Hannibal From Rome To Zama

*Hannibal strategy:
Hannibal wanted to free Carthage from Roman pressure not destroying Rome. He thought that his victories would halt the Roman alliances with the rest of the Italian cities.

Hannibal recognized that he can't rely on the Italian cities. He decided to make alliance with Phillip V, king of Macedon. However, he wasn't able to supply with a navy. The alliance failed and Rome supplied the king of Macedon with navy.

Besides, after the death of Hiero, ruler of Syracuse, his successor made an  alliance with Hannibal. People in Syracuse rose up and killed the new ruler. The alliance ended and Sicily restored by Roman in 211BC.

Hannibal controlled much of Campania and Southern Italy. Despite his superiority and tactical skills, Hannibal was unable to withstand the new Roman tactic. They start with Capua which fell in 211.

Hannibal route of invasion

Roman army started to make pressure on the Carthaginian territory outside Italy. They took Carthegena in 209BC. Hannibal brother, Hasdrubal, was defeated by Roman army led by Scipio Africanus Hasdrubal wanted to join Hannibal in Italy, but surprised by Scipio forces near Metauro. He was beheaded and his head was thrown into Hannibal camp. It became obvious for him that he can't rely on senators in Carthage.

In 206BC, Carthaginians were expelled from Spain. Two years later, Romans landed in Africa and Hannibal was forced to come back. After the reinforcement, he confronted Roman army in Zama. He was cheated by Numidian king Massinissa. The Numidian horsemen supported Rome and destroyed Carthaginian army. This battle is known as the Battle of  Zama, 202BC.

A hostile peace treaty was signed, Carthage territory restricted, heavy taxes and no war without Rome permission. Hannibal returned to private life.

TO BE CONTINUED

   

Introduction To Roman Tunisia

After the unification of the Italic peninsula, Rome came into conflicts with Carthage, a commercial power. The Roman ambitious started to emerge. They considered the Mediterranean Sea as theirs "Mare Nostrum". Thus the position of Carthage is strategic. With its destruction in 146BC, Rome became the new ruler of the territory. They ruled a territory that included the western and eastern coasts. Numidian kingdom stayed independent after the support of its king Massinissa.  With the strait of Messine, Rome controlled the universal wealth for more than six centuries.    


During the Roman civil war, the rulers of Numidia supported his rival Pompey. Caesar sent his army to Africa and defeated them in 46BC at Thapsus, actual Ras-Dimas , Tunisia.

To punish the Numidian kings, Caesar decided to annexe their kingdom to the Roman territory. The Numidian kingdom includes the east of Algeria and the west of Tunisia.This part was called Africa Nova "New Africa" while the first territory was known as Africa Vetus "Old Africa"  The new roman province  was ruled by a governor named by the Roman Consul.Since it became Africa proconsularis. Even with the transformation of Rome into an empire,Africa kept the name of proconsularis.

Map of the Proconsularis: It included the eastern part of Algeria