Titus Livy, Book Titus Livius

Titus Livy, Book

Titus Livius (59 BC - AD 17?) lived during the reign of Octavianus Augustus. Despite having strong ties to the imperial family (Augustus's wife Livia was a member of the Livia gens, same as Titus Livius), he never occupied any public positions and gained all his fame as the author of one of the best histories of Rome.

AB urbe condita ("from the foundation of the city') is Livius' best known and only surviving work. It consisted of 142 libri (books) of which sadly just 35 survive to this day. The books covered the history of Rome since its traditional foundation in 753 BC to approximately 9 BC.

Book 21 to 45 deal with the Second Punic

War (218 BC - 201 BC) which was fought between the armies of Rome and those of Carthage commanded by Hannibal. Book 21 describes the opening moves of the war, the crossing of the Alps and the first movements in Italy up to and including the battle of Trebia.

The first part of Book 21 is a succinct summary of some of the events following the first Punic war: the mercenary revolts in Africa, quelled by Hamilcar Barcas, Hannibal's father and the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by Hamilcar, and after his death Hasdrubal, his son-in-law. Livius recounts how Hasdrubal is killed and the army chooses Hannibal as their leader. Here Livius introduces Hannibal's character, drawing a moral portrait of the general.

Next, the author proceeds to detail the siege and conquests of Saguntum, the "cassus belli" of the Second Punic War, as it violated the treaty between Romans and Carthaginians which specified that the latter shall not extend its territory beyond the river Iberus (Ebro in today Spain) and provided specifically for the liberty of the Saguntines. After defeating a coalition of local tribes, Hannibal proceeds to lay siege to Saguntum itself, during which he is himself wounded in the leg by a javelin thrown by the defenders.

The Romans decide to send an embassy to Hannibal to enforce the treaty, and from there, in case the negotiations failed and war continued, to Carthage, to demand the extradition of Hannibal in payment for the breach of the treaty. The embassy was not received by Hannibal, and its mission in Carthage proved to be a failure. Despite the eloquent intervention in the Carthaginian Senate of Hanno, the leader of the faction which advocated peace with the Romans, the Barcid faction, which supported Hannibal, proved stronger.

The siege of Saguntum, which took eight months, ended with the capture of the city, whose inhabitants were almost all enslaved or killed. Livius describes the dismay of the Romans at the news of the capture of the city and the failure of their embassy, their shame of not sending help to an ally, the fear at the prospect of facing such a fierce enemy and the fury of being made war upon by a nation they had defeated some 22 years earlier.

The Romans began preparation for the war according to their custom, levying armies from Rome and its allies and entrusting them to the consuls, in order to be able to better conduct the war. A new embassy was dispatched to Carthage, and after some failed negotiations, war was declared.

It is interesting to note here the polemic between the Carthaginians and Romans regarding the treaties concluded between them. The fact that Hannibal broke the treaty made by Hamilcar and reinforced by Hasrdubal is true, it's not less true the fact that despite the treaty concluded at the end of the first Punic War, the Romans took advantage of the internal troubles that the Carthaginians had soon after (the slave and mercenary rebellions) and conquered Corsica and Sardinia, which belonged to Carthage. This reveals that the causes and justness of the war was disputed even in ancient times. Additionally, the Romans failed to provide protection for Saguntum, even if previously promised, a fact that, Livius notes, was reproached to the Roman envoys sent to the Iberian Peninsula to incite the local tribes to rebellion and convince them to join an alliance against Hannibal. The Roman envoys are greeted even less cordially in the lands of the Gauls. It should be noted that Livius doesn't hide these facts, despite his obvious love and admiration for Roman state and is not afraid to lay bare the less honorable aspects of the Roman politics.

Following the war declaration, Hannibal, who had previously moved his troops to winter quarters back in Spain at Carthago Nova, made his own preparations, allowing his troops to rest and dispatching forces to Africa to guard Carthage and other points dimmed strategic, also ordering the levying of troops in the home country; in Spain he leaves his brother Hasdrubal with a strong garrison of African forces.

In the spring, Hannibal gathers his troops and crosses the Iberus, occupying the country between the Iberus River and the Pyrenees Mountains, completing the conquest of Spain. Leaving some troops and one of his generals, Hanno, in charge of the newly conquered territories he then proceeds to cross the mountains, arriving in the lands of the Gauls (between the Pyrenees and the Alps, in today's France). Through negotiations he succeeds in crossing their lands mostly unchallenged.

Meanwhile, in northern Italy, the Gallic tribes of the Boii and Insubres began to rebel upon hearing rumours of Hannibal's advance. They besiege the city of Mutina and ambush the armies of Praetor Manlius, who were sent to pacify them, forcing him to go on defense. Additional Roman forces were sent, and they fled to their territories. Meanwhile, the Roman Consul P. Cornelius Scipio sailed with some hastily assembled forces to Gaul, at the mouth of the River Rhone, making a camp there and sending riders to scout.

Hannibal, upon reaching the river Rhone met resistance from the Gallic tribe inhabiting the banks of the river, which tried to stop their advance. When the Romans failed to provide assistance in the defense of the river, Hannibal is able to quickly defeat this resistance by splitting his army in two, one part crossing the river through a ford at some distance away, the other by boats and rafts. After the battle, and after crossing over the war elephants, the riders sent by the Roman consul engage the Carthaginian cavalry in a short skirmish which resulted in a couple of hundred of deaths on both sides.

Hannibal, faced with the choice of a battle against this Roman army or with continuing to move towards Italy, is met by the leader of Boii tribe, who promises guides through the Alps to Italy and a safe foothold in Italy in the territories belonging to the Boii. Here Livius tells how Hannibal, before marching on, holds a speech in front of his soldiers. Hannibal's discourse, as illustrated by Livius keep nevertheless their original qualities: they were short, concise, well reasoned, easily understandable by the common soldiers and inspiring. Afterwards, Hannibal and his armies proceed through Gaul, moving away from the coast and heading to the Alps, encountering different Gallic tribes across their path.

Consul P. Cornelius Scipio, upon learning of the departure of the enemy sends his troops in Spain under the command of his brother Cnaeus Scipio, to try and take Spain from Hasdrubal, while he sailed with few troops back to Italy, to mount the resistance against Hannibal there.

Hannibal proceeded to cross the Alps, despite some resistance from the Gallic tribes inhabiting the mountains, which managed to cause him some losses, especially baggage of the army. Using guile Hannibal managed to force the passes and defeat these tribes. The snow, a new sight especially to the African troops, added to the difficulties of the crossing. The army continued the climb, reaching the summit and beginning the descent, all the way suffering losses of men, horses, elephants and equipment. Finally, they pushed through the mountains and reached the plains of northern Italy, his army very much diminished during the difficult crossing.

Once on the plains of northern Italy he encountered the tribes of Gauls and Ligurians, who flocked under his banner. Here however, he encountered the armies of Consul P. Cornelius Scipio, who had returned with his fleet from Transalpine Gaul, and, gathering the troops previously under the command of praetors Manlius and Atilius near lake Trasimenus, had set a camp near the Ticinus river. The armies of Carthage and Rome were once again face-to-face, and battle seemed unavoidable. Each of the commanders held a speech before the army, as was the custom of the time, in which they bring before the men the arguments thought best to inspire them to fight for victory.

The armies were prepared for battle, and both commanders decided on a reconnaissance in force, which led to an engagement of the cavalries of the two armies - the Battle of Ticinus. Hannibal's heavy cavalry and the light Numidian cavalry, which he employed in an outflanking maneuver, managed to route the Roman and allied force of cavalry and light skirmishers. The consul was wounded in the battle. It was here that the one who will become Hannibal's greatest rival, the consul's son Publius Cornelius Scipio, did his first deed of valor, when he helped save his father (Livius also gives the alternate account of the Consul's rescue by a Ligurian slave, but he says he wishes the most popular account, accepted by most of the historians, to be correct). After this, the Roman cavalry retreated and their army broke camp the same night and crossed the Po River to the town of Placentia (Piacenza). Pursued by Hannibal, the Consul and his army retreated further over the river Trebia and set camp in a strong position, to await the arrival of his colleague, the Consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus, who had been recalled from the operations in Sicily.

On the front in Sicily, the actions were fought mainly by the navies, with the Romans scoring a victory against a fleet of 35 quinqereme sent by Hannibal to conquer Lylibaeum and set a foot hold in Sicily. After this battle, the Consul leaves for Italy with his army, leaving a part of the fleet and some troops to guard Sicily. He soon reached northern Italy and joined Consul Cornelius Scipio at Trebia.

Here, despite the opposition of his colleague, consul Sempronius Longus met Hannibal in battle. The Carthaginian leader not only chose the ground for the confrontation, a valley surrounded by wooded hills, but he was also able to sent his brother Mago to hide with some troops to fall into the back of the Roman line once the battle was joined. He made again excellent use of his cavalry and elephants, employing them on the wings. This use of the cavalry, which defeated the weaker Roman and allied cavalry and the ambush set up by Mago proved decisive against the excellent Roman infantry, and Hannibal won a great victory. Some 10.000 Roman heavy infantry together with Consul Sempronius Longus broke through the ranks of the Carthaginians and went to Placentia, and the rest of the survivors got to the camp and from there were led by Consul Cornelius Scipio to Cremona.

After this defeat, the Consul elections were held in Rome, Flaminius and Cn. Servilius being elected Consuls for the coming year. An attempt by Hannibal to take Placentia was foiled by the garrison with the help of Consul Scipio and a number of other minor engagements were fought with different results.

In Spain, Cn. Scipio, sent by the consul with an army in order to deny Hannibal the resources of this region successfully engaged first Hanno, and then Hasdrubal, Hannibal's brother, the generals left by Hannibal to defend the Spain. He succeeded in conquering the north of the Iberian Peninsula, above the river Iberus, the territory conquered earlier by Hannibal and camped there for the winter.

Book 21 ends with a vivid description of the miracles and omens following these events. The new Consul, Flaminius, a leader of the plebeian party, leaves Rome for the troubled provinces in secret, fearing opposition from the Patricians, and takes up his office and the command of the army under very inauspicious signs.

The rest of the war is told by Livius in books 22 to 45. The war lasted for 17 years of which 15 Hannibal remained on Roman soil, dealing some of the worst defeats in the history of Rome: Trebia, Trasimenus and especially Cannae, which is still to this day one of the bloodiest battle in terms of single lives lost in a day. It was after this battle that Hannibal was so near to Rome, that his riders were seen from the city's walls. But the Romans were able to avoid major engagements after that, and Hannibal lacked the resources to assault Rome itself, and slowly the tide of war turned against him. During his absence Spain was lost, his two brothers killed in battle in Italy while trying to come to his aid with reinforcements, and Africa was invaded. The war ended when Scipio crossed the Mediterranean in Africa and menaced Carthage directly, forcing Hannibal to retreat from Italy, and finally defeating him in 202 BC at Zama (today in northern Tunisia). A rupture between Carthage and the Numidian state had occurred earlier, and Masinissa, one of the pretenders to the throne of Numidia, switched sides and fought for the Romans. Deprived of the aid of the Numidian cavalry that proved decisive in so many of his earlier battle Hannibal was unable to counter the tactics of Scipio and lost the battle, effectively losing the war.

Livius paints in his books the portraits of the most prominent men of the time who participated in the events. A few stand out: Hannibal, the central figure of the Second Punic War, young Publius Scipio (who will become Scipio Africanus), the Roman general who ended the war by defeating Hannibal at Zama, Hanno, a leader of the Carthaginian party who opposes to war, and some of the other Roman commanders and politicians.

Hannibal's portrait is painted in detail by Titus Livius. He gives his moral portrait in the opening of Book 21, attributing to Hannibal many of the virtues that Romans admired in their own legendary commanders like Cincinnatus and Furius Camillus: modesty, endurance, sobriety, fearlessness but also prudence. But Livius also attributes to him a lot of negative traits: "inhuman cruelty, more than Punic perfidy, no truth, no reverence for things sacred, no fear of the gods, no respect for oaths, no sense of religion" (Ab Urbe Condita, Titus Livius). Some of them may have been true, some necessary in time of war and in a campaign fought for so many years on enemy territory, some surely show the resentment that Roman annalists and historians (Livius' sources) had towards the great Carthaginian.

From his speeches, Hannibal is revealed as an astute commander, who knew how to motivate his men to achieve victory, with promises of fame and material gain and appeals to their sense of duty. His victories are due in part to his ability to command his men in risky maneuvers, requiring perfect discipline and the careful choice of the battlefield. The victories won reveal him as a brilliant tactician, one of the best generals of the antiquity. His battle of Cannae is an example of strategy, still studied in military schools, providing a classic example of the pincer movement. For 15 years he campaigned in enemy territory, with little support from his native Carthage, being forced to get all of his resources from uncertain allies and enemy territories.