The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic

979 Pages·2010·22.77 MB·English

by  Robert L. O'Connell

THE GHOSTS
OF CANNAE

Hannibal and the Darkest
Hour of the Roman Republic

Robert L. O'Connell

Pid

RANDOM HOUSE
ALSO BY ROBERT L. O’CONNELL

Of Arms and Men:
A History of War, Weapons, and
Aggression

Sacred Vessels:
The Cult of the Battleship and the Rise
of the U.S. Navy

Ride of the Second Horseman:
The Birth and Death of War

Fast Eddie:
A Novel in Many Voices

Soul of the Sword:
An Illustrated History of Weaponry
and Warfare
from Prehistory to the Present
THE GHOSTS OF
GANDA E

Hannibal and the Darkest Hour
of the Roman Republic

ROBERT L. O'CONNELL

RANDOM HOUSE

New York
To Harry Dell, who taught me about
Greeks and Romans and even had
some sympathy for Carthage
CONTENTS

Other Books by this Author
Title Page

Dedication

List of Maps

Cast of Characters

I: TRACES OF WAR

TI: ROME

I: CARTHAGE

IV: HANNIBAL’S WAY

V: THE FOX AND THE HEDGEHOG
VI: CANNAE

VI: AFTERSHOCKS

VIII: THE AVENGERS

IX: RESURRECTING THE GHOSTS
EPILOGUE: THE SHADOW OF
CANNAE

Acknowledgments

Notes

Glossary of Latin, Military, and
Technical Terms

About the Author

Copyright
LIST OF MAPS

The Mediterranean Basin _at__the
Beginning of the Second Punic War
(218 B.C.), and Hannibal’s Lifetime
Path

The Italian Theater_and Hannibal’s
March to Cannae

Cannae: Probable Force Dispositions
Prior to Battle

Cannae: Springing the Trap

Cannae: The Trap Sprung

The Spanish Theater
CAST OF CHARACTERS

Agathocles of Syracuse—Invaded
Carthaginian North Africa in 310 B.C.
and subsequently won a victory in the
field, which prompted the revolt of
native Libyans before Agathocles was
forced to withdraw. This invasion
revealed how vulnerable Carthage was
at home.

Antiochus I1I—Basileus of the Seleucid
Empire, he made the mistake of hiring
Hannibal as a military consultant after
the Second Punic War, and then
allowed himself to be drawn into a
disastrous war with Rome that ended
with defeat at the Battle of Magnesia in
189 B.C.

Appius Claudius—Roman survivor of
Cannae who helped Scipio Africanus
put down the mutiny at Canusium and
who later joined Marcellus at the siege
of Syracuse.

Archimedes—The great Greek
mathematician who organized the
defense of Syracuse against Rome.

Hamilear Barca—Hannibal’s father,
and a commander during the First
Punic War. Hamilcar later established
the family empire in Spain and is
thought to be the source of his son’s
hatred of Rome.

Hannibal Barca—Instigator of the