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Hannibal Crosses the Alps: The Invasion of Italy & the Second Punic War
When he left his Spanish base one spring day in 218 B.C. with his 100,000-man army of mercenaries, officers, and elephants, Hannibal was launching not just the main offensive of the Second Punic War but also one of the great military journeys in ancient history. His masterful advance through rough terrain and fierce Celtic tribes proved his worth as a leader, but it was his extraordinary passage through the Alps—still considered treacherous even by modern climbers—that made him a legend. John Prevas combines rigorous research of ancient sources with his own excursions through the icy peaks to bring to life this awesome trek, solving the centuries-old question of Hannibal's exact route and shedding fresh light on the cultures of Rome and Carthage along the way. Here is the finest kind of history, sure to appeal to readers of Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire: alive with grand strategy, the clash of empires, fabulous courage, and the towering figure of Hannibal Barca.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 28, 2016
The book, rather short, is also much longer than really needed, the author repeating himself, well, repeatedly, while the quality of the maps that are to support his alternate views on where Hannibal crossed the alps are lacking. That said, it's still a thoroughly entertaining book.
A few tidbits...
Romulus was actually the grandson of Aeneas, according to roman myth the founder of Rome. Aeneas, after fleeing Troy, Ilium, having been defeated by mainland Greeks, and after spending a year in Carthage, cavorting with the legendary queen-founder of Carthage, Dido, herself having fled Tyre after her husband had been murdered by her ambitious brother, arrived in Rome to try his luck anew. (And, incidentally, this foundation story is part of the reason Romans had a love/hate relationship with Greece, Troy having been defeated by the brothers from across the Adriatic.)
The long arm of history is fascinating. After Carthage lost the first Punic war and their colonies in Sicily, a defeated Carthage saw Rome also take control of Corsica and Sardinia. Then, nursing themselves back to health, Hannibal's father Hamilcar, convinced the Carthaginian senate to move into Spain, both to be able to pay their remunerations to Rome and to rebuild their empire in preparation for revenge for the defeat Hamilcar suffered in Sicily after the Carthaginian senate told him to withdraw.
Over many years, Hamilcar effectively carved out his own personal empire in Spain, submitting the Celtic, Iberian and Celtoiberian tribes to his and Carthaginian control.
On one outing, Hamilcar and two of his sons were cut off from the main force. Hamilcar ordered his sons to take a particular route to evade capture, while he himself was going to take a more dangerous course, in the hope of diverting the enemy forces and save his sons. His sons were saved, including his oldest, Hannibal, still too young to take over from his father, but Hamilcar was killed in action.
Hamilcar's son in law took over as commander in Spain. Deploying punitive raids on the tribes responsible for the death of his father in law, Hasdrubal ended up extending control of the peninsula, submitting more tribes to his rule and increasing the family's riches.
In the process, Hasdrubal founded the capital of the dominion of the Barca family on the south coast of Spain, New Carthage, Carthago Nova, now Carthagena.
Now, when the spaniards ventured into South America some 1700 years later, one of their cities in the new world was named after Carthagena, itself named after, what was until the Romans finally defeated the Carthaginians at the end of the third Punic war, the most important power in the Mediterranean, Carthage, a city that, by the time Carthagena was founded in modern day Bolivia, had ceased to exist for more than one and a half millennia.
Salient detail, Carthago derives from the Punic for 'new city', that is, the new Tyre, meaning that Carthagena in Colombia is like the new new new city. Or new new new rock, as 'Tyre' derives from the Phoenician for 'rock'.
Alexander's conquering of Asia took his men on a 10 year round trip of the Persian empire, conquering it completely in the process. Hannibal took his men across the Pyrenees and then the alps, the Romans eventually refusing to engage him at the gates of Rome itself, after devastating campaigns in northern Italy. The men that did return with him only did so after an unbelievable seventeen years.
Hannibal had soldiers from the Belearics in his army. They had slingers for weapons, also the root for the name of the group of islands. These Belearics slingers didn't demand payment in coin or gold, but in captured women.
Barcelona derives from the Punic for 'camp of the Barcas', 'Barca' being hannibal's family name.
Also fascinating is Hannibal's life story after almost two decades fighting in Italy, missing perhaps two opportunities of taking Rome itself, which would have completely changed the history of the world.
After Rome eventually controlled Spain, Hannibal was called back to Carthage to protect the city against a Roman attack. Eventually, Rome was able to enforce a treaty quite unfavorable to Carthage. However, Hannibal remained and even became consul for a while, introducing a number of democratizing measures in the city state.
True or not, Hannibal was then accused of again plotting against the Romans, after which he first fled to the eastern Mediterranean to offer his services in fighting Rome, there, eventually unsuccessful, continuing his objective in southern turkey. There, too, the Romans eventually defeated him, demanding his personal surrender. Instead, Hannibal chose to kill himself by taking poison, at the age of 64.
A few tidbits...
Romulus was actually the grandson of Aeneas, according to roman myth the founder of Rome. Aeneas, after fleeing Troy, Ilium, having been defeated by mainland Greeks, and after spending a year in Carthage, cavorting with the legendary queen-founder of Carthage, Dido, herself having fled Tyre after her husband had been murdered by her ambitious brother, arrived in Rome to try his luck anew. (And, incidentally, this foundation story is part of the reason Romans had a love/hate relationship with Greece, Troy having been defeated by the brothers from across the Adriatic.)
The long arm of history is fascinating. After Carthage lost the first Punic war and their colonies in Sicily, a defeated Carthage saw Rome also take control of Corsica and Sardinia. Then, nursing themselves back to health, Hannibal's father Hamilcar, convinced the Carthaginian senate to move into Spain, both to be able to pay their remunerations to Rome and to rebuild their empire in preparation for revenge for the defeat Hamilcar suffered in Sicily after the Carthaginian senate told him to withdraw.
Over many years, Hamilcar effectively carved out his own personal empire in Spain, submitting the Celtic, Iberian and Celtoiberian tribes to his and Carthaginian control.
On one outing, Hamilcar and two of his sons were cut off from the main force. Hamilcar ordered his sons to take a particular route to evade capture, while he himself was going to take a more dangerous course, in the hope of diverting the enemy forces and save his sons. His sons were saved, including his oldest, Hannibal, still too young to take over from his father, but Hamilcar was killed in action.
Hamilcar's son in law took over as commander in Spain. Deploying punitive raids on the tribes responsible for the death of his father in law, Hasdrubal ended up extending control of the peninsula, submitting more tribes to his rule and increasing the family's riches.
In the process, Hasdrubal founded the capital of the dominion of the Barca family on the south coast of Spain, New Carthage, Carthago Nova, now Carthagena.
Now, when the spaniards ventured into South America some 1700 years later, one of their cities in the new world was named after Carthagena, itself named after, what was until the Romans finally defeated the Carthaginians at the end of the third Punic war, the most important power in the Mediterranean, Carthage, a city that, by the time Carthagena was founded in modern day Bolivia, had ceased to exist for more than one and a half millennia.
Salient detail, Carthago derives from the Punic for 'new city', that is, the new Tyre, meaning that Carthagena in Colombia is like the new new new city. Or new new new rock, as 'Tyre' derives from the Phoenician for 'rock'.
Alexander's conquering of Asia took his men on a 10 year round trip of the Persian empire, conquering it completely in the process. Hannibal took his men across the Pyrenees and then the alps, the Romans eventually refusing to engage him at the gates of Rome itself, after devastating campaigns in northern Italy. The men that did return with him only did so after an unbelievable seventeen years.
Hannibal had soldiers from the Belearics in his army. They had slingers for weapons, also the root for the name of the group of islands. These Belearics slingers didn't demand payment in coin or gold, but in captured women.
Barcelona derives from the Punic for 'camp of the Barcas', 'Barca' being hannibal's family name.
Also fascinating is Hannibal's life story after almost two decades fighting in Italy, missing perhaps two opportunities of taking Rome itself, which would have completely changed the history of the world.
After Rome eventually controlled Spain, Hannibal was called back to Carthage to protect the city against a Roman attack. Eventually, Rome was able to enforce a treaty quite unfavorable to Carthage. However, Hannibal remained and even became consul for a while, introducing a number of democratizing measures in the city state.
True or not, Hannibal was then accused of again plotting against the Romans, after which he first fled to the eastern Mediterranean to offer his services in fighting Rome, there, eventually unsuccessful, continuing his objective in southern turkey. There, too, the Romans eventually defeated him, demanding his personal surrender. Instead, Hannibal chose to kill himself by taking poison, at the age of 64.
August 11, 2023
I really wanted to give this one 5 stars based on Hannibal's badassery that Prevas is able to portray. Hanny was out there playing chess and the Romans checkers, especially at the Battle of Cannae. Imagine your a Gallic tribesmen just chilling in 217 BC and this mf Hannibal rolls up on an ELEPHANT! Uh uh dog, I'm out on the Romans right there and then and siding with the Carthaginians. Prevas does a great job at painting the struggles Hannibal's army endured in their legendary traverse of the French and Italian Alps. I felt he spent too much time on the geography of the trek and comparisons of different theories concerning which route Hannibal took. I really don't care what route he took, I enjoyed more the descriptions of the battles and hardships endured along the way. I've seen some criticism that he repeats himself but honestly I liked that, it helped remind me of the prescient facts pertinent to Hannibals attempted conquest. All in all, the tedious geographical descriptions are the main factor hampering Prevas's storytelling: 4.5 stars.
might-read
April 8, 2020Starred Review in Booklist --https://www.booklistonline.com/Hannib...
Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps and subsequent invasion and ravaging of Italy during the Second Punic War is one of the greatest epics in all of ancient history. It is a story replete with high drama, immense human suffering, endurance, strategic brilliance, and stupidity born of arrogance. Prevas, a historian and lecturer in classical Greek, retells the saga in a compact, superbly written volume with some provocative conclusions, particularly concerning the actual route that Hannibal used to break through the Alps. His insights into the political machinations in Carthage that led to Hannibal’s decision to invade are fascinating. His depiction of Hannibal’s struggles, military and diplomatic, with the warlike Celtic tribes that hindered his march sheds light on an often neglected aspect of the campaign. The descriptions of the key battles in Italy, particularly at Lake Trasimene and Cannae, are presented in a cogent manner that can easily be followed by nonspecialists. With this excellent work, Prevas proves that a grand story is well worth retelling. — Jay Freeman
Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps and subsequent invasion and ravaging of Italy during the Second Punic War is one of the greatest epics in all of ancient history. It is a story replete with high drama, immense human suffering, endurance, strategic brilliance, and stupidity born of arrogance. Prevas, a historian and lecturer in classical Greek, retells the saga in a compact, superbly written volume with some provocative conclusions, particularly concerning the actual route that Hannibal used to break through the Alps. His insights into the political machinations in Carthage that led to Hannibal’s decision to invade are fascinating. His depiction of Hannibal’s struggles, military and diplomatic, with the warlike Celtic tribes that hindered his march sheds light on an often neglected aspect of the campaign. The descriptions of the key battles in Italy, particularly at Lake Trasimene and Cannae, are presented in a cogent manner that can easily be followed by nonspecialists. With this excellent work, Prevas proves that a grand story is well worth retelling. — Jay Freeman
October 15, 2014
Again I am biased by the fact of the subject matter. If I were to be required to pick a specialized area of Military History, the Second Punic War would probably be it. So for your average reader, pretend I only rated it four stars lol
April 11, 2009
I liked that the author presumed (correctly) that i knew little about Hannibal & his exploits. Remarkable story.
March 1, 2023
As an introduction to Hannibal and to the history of the Punic Wars, this serves as an admirable, concise summary. The military and political genius of Hannibal is well portrayed, as is his single-minded focus on obliterating the Roman Empire. That said, I felt this book would have benefited from some better editing. Items are repeated in succeeding chapters, which hinders the flow of the manuscript, and I felt the author went into too much detail in debating which routes Hannibal likely too to get into Italy.
May 19, 2023
I found this book to be well research and well written. Hannibal is a fascinating historical figure of whom I only knew the most basic facts. This book fills out the picture.
I liked the summary history leading up to and back from the crossing of the alps. The middle section on what was the exact path over the alps that was taken was interesting as you can see a historian at work, but not really all that meaningful or important to the novice like myself.
Robert E Lee’s battles in the northern Shenandoah’s is a clear echo of Hannibal’s strategy so long ago.
I liked the summary history leading up to and back from the crossing of the alps. The middle section on what was the exact path over the alps that was taken was interesting as you can see a historian at work, but not really all that meaningful or important to the novice like myself.
Robert E Lee’s battles in the northern Shenandoah’s is a clear echo of Hannibal’s strategy so long ago.
May 6, 2025
A history of the 2nd Punic War and a detective story. The author tells of the exploits of Hannibal Barca and his crossing of the Alps, but in doing so, investigates the evidence for which route he took. Personally hiking the area(s), he examines the works of Polybius and Livy who both described the crossing for correlations with the terrain and other archeological and climactic data. Well-written and precisely detailed and analyzed. A very good book.
October 28, 2024
Great subject but a bit repetitive in the middle.
November 29, 2024
An incredible story but at times repetitive.
September 9, 2014
The subtitle of this books is The Invasion of Italy and the Punic Wars, but the book is not limited to only those subjects. While the book concentrates at least half of the roughly 200 pages on Hannibal's Alp crossing from Gaul (France) to Italy, we also get a history of Hannibal's family and the city-state of Carthage, plus much history of Ancient Rome, mainly in relation to their arch rival, Carthage.
The author begins the book with a brief summary of all three Punic Wars, then he describes the founding myths of Carthage and Rome, and then explains the hostility between them. We learn of archeological and linguistic evidence about the rivals, and how both societies functioned, and how they grew from small settlements to trading superpowers.
Sadism is a running theme in the story of the two empires. I won't get into all that sickness here, but be prepared for it if you want to study this history: institutionalized sadism from slavery to crucifixions to torture to infanticide. The 150+ years described in this book is connected by a string of barbarities committed by both sides of the conflict.
This is really a book for Hannibal historians to indulge in their fantasies of following along as Hannibal moved his military forces (including his famous elephants) from southern Spain, up the coast of Spain, passing into Gaul (France), traversing Gaul to the French Alps, and then maneuvering a difficult Alpine pass, past savage Celtic tribes, descending into Italy's Po Valley, and continuing on for nearly two decades through the rest of the Italian peninsula.
The prose is not always smooth, and there is some repetition. The painstaking detail of the Alpine trip might be tedious for some readers. The events after the Alp crossing are condensed in the final sixth of the book. But the author does make his central thesis clear: the battles with Carthage forced/taught Rome to learn to become the world power that would dominate the Mediterranean and beyond for centuries to come.
Please read my full and illustrated review at Italophile Book Reviews.
http://italophilebookreviews.blogspot...
The author begins the book with a brief summary of all three Punic Wars, then he describes the founding myths of Carthage and Rome, and then explains the hostility between them. We learn of archeological and linguistic evidence about the rivals, and how both societies functioned, and how they grew from small settlements to trading superpowers.
Sadism is a running theme in the story of the two empires. I won't get into all that sickness here, but be prepared for it if you want to study this history: institutionalized sadism from slavery to crucifixions to torture to infanticide. The 150+ years described in this book is connected by a string of barbarities committed by both sides of the conflict.
This is really a book for Hannibal historians to indulge in their fantasies of following along as Hannibal moved his military forces (including his famous elephants) from southern Spain, up the coast of Spain, passing into Gaul (France), traversing Gaul to the French Alps, and then maneuvering a difficult Alpine pass, past savage Celtic tribes, descending into Italy's Po Valley, and continuing on for nearly two decades through the rest of the Italian peninsula.
The prose is not always smooth, and there is some repetition. The painstaking detail of the Alpine trip might be tedious for some readers. The events after the Alp crossing are condensed in the final sixth of the book. But the author does make his central thesis clear: the battles with Carthage forced/taught Rome to learn to become the world power that would dominate the Mediterranean and beyond for centuries to come.
Please read my full and illustrated review at Italophile Book Reviews.
http://italophilebookreviews.blogspot...
May 7, 2010
I didn't know much about Hannibal before I read this book, other than he was from Carthage, and he marched some elephants across the alps to sack Rome (turns out I was wrong about that last detail, since he never actually attacked the city of Rome). So I decided it was high time I find out more about him.
Overall Prevas does a ok job in his brief study of Hannibal's trek from Spain to Italy, but I kept wishing he'd had a better editor. I was particularly dismayed when I came across factual errors, or confusing and contradictory passages. An example of factual mistakes crops up in the section when Prevas discusses the elephants that Hannibal used, where he states that African Elephants are smaller than the Indian Elephants, when the opposite is true. In the same chapter he also contradicts himself about where the Egyptian pharaohs got their elephants, at one point saying it was from the Atlas mountains, then later saying it was from Syria. I was also confused about how many elephants survived the trek across the alps: at one stage he talks about people having found elephant skulls in the alps, at another he says not a single elephant perished on the crossing - so which is correct?
The trouble with this sort of sloppiness, it it then makes me question how accurate the rest of the details in the book are. It could be that Prevas just gets mixed up about elephants, and everything else was correct, but once I come across a few errors like this, it makes me feel like I have to fact check the whole book.
I also didn't care for the bucket loads of geographical detail he gets in to trying to make his case for what he thinks was Hannibal's exact route across the alps. I know this was one of the main objectives of this book, and so I guess I can't fault him for it, but I found the surfeit of detail on this topic to be dry and boring.
Overall Prevas does a ok job in his brief study of Hannibal's trek from Spain to Italy, but I kept wishing he'd had a better editor. I was particularly dismayed when I came across factual errors, or confusing and contradictory passages. An example of factual mistakes crops up in the section when Prevas discusses the elephants that Hannibal used, where he states that African Elephants are smaller than the Indian Elephants, when the opposite is true. In the same chapter he also contradicts himself about where the Egyptian pharaohs got their elephants, at one point saying it was from the Atlas mountains, then later saying it was from Syria. I was also confused about how many elephants survived the trek across the alps: at one stage he talks about people having found elephant skulls in the alps, at another he says not a single elephant perished on the crossing - so which is correct?
The trouble with this sort of sloppiness, it it then makes me question how accurate the rest of the details in the book are. It could be that Prevas just gets mixed up about elephants, and everything else was correct, but once I come across a few errors like this, it makes me feel like I have to fact check the whole book.
I also didn't care for the bucket loads of geographical detail he gets in to trying to make his case for what he thinks was Hannibal's exact route across the alps. I know this was one of the main objectives of this book, and so I guess I can't fault him for it, but I found the surfeit of detail on this topic to be dry and boring.
April 29, 2015
John Prevas conducts a very thorough investigation into the route that Hannibal used in his famous 218 B.C. crossing of the Alps from Spain to Italy and gives a proper historical context to the First and Second Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome.
If you know very little about the Second Punic War and Hannibal's involvement, you will find this an interesting though complex read. What makes this complex is that instead of just telling the story about what happened and then writing a section about the historical, geographical and archaeological evidence to conduct his analysis about the route, he intersperses this analysis while telling the narrative. It is this analysis which will provide clarity and context while reading additional books about the event.
If you have read previous books on the subject, this book will make you question some of the historical assumptions that have been made throughout the centuries and, perhaps, give a moment of clarity that has been missing in most historical analysis.
If the author were to write this today, I would suggest providing the narrative without the analysis first, and then write the analysis in a separate section, which would make the events stand out better and reduce redundancy. However, I still give this five stars because the analysis and research is solid and the writing is crisp.
If you know very little about the Second Punic War and Hannibal's involvement, you will find this an interesting though complex read. What makes this complex is that instead of just telling the story about what happened and then writing a section about the historical, geographical and archaeological evidence to conduct his analysis about the route, he intersperses this analysis while telling the narrative. It is this analysis which will provide clarity and context while reading additional books about the event.
If you have read previous books on the subject, this book will make you question some of the historical assumptions that have been made throughout the centuries and, perhaps, give a moment of clarity that has been missing in most historical analysis.
If the author were to write this today, I would suggest providing the narrative without the analysis first, and then write the analysis in a separate section, which would make the events stand out better and reduce redundancy. However, I still give this five stars because the analysis and research is solid and the writing is crisp.
December 6, 2010
In general I think this was an excellent book about the punic wars. The author treats his subject with respect and doesn't get too tedious. He is also mindful about the skepticism surrounding some of the historiography and does a fair job presenting the classical perspective.
The story of the rise of the House of Barca and the enmity between Rome and Carthage is amazing. Ironically, it was in his treatment of the alps, and the endless discussion about the geography, that the book started slow down. I think the author did a commendable job with his subject, but I think the controversy over retracing Hannibal's steps could have been placed in an appendix. Because otherwise one gets too bogged down by it.
The story of the rise of the House of Barca and the enmity between Rome and Carthage is amazing. Ironically, it was in his treatment of the alps, and the endless discussion about the geography, that the book started slow down. I think the author did a commendable job with his subject, but I think the controversy over retracing Hannibal's steps could have been placed in an appendix. Because otherwise one gets too bogged down by it.
October 15, 2014
So which path did Hannibal take when he crossed the alps? That is the main purpose of the book and it does a good job explaining it I am not familiar with the geography and topography of the area but I wasn't lost. The story of Hannibal and the Punic wars that goes along with it is well told, but is too often re-summarized in such a small book.
September 15, 2010
Not exactly what I was looking for. I was looking for an in depth study of Hannibal and the Barca Clan. The author, I felt, spent too much time describing the much debated path he and his army took over the Alps instead of what actually happened there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2011
this book does a great job of making on specific point in time resonate. if that African had only invaded Rome... oh well...
March 23, 2013
An exploration of Hannibal's audacious plan to cross the Alps and some good research into the actual route he may have taken.
June 1, 2014
Wish he would spent less time on the academics and stayed focused on the story or as a compromise make the academic evidence/debate part of the appendix. Still was a good Las Vegas pool side read.
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