View of the Tagus River from the Caraca archeological site in Driebes, Guadalajara. Equipo arqueologico de Caraca
Posted on 04/30/2020 6:30:41 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The year was 220 B.C. and the young Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca had to return to his winter quarters in Qart Hadasht - now Cartagena in southeast Spain - after taking Helmatica - now Salamanca in the northwest of the country - from the Vettones tribe. It was spring or summer, and the 27-year-old and his troops had to overcome two obstacles to get to their destination: firstly, the wide rivers and high mountains that were difficult for their 40 elephants to cross; the secondly, the hostile local Carpetani, Vettone and Olcade tribes, who sought revenge for the destruction of their crops and cities.
With just 25,000 soldiers, Hannibal managed to defeat 100,000 enemies. Nobody knows where exactly this battle took place, only that it happened somewhere along the banks of the Tagus River, which stretches 1,007 kilometers from the province of Teruel in Spain to Lisbon in Portugal...
The new study not only takes these descriptions and pieces of evidence into account, it also considers the physical characteristics of the Tagus and the most logical route that Hannibal would have taken to return to his winter quarters in Cartagena.
The authors of the study are convinced that Hannibal used an ancient route which would later be improved by the Romans, joining Complutum, now Alcala De Henares in Madrid region, to Carthago Nova, now Cartagena in Murcia, crossing the Tagus River close to Driebes, not far from Carpentani fortified settlement of Caraca. "The decision to attack Hannibal there was made by the Carpetani, as they knew the area well and it would also give them a leadership role within the coalition formed with the Vettones and Olcades," explains Emilio Gamo.
(Excerpt) Read more at english.elpais.com ...
I know elephants live for a long time, but I think they’re all dead by now.
But did Hannibal have Woozles with the Heffalumps?
And how did they get B.A. on the plane?
Blmk
They tricked B.A. every time
Well!
Aren’t you the wet blanket at this party!
>
why were the carhthegenians in spain instead of crossing to france or not sicily?
The story of Hannibal is quite interesting. Ultimately he was defeated because politicians decided who and where he would battle.
LOL
**I know elephants live for a long time, but I think they’re all dead by now.**
Oh, ya can’t be too sure. There might be some that escaped to Argentina, in order to avoid being tried for war crimes.
after the huge defeat of Roman legions at Cannae, all Hannibal had to do was march on Rome. But he was short on supplies and reinforcement and didn’t advance. Which politicians decided where he would go next?
Really? Don’t know much about him but i thought he answered to nobody.
Like a Napoleon.
or maybe Napoleon answered to somebody also.
My history is awful :)
The started trading colonies in Spain some 100 years or so before Hannibal.
Probably because the romans influence was less than closer to italy. I saw amp which showed larger geographic ares for the carthegenians in spring but not francs.
Hannibal underestimated the Romans. After Cannae, he expected the Romans to react sensibly and seek terms, like any rational city state of that era would do. Instead, the Romans closed their gates and raised new legions. The amazing thing is that all the Italian states allied to Rome, many of them fairly recent Roman conquests, remained loyal. The Romans had an astonishing ability to turn defeated opponents into allies, then eventually citizens. In the case of the Punic Wars, that Carthaginian thing about sacrificing children to Moloch probably played a role. The Romans were tough hombres, but some things were beyond the pale.
When the Roman general Scipio landed in North Africa, the leaders of Carthage recalled Hannibal from Italy to defend the home city.
I’m pretty sure he was recalled to Carthage to defend it against the Romans who had decided to attack Carthage instead of continuing his harassment of Rome.
But it’s been nearly 30 years since I had Western Civ.
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