Commandant of Malta,captured when the island was seized bythe Roman navy in 218 BC.

Hamilcar (#4)

An admiral, successfully raided Sardinia

in 210 BC. Possibly Hamilcar #2.

The Bostars

None of the Bostars amounted to muchin this war, but here they are anyway.

Bostar (#1)

A subordinate general under Hasdrubal

Barca in Spain in 217 BC. Bostar wasdirected to screen the Roman army,while Hasdrubal was busy in southernSpain. Polybius comments that he was

unusually gullible for a Carthaginian.Bostar was outwitted by Publius andGnaeus Scipio and an Iberian noblenamed Abelux. They tricked him intofoolishly releasing all the hostages beingheld in Saguntum. This Bostar is never

heard of again after this sorry incident.

Bostar (#2)

Garrison Commandant at Capua in Italy.Captured when the city fell in 211 BC.

Bostar (#3)

An ambassador sent by Hannibal tonegotiate an alliance with King Philip ofMacedon in 215 BC.

Less Common Names:

Maharbal

Son of Himilco. Famous as Hannibal'stop cavalry general, he was a versatile

marshal. When Hannibal had totemporarily leave the siege of Saguntumin 219 BC, he put Maharbal in charge ofhis entire army and all siege operations.

In a notable cavalry action following theBattle of Lake Trasimene, Maharbaldefeated a force of 4,000 Roman cavalryin Umbria. Livy says he commanded the

Numidians at the Battle of Cannae(Polybius says it was Hanno).

Battles: OC at Umbria (W).

Subordinate at Trebbia; Trasimene;

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Cannae; possiblyZama.

Muttines/Myttines

A Liby-Phonecian half-breed general.A superb commander of Numidian

cavalry. He was sent by Hannibalfrom Italy to take over command of thePunic cavalry in Sicily in 211 BC.

Through his audacious and

aggressive cavalry raiding hemanaged to reverse the failingfortunes of Carthage on the island.However, his blue-bloodCarthaginian commander, Hanno #2,became jealous of his success, andremoved him from his command on

the eve of the Battle of Himera 211 BC.The Numidian horsemen mutinied,the battle was lost and Muttinestook a hike, and joined the Roman

team. He later shows up as L.Valerius Myttines, a Roman citizenand commander of auxiliary cavalrywith Lucius Scipio in the Magnesiacampaign (War Elephant Module).

Battles: Subordinate atMagnesia(with the Roman side).

Carthalo

Cavalry commander with Hannibalin Italy, 218-209 BC. Commanded acavalry unit at Cannae, and forced the

The Great Battles of Hisurrender of the Roman camp guard.Assigned as commandant of the garrisonin Tarentum, 211 BC. Killed when

Tarentum fell to Fabius in 209 BC.

Battles: Subordinate at Trebbia andCannae.

Bomilcar

Admiral of the Carthaginian HomeFleet from 218-211 BC. He was either a

staunch adherent of the fleet in beingtheory, or a coward. He sailed his largefleet (140 quinqeremes) all over African,Sicilian, Italian and even Greek waters,but always managed to avoid combatwith the Roman navy, even when heoutnumbered their fleet considerably.

Adherbal

Prefect of Gades in Spain, 206 BC.

Commanded a small naval squadron inan action against the Roman navy at thePillars of Hercules (straits of Gibraltar).

Gisgo

A minor officer in Hannibal's army, hegained fame from an anecdote recordedof Hannibal on the eve of the battle of

Cannae. As Hannibal rode forward witha small group of staff officers to observethe Roman army forming up, he noticed

that hisby the86,000find m

those tnot one

Sources:

PolybiuancientdiscrepbetweePlutarcNepos p

Warnin

Many gidentifyexamplof Cann

(#1) orbattle,

remem

doesn't

Note:

(W) sig

Loss. O

story Series: SPQRjunior officers seemed dismayedheer size of the Roman host of

men. Hannibal quipped "What Ist amazing is that amongst all

ns of thousands of men, there isnamed Gisgo!".

s and Livy are the primarysources. One will often findncies in Carthaginian namesdifferent translations. Diodorus,

h, Dio Cassius, Appian androvide a few details.

:

eneral histories incorrectlyCarthaginian generals. For, many descriptions of the Battle

ae place either Hasdrubal Barca

asdrubal Gisgo (#2) at thathen neither was there. So

er, just because you see it in print

ean it's true.

ifies a Win; (D) a Draw; (L) a

signifies Overall Commander.