[budj]

And the most incredible "could have been" was Hannibal's decision not to take Rome after he destroyed their last army at the Battle of Cannae, in 216 BC. He had never lost to a Roman army, and beat them in five major battles. He hated Rome and would have annihilated the city and everyone in it.

Just think: no Romans running Jerusalem when Christ was born; no Roman empire; no "Romance" languages (French, Italian, Spanish). There would have been no Roman Vatican.

A fundamental determination of history.

[Verginius Rufus]

Hannibal has been criticized for not marching on Rome after his victory at Cannae, but it’s doubtful that he could have captured the city, given the length of the city walls and the size of the forces at his command. As long as the Romans had armies in the field, Hannibal could not win the war.