Transcript The Battle at Cannae

The Battle at Cannae and the rise
of P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus
Chapter 2 Case Study
‘The Death of Aemilius Paulus’ by John Trumbull, The Athenaeum / Yale University Art Gallery. Licensed under public domain via Wikimedia
Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Death_of_Aemilius_Paulus.jpg#mediaviewer/File:The_Death_of_Aemilius_Paulus.jpg
The Roman forces
placed heavy legions
in the centre row with
allied troops on the wings
This simple advance
tactic did not utilize
Rome’s greater numbers,
nor did it adapt as the
battle lines changed.
Hannibal
Hannibal’s loose organization
allowed his troops to move
easily, drawing in the Roman
forces, while surrounding them.
His position on the Roman left
flank guarded his troops from
being pushed into the river.
Roman cavalry
‘Battle of Cannae, 215 BC - Initial Roman attack’ by The Department of History, United States Military Academy: http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/
/atlases/map%20home.htm. Licensed under public domain via Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Cannae,_215_BC__Initial_Roman_attack.png#mediaviewer/File:Battle_of_Cannae,_215_BC_-_Initial_Roman_attack.png. Labels added by A. Graham.
Hannibal
Moving forwards almost
lindly, the Roman legions
ressed on protected only
y the light troops at the
back, and allied troops on
n the flanks, who were
ssaulted by cavalry and
he African infantry,
espectively.
‘Battle of Cannae Destruction" by Frank Martini, cartographer, Department of History, United States Military Academy. Licensed under public domain via
Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_cannae_destruction.png#mediaviewer/File:Battle_cannae_destruction.png
Results of the Battle of Cannae
• C. 50,000-75,000 Roman men died in a day
• A number of Rome’s Greek allies pledged
allegiance to Carthage
• The Roman government is in chaos with over a
hundred Senators, a consul and many others now
deceased (remember that the first class of
Romans also had the greatest contribution to the
military)
• Hannibal, 50 miles from Rome, now appears
invincible
Aristocrat: Publius Cornelius Scipio
Africanus (236-183 BC)
• His father (L. Corn. Scipio) was censor with Duilius; his grandfather
was Scipio Barbatus, censor 280 BC, among other things.
• Elected quaestor in 213 when 22 years old. The tribunes objected,
but were overruled.
• Elected proconsul (Spain) in 211, when 25.
• Elected consul in 205 BC, when 31.
• Given agnomen Africanus in 201 BC.
• Elected censor in 199 BC, when 37; technically too young to run
for consul.
• Legacy: both sons became praetors in 174, but carried on no
further; adopted heir Scipio Aemilianus Africanus. His descendants
include Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi and Marc Antony’s
third wife, Fulvia, and Scipio Nascia, who was part of the defence
in the trial of Verrem (cf. Cicero’s In Verrem)