Learning from the Titans
Hannibal’s Edge
Three strategic takeaways from Carthage’s near-conquest of Ancient Rome
Published in
7 min readAug 7, 2020
The Roman Empire almost wasn’t.
Twice.
In 219 B.C., Rome declared war on rival global superpower, Carthage.
Young Carthaginian tactical prodigy Hannibal had just assumed command of that nation’s Iberian forces.
He responded by marching on Rome.
Over the Alps.
With elephants.
This killed almost half of his army. But no matter. The soon-to-be-legendary Roman bogeyman and his surviving troops proceeded to mercilessly annihilate both of Rome’s defense legions in the Battles of the Trebia, and Lake Trasimene. Carthaginian casualties…
