If
history
is
written
by
the
victors,
can
we
really
know
Hannibal,
whose
portrait
we
see
through
the
eyes
of
his
Roman
conquerors?
Hannibal
lived
a
life
of
incredible
feats
of
daring
and
survival,
massive
military
engagements,
and
ultimate
defeat.
A
citizen
of
Carthage
and
military
commander
in
Punic
Spain,
he
famously
marched
his
war
elephants
and
huge
army
over
the
Alps
into
Rome’s
own
heartland
to
fight
the
Second
Punic
War.
Yet
the
Romans
were
the
ultimate
victors.
They
eventually
captured
and
destroyed
Carthage,
and
thus
it
was
they
who
wrote
the
legend
of
Hannibal:
a
brilliant
and
worthy
enemy
whose
defeat
represented
military
glory
for
Rome.
In
this
groundbreaking
biography
Eve
MacDonald
expands
the
memory
of
Hannibal
beyond
his
military
feats
and
tactics.
She
considers
him
in
the
wider
context
of
the
society
and
vibrant
culture
of
Carthage
which
shaped
him
and
his
family,
employing
archaeological
findings
and
documentary
sources
not
only
from
Rome
but
also
the
wider
Mediterranean
world
of
the
third
century
B.C.
MacDonald
also
analyzes
Hannibal’s
legend
over
the
millennia,
exploring
how
statuary,
Jacobean
tragedy,
opera,
nineteenth-century
fiction,
and
other
depictions
illuminate
the
character
of
one
of
the
most
fascinating
military
personalities
in
all
of
history.
Recenzii
“Eve
MacDonald
has
written
one
of
the
best
biographies
of
Hannibal,
at
once
readable
and
n/a
Erskine,
author
of
Roman
Imperialism
'Who
was
Hannibal?
What
motivated
his
epic
struggle
against
Rome?
And
how
has
history
remembered
him?
Eve
MacDonald’s
book
does
not
just
tell
the
story
of
Hannibal;
it
offers
an
acute
analysis
of
the
evidence
documenting
his
fascinating
life
and
times.'
- Kathryn
Tempest,
author
of
Cicero:
Politics
and
Persuasion
in
Ancient
Rome
'Eve
MacDonald
has
produced
a
real
page-turner
in
this
lucid
account
of
Hannibal,
the
Carthaginian
general
whose
invasion
of
Italy
brought
republican
Rome
almost
to
her
knees.
She
has
succeeded
brilliantly
in
unpicking
the
military
and
naval
drama
of
the
First
and
Second
Punic
Wars,
giving
the
reader
an
acute
sense
not
just
of
what
Hellenistic
warfare
was
like
with
all
its
brutality
but
also
of
what
was
at
stake
for
both
Carthage
and
Rome
as
they
wrestled
for
hegemony
in
the
western
Mediterranean.
Her
command
of
the
ancient
evidence
is
authoritative
and
she
gives
proper
weight
to
the
problems,
but
she
always
keeps
a
tight
grip
on
the
narrative
thread.
A
truly
illuminating
read.'
-
Antony
Spawforth,
co-author
ofThe
Oxford
Classical
Dictionary
Nota biografica
An
archaeologist,
lecturer,
and
travel
guide,
Eve
MacDonald
is
currently
lecturer
in
ancient
history
at
Cardiff
University.
She
lives
in
London.
