/https://public-media.smithsonianmag.com/filer/84/86/8486ea7f-2c03-46c4-8e6a-c2c74e1902c5/hannibal_crossing_alps.jpg)
How did Hannibal get across the Alps?
The truth about Hannibal’s route across the Alps. Their commander Hannibal marched his troops, including cavalry and African war elephants, across a high pass in the Alps to strike at Rome itself from the north of the Italian peninsula. It was one of the greatest military feats in history.
How many elephants did Hannibal take with him to Rome?
In a bold attempt to take the war directly to Rome, the Carthaginian general Hannibal marched an army across the Alps and into northern Italy. There is no real certainty of the size of force that Hannibal took with him, though estimates range from 20-40,000 infantry, 6-12,000 cavalry and 40 elephants.
Who was Hannibal and what did he do?
Having battled their deadly rivals the Romans in Spain, in 218BC the Carthaginian army made a move that no one expected. Their commander Hannibal marched his troops, including cavalry and African war elephants, across a high pass in the Alps to strike at Rome itself from the north of the Italian peninsula.
Did Hannibal’s elephants travel the Traversette?
Col de la Traversette is considered the most probable route. Researchers examined the sediment: The results of DNA and Carbon-14 analysis (a method to determine the age of organic materials) suggest that a large group of animals went on this route by the time around 218 BC. But there’s no hard evidence yet that it was Hannibal and his elephants.
See more
Who took elephants over the Alps?
HannibalIn 218 BC, 28-year old Hannibal, his soldiers, and his 37 African battle elephants marched from southern Spain to the plains of northern Italy – but took an unexpected route. Instead of following the coastline or going by sea, he crossed the Alps, to the surprise of the Roman Empire army.
Why did Hannibal cross the Alps with elephants?
Hannibal needed to reach the Alps quickly in order to beat the onset of winter. He knew that if he waited until springtime on the far side of the mountains, the Romans would have time to raise another army.
What animal did Hannibal?
elephantDuring the Italian campaign Hannibal rode an elephant through a swamp off the Arno and lost the sight in his right eye from what was probably ophthalmia. He became a one-eyed general, like Moshe Dayan.”
How many elephants did Hannibal take over the Alps?
37By most accounts Hannibal's invasion force in 218 B.C., assembled in Spain, included 100,000 men and 37 or 38 elephants.
What was the name of Hannibal's elephant?
SurusSurus: Crossing the Alps with Hannibal The sixth, a one-tusked elephant named Surus, became Hannibal's mount and mobile viewing platform in the marshes of the Arno.
How long did Hannibal take to cross the Alps?
For over 2,000 years, historians have argued over the route used by the Carthaginian general Hannibal to guide his army — 30,000 soldiers, 37 elephants and 15,000 horses — over the Alps and into Italy in just 16 days, conducting a military ambush against the Romans that was unprecedented in the history of warfare.
How many elephants died in the Alps?
Join the Community Unfortunately, all but one of Hannibal's elephants died while crossing the mountains in 218 BC. Although 36 of the 37 elephants Hannibal brought on the journey were African elephants, most likely from Morocco and Algeria, it was the sole Asian elephant that survived.
Did any of Hannibal's elephants survive?
Over half his army died in the severe, cold conditions, Hannibal himself was blinded in one eye, and it is recorded that only one of his elephants survived the trek. This lone elephant was used by Hannibal to ride in triumph into the city of Capua.
Where did Hannibal cross Pyrenees?
The Tossal de Baltarga deposit is located in the Catalan Pyrenees, specifically in the municipality of Bellver de Cerdanya, in the region of La Cerdanya (Lleida).
Who marched 40 elephants over the Alps?
commander HannibalTheir commander Hannibal marched his troops, including cavalry and African war elephants, across a high pass in the Alps to strike at Rome itself from the north of the Italian peninsula. It was one of the greatest military feats in history.
Who defeated Hannibal?
Publius Cornelius ScipioIn 203 B.C., Hannibal abandoned the struggle in Italy to defend North Africa, and he suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of Publius Cornelius Scipio at Zama the following year.
Who first used elephants in war?
The first use of war elephants in Europe was made in 318 BC by Polyperchon, one of Alexander's generals, when he besieged Megalopolis in the Peloponnesus during the wars of the Diadochi. He used 60 elephants brought from Asia with their mahouts.
Did Hannibal cross Alps with elephants?
Their commander Hannibal marched his troops, including cavalry and African war elephants, across a high pass in the Alps to strike at Rome itself from the north of the Italian peninsula. It was one of the greatest military feats in history.
How did Hannibal get the elephants to Spain?
After the first Punic war and the Mercenary war, Hamilkar Barkas was sent to Spain with a force that included 70 Elephants. This was augmented by another 100 Elephants which arrived with his son-in-law Hasdrubal, after Hamilkar had already died. Hasdrubal thus commanded ~200 Elephants that he had with him in Spain.
How many elephants died in the Alps?
Join the Community Unfortunately, all but one of Hannibal's elephants died while crossing the mountains in 218 BC. Although 36 of the 37 elephants Hannibal brought on the journey were African elephants, most likely from Morocco and Algeria, it was the sole Asian elephant that survived.
How did Hannibal feed his elephants?
1:5411:06AWA169 How did Hannibal feed his elephants in the Alps? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd 170 kilograms of feed. Per animal each day this therefore gives us a number of between ninetyMoreAnd 170 kilograms of feed. Per animal each day this therefore gives us a number of between ninety six thousand and a hundred and eight thousand eight hundred kilograms of food for the elephants.
How many elephants did Hannibal handle?
Hannibal was determined to get his whole army – men and animals – across the treacherous path through the Alps. But how did he handle 37 elephants? Expert Dr. Tori Herridge speaks with Santiago Borragan Santos, Chief Veterinarian at Cabárceno Park in Spain, to learn how the park controls Europe’s largest herd of captive African elephants.
What was Hannibal determined to do?
His soldiers might have lost all hope, but Hannibal was determined to get the men and animals across.
Which animal would follow the matriarch?
Instinctively the elephants would follow the matriarch.
Who is the matriarch of the herd?
Penny is the matriarch of the herd.
Why is it important to dominate an elephant?
The elephant is an animal that mentally considers himself superior to us, which is why it''s very important to dominate him mentally, because physically we wouldn''t be able to.
What was the significance of Hannibal's crossing of the Alps?
Hannibal's crossing of the Alps in 218 BC was one of the major events of the Second Punic War, and one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare.
Why did Hannibal want to march into the Alps?
This was one of the reasons he wanted to have allies into whose territory he could march.
How many cavalry did Hannibal have?
After receiving route information from his scouts and messages from the Celtic tribes that resided around the Alps, Hannibal set out with 90,000 heavy infantry from various African and Iberian nations, and 12,000 cavalry. From the Ebro to the Pyrenees, the Carthaginians confronted four tribes: the Illergetes, the Bargusii, the Aeronosii, and the Andosini. There were a number of cities here that Hannibal took, which Polybius does not specify. This campaign was conducted with speed in order to take as little time as possible in the reduction of this region. Polybius reports severe losses on Hannibal's part. Having reduced this area, he left his general Hanno in command of this area, specifically over the Bargusii, whom he had reason to distrust due to their affiliation with the Romans. He left his brother in control of this country with 10,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry.
What was Hannibal's mission?
This mission had the specific aim of establishing a safe place for Hannibal to debouch from the Alps into the Po valley. Hannibal did not know a great deal about the Alps, but he knew enough to know that it was going to be a difficult march. He had some scouts give him reports concerning this mountain chain, and he received reports of the difficulties to be encountered there from the Gauls themselves. He did not desire to cross this rugged mountain chain and to descend into the Po valley with exhausted troops only to have to fight a battle.
What did the Celts do in 222 BC?
In 222 BC, the Celts sent an embassy to the Roman Senate, pleading for peace. Seeing an opportunity for a triumph for themselves, the consuls (Marcus Claudius and Gnaeus Cornelius) vigorously rejected the embassy, and the Gauls prepared for war with the Romans. They hired 30,000 mercenaries from beyond the Alps and awaited the arrival of the Romans. When the campaigning season began, the consular legions were marched into the Insubres territory again. A vigorous combat took place near Mediolanum, which resulted in the leaders of the Gallic revolt turning themselves over to the Romans. With this victory, the Padane Gauls were unhappily subdued, and ripe for revolt.
How long did the Romans siege the Saguntines?
The siege took place over the course of eight months, and it is notable that the Romans did not send any aid to the Saguntines in spite of this being a part of the terms of their alliance. The Romans allowed themselves to be tied up in a war against the Illyrians, and did not treat the Carthaginian threat from Iberia with the attention that it deserved.
How long did it take Hannibal to march?
1⁄2 miles) per day. The cavalry and rear guard only took four days, a march of 30 km (19 mi) per day. In this period, the body as a whole had marched 120 km (75 mi). When Hannibal's army made contact with the Insula, he arrived in a Gallic chiefdom that was in the midst of a civil conflict.
What happened to Hannibal's elephants?
Over half his army died in the severe, cold conditions, Hannibal himself was blinded in one eye, and it is recorded that only one of his elephants survived the trek. This lone elephant was used by Hannibal to ride in triumph into the city of Capua. What happened to the animal afterwards is unknown, although the elephant certainly didn’t participate ...
Which general marched across the Alps and into northern Italy?
In a bold attempt to take the war directly to Rome, the Carthaginian general Hannibal marched an army across the Alps and into northern Italy.
What were elephants used for in the war?
They were a deadly weapon designed to charge, trample and generally create a sense of panic in the enemy, but from a Roman perspective, their use was a bizarre novelty. How Hannibal beat the Alps but couldn’t beat Rome.
Where did Hannibal's army go?
We know that Hannibal’s army went along the Rhône river in southern France, passed Avignon, and after crossing the Alps, battled near the Ticinus River, before they continued to the south of Italy. No Carthaginian documents about this have survived. But in their chronicles, Polybius (a Greek historian) and Livy (a Roman historian) describe the landscape Hannibal went through, including rivers and the elevation. They give hints of which route Hannibal’s army might have taken through the alps, even though Polybius wrote his chronicle 70 after and Livy 120 years after the event. Based on these documents, the route has been discussed over the centuries. Three possible routes match the descriptions by both Polybius and Livy:
How many people did Hannibal kill?
What we do know is that in the end, Hannibal, the Carthaginian army and their allies killed more than 500,000 people and destroyed 400 towns – but lost the war.
What was the name of the city-state that Hannibal crossed to the Mediterranean?
It marked the start of the Second Punic War, in which the two empires Carthage (a North African city-state in what is Tunisia today, led by Hannibal) and the Roman Empire were fighting over the control of the Mediterranean region.
What is the most famous event in the antique world where both elephants and mountains play a big role?
History and animals are also big interests of mine – and there is one famous event in the antique world where both elephants and mountains play a big role: Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps. In 218 BC, 28-year old Hannibal, his soldiers, and his 37 African battle elephants marched from southern Spain to the plains of northern Italy – ...
What did Hannibal say to his troops?
Now new scientific evidence points to Hannibal’s legendary route to Rome. As he led his troops into the mountains, Hannibal vo wed: “You will have the capital of Italy, the citadel of Rome, in the hollow of your hands.” (Tomas van Houtryve)
How long did it take Hannibal to cross the Pyrenees?
Much ink has been spilled in pinpointing the route of Hannibal’s improbable five-month, thousand-mile trek from Catalonia across the Pyrenees, through the Languedoc to the banks of the Rhone, and then over the Alps to the plains of Italy.
What is the name of the mountain that Allen climbed?
On Allen’s left, a cutting wind scythes across a row of rock needles and down to the valley on the Italian side, nearly 10,000 feet below. To his right, Mount Viso —the twin-peaked colossus—looms against a bowl-blue sky.
Who refuted de Beer's conclusions on Hannibal's Pass?
F.W. Walbank certainly thought so. The eminent Polybian scholar refuted de Beer’s conclusions on linguistic and timeline grounds in “Some Reflections on Hannibal’s Pass,” published in Volume 46 of The Journal of Roman Studies. His 1956 essay began with the all-time Carthaginian money quote: “Few historical problems have produced more unprofitable discussion than that of Hannibal’s pass over the Alps.” Walbank, who seemed inclined toward either Col du Clapier or Mont Cenis, was later dressed down by Geoffroy de Galbert, author of Hannibal and Caesar in the Alps, for allegedly misreading Polybius’ Greek. (If you’re keeping score, de Galbert is a Col du Clapier man.)
When was the two tiered rockfall discovered?
In 2004 Mahaney discovered a two-tiered rockfall—caused by two separate accumulations of rubble—on the Traversette’s Italian frontier. The fallen mass, he says, jibes with Polybius’ description of the rock debris that impeded the elephant brigade’s path to the valley. “None of the other passes have a deposit on the lee side,” he insists.
Where were the art stolen during the Nazi occupation?
During the Nazi occupation of France, many valuable works of art were stolen from the Jeu de Paume museum and relocated to Germany. One brave French woman kept detailed notes of the thefts
Where did Allen analyze sediment?
Allen and his crew have analyzed sediment from this boggy area just below the Col de la Traversette. (Tomas van Houtryve) Hannibal’s daring push across the Alps (imagined in an 1882 engraving) soon entered into the realm of legend. “In this case all tales were eclipsed by reality,” Livy states.
How many horses did Hannibal have?
His army consisted of some 30,000 soldiers, 15,000 horses and at least 37 elephants.
What did Hannibal's invasion create?
When talking about history it’s very easy to tumble down the “what if” road and slip up with hyperbolic statements about how certain events may have changed its course, but Hannibal’s invasion created an environment of uncertainty and fear in Rome that made way for the later rise of Caesar and the Empire that Rome eventually became.
Where did the crossing of the Col de la Traversette occur?
Solid evidence in the form of ancient dung microbes, has led Microbiologists to believe that the crossing occurred in the Col de la Traversette pass between France and Italy. The findings, published this week in the journal Archaeometry, may have finally settled this long standing puzzle of history.
Where did the Romans guide elephants?
That's right: He guided war elephants from the sunbaked continent of Africa through the snow covered mountains of France and Italy. Imagine the Romans’ terror and disbelief at seeing elephants coming down from the mountains, let alone a full army.
Who was the commander of the Carthaginians?
In 218 BCE, the legendary general Hannibal led his army of Carthaginians (an ancient hellenistic empire of Northern Africa) through Spain, over the frostbitten crags of the Alps, and sweeping down into Italy from the North bringing the Roman Empire to the brink of destruction. His decisive thrashings of Roman forces in Northern Italy earned him fame as one of the greatest military commanders in history. Yet despite the popularity of his alpine campaign, historians have argued for thousands of years over what exact route the ambitious commander took to successfully march his army through the Alps. That is, perhaps, until now.
What is mass animal deposition?
What’s more, the "mass animal deposition" as the researchers are calling it, “lies within a churned-up mass from a 1-metre thick alluvial mire , produced by the constant movement of thousands of animals and humans,” said Allen.
Overview
Hannibal's crossing of the Alps in 218 BC was one of the major events of the Second Punic War, and one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare. Hannibal managed to lead his Carthaginian army over the Alps and into Italy to take the war directly to the Roman Republic, bypassing Roman and allied land garrisons and Roman naval dominance.
Background
After the final Carthaginian naval defeat at the Aegates Islands, the Carthaginians surrendered and accepted defeat in the First Punic War. Hamilcar Barca (Barca meaning lightning), a leading member of the patriotic Barcine party in Carthage and a capable general in the First Punic War, sought to remedy the losses that Carthage had suffered in Sicily to the Romans. In addition to this, the Carthaginians (and Hamilcar personally) were embittered by the loss of Sardinia. After t…
Roman foreign relations
Hannibal was informed of Roman politics, and saw that this was the opportune time to attack. He had Gallic spies in every corner of the Roman Republic, even within the inner circles of the Senate itself. The Romans had spent the years since the end of the First Punic War (264-241 BC) tightening their grip on the peninsula by taking important geographical positions in the peninsula in addition to extending Rome's grip on Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia.
Preparations
Hannibal, aware of the situation, sent a number of embassies to the Gallic tribes in the Po valley. In 220 BC, he had begun to communicate intimately with the Padane Gauls (called the "Padane Gauls" because the Po in this era was called the "Padus" by the Romans), and these embassies brought with them offers of money, food and guides to the Carthaginian.
Siege of Saguntum
These preparations being completed, Hannibal sought to induce the Saguntines to come to arms with him and thereby declare war on Rome through her proxy. He did not desire to break the peace himself, and resorted to a variety of stratagems in order to induce the Saguntines to attack. However, the Saguntines did nothing except send a diplomatic mission to the Romans to complain about the belligerence of the Carthaginians. The Senate, in its turn, sent a committee t…
March through the Pyrenees
Hannibal had spent the winter after the siege of Saguntum in Cartagena, during which time he dismissed his troops to their own localities. He did this with the hope of cultivating the best possible morale in his army for the upcoming campaign, which he knew was going to be difficult. He left his brother, Hasdrubal in charge of the administration of Carthaginian Iberia, as well as its …
March to the Rhône
The march to the Rhône after the descent through the Pyrenees was mostly uneventful for the Carthaginians, who had just spent the previous July and August subduing numerous fierce peoples living in the Pyrenees. The countries through which they passed were of different opinions concerning the Carthaginians, the Romans, and the passage of Hannibal's army through their land. Some of these tribes were friendly to Hannibal's cause, while others were opposed to …
Crossing the Rhône
Much of Hannibal's marches are shrouded in debate, especially the debate concerning the path he opted to employ over the Alps. However, modern historians agree on where Hannibal encamped his army on the western bank on the Rhône and see the river crossing as clearly conceived and crisply executed.
While Rome had been idle and leaving her allies in Catalonia to their fate at th…