Hannibal: Enemy of Rome

by Leonard Cottrell

In the year 216 B.C., Hannibal of Carthage, faced with an opposing Roman army twice the size of his own, outwitted the enemy at Cannae by means of a strategy which has become a classic of its kind. As a result of his famous ”double pincer” maneuver, 70,000 Roman soldiers died within the space of a few hours on a field the size of New York’s Central Park. Yet, as devastating and startling as Cannae was, it was only one of a long list of incredible achievements. Hannibal’s fantastic 1,000-mile march across the Alps from Spain to Italy was one of the wonders of ancient times. He began his hazardous journey with 90,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 37 elephants. By the time he reached the Valley of the Po, more than 30,000 troops and many of his elephants had perished, but he still managed to stay in Italy for sixteen years.Blending biography and military adventure, Hannibal is a portrait of a military genius who was also a highly civilized man. The son of Hamilcar Barca, a famous general in his own right, Hannibal was a student of the Greek classics. But his father’s lifelong grudge against Rome fostered in the son a deep hatred for that Republic and a fierce determination to subdue it forever. This resulted in the bloody battles of Lake Trasimene, Campania, Nole, Capua, and Zama, all of which Leonard Cottrell describes with vigor and authority. In gathering material for Hannibal, Cottrell traveled the entire route that Hannibal took across the Alps, thus bringing to his account a valuable firsthand knowledge of his subject. With the drama and authenticity for which he is famous, Leonard Cottrell describes Hannibal’s amazing campaign—a saga of victory after victory which fell just short of its ultimate the annihilation of Rome.

Genres: History, Biography, Ancient History, Nonfiction, Military History, Africa, Roman History

273 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1961

About the author

Leonard Eric Cottrell was a prolific and popular British author and journalist. Many of his books were popularizations of the archaeology of ancient Egypt.

Leonard Cottrell was born in 1913 in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, to William and Beatrice Cottrell (née Tootell). His father inspired his interest in history from a very young age. At King Edward's Grammar School, Birmingham, Leonard was notably only interested in English and history, in which he read widely.

In the 1930s, Cottrell toured the English countryside on his motorcycle, visiting prehistoric stone circles, burial mounds of the Bronze Age, medieval and Renaissance monuments. On those journeys, he was often accompanied by Doris Swain, whom he later married. After gaining experience writing articles on historical subjects for motoring magazines, he wrote his first documentary for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1937.

Cottrell was rejected by the RAF during World War II for medical reasons, but he joined the BBC in 1942 and was stationed in the Mediterranean with the RAF in 1944, as a war correspondent. His wartime experiences formed the basis of his book All Men are Neighbours (1947). He worked at the BBC until 1960, when he resigned and moved to a house overlooking the estuary of the River Kent in Westmoreland, Cumbria, where he stayed for the rest of his life, writing.

Among other achievements, Cottrell was the editor of the Concise Encyclopaedia of Archaeology (1965).

He was married and divorced twice, first to Doris Swain (divorced 1962) and Diana Bonakis (married 1965; divorced 1968). He had no children by either marriage.

Leonard Cottrell died on 6 October 1974.

Reviews

[Roy Corry]

To use a cliché, an oldie but a goodie. Written I believe in the 1960s, the author went through the trouble of taking Hannibal's path through Europe while he was writing the book. (The actual path is disputed at various points.) It is well-written; it never feels like a dry history book, and it is just the right length as well.

[Hope Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The details of geography lost me a little bit, but the life and battles of Hannibal are a fascinating read. As history, they are interesting, but for any fantasy author who wants real-life inspiration of epic battles, Hannibal is high on the list of generals to read about.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at one of the greatest generals in history and trouble for Rome the book draws on the works of Livy and Polybius. The book looks at the routes and terrain before focusing on the battles with a modern interpretation through the writings of Hart.

[Bryn Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's an antique but I loved this book. I came away with a vivid portrait of Hannibal, a deep respect for him - I was devastated at his final defeat, although I admired his worthy enemy Scipio too. Yes, it's like a novel. Still, Cottrell quotes great swathes of Livy for you; after this I went to Livy, and found I hadn't missed much in the Cottrell. He's unashamed to tell you about Hannibal's sheer military genius, and my God how clever he is. That was what I liked him for. The man attains to wit in his military tactics.

What struck me most, though, was Cottrell's deductions, investigations, on the actuality of these huge-scale battles: how horrific they were. He talks about them in terms of 20thC battles. Left me scarified that did.

The difference in how Romans and Carthaginians thought about war is one of the most interesting aspects to the story.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a book about Hannibal in middle school. I'm not sure if this is the right one, but let's just pretend it is, shall we?

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know where it is, but I assume there is a better history book about Hannibal. This wasn't terrible but did seem a bit amateurish and left me wanting a better book to read about this epic general and enemy of Rome.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personalized and well-researched.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

And exciting mixture of history and story line. I really enjoyed the accessible tone of the book which paints a clearer image of important aspects of Hannibal's March and terror of Italy.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time reading this engaging and extremely interesting book.

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

For its age a very good biography of one of the worlds greatest generals. Written in the 60's it has the benefit of being written by the author as he traveled from New Carthage to and down Italy, attempting to follow Hannibals exact route as much as possible. This lends itself to some unique view points and scholarly conclusions on the authors part.

While the author is firmly in the 'Hannibal was motivated purely by revenge' camp believing the exact scene where his father makes him swear an oath etc he is fairly objective in dissecting the rest of the Roman sources and pointing out which is probably propaganda and which is not. The author has a knack for putting you on the ground level in some of the battle scenes which is excellent in my opinion. Very good read.

[Squeaky · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I was weeding the biography section and seen these two copies of Hannibal: Enemy Of Rome, two very sad-looking copies. They had not been checked out since the 60s (and only twice then!), so I decided to toss one of them. Since I remembered the elephants and Hannibal from school, I decided I ought to read it, and it was good. Typically too many dates and places, but that's a historical book for you, full of facts! Mr. Cottrell's personal observations make it come alive a bit more. I appreciated the maps, but some of them were a wee bit tiny for my old eyes. So I'm keeping the one copy, as I mentioned, and I've had a request for the second copy, so it is not going into the discard box.

[William Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hannibal was wonderful, he so nearly beat the boring Romans. Before I found this book, sometime in the mid-seventies, the only thing I knew was a that he'd taken elephants over the Alps, on the basis of which, I undertook a school project on Hannibal.

Yes, it's probably unbalanced, pro-Hannibal in the extreme, but it was well written, and caught my schoolboy imagination. Who knows what happened to that first copy (library book, perhaps), but I went looking for it forty years later and found it every bit as readable, as engaging now as then.

[Max Nova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cottrell's "Hannibal" is a decent read. Starts off a bit slow, but it really picks up in the later parts of the book. Cottrell glosses over some of the most fascinating parts of Hannibal's history, including his father and Hannibal's later escapes in the eastern Mediterranean. At times, I felt like I was reading "fan fiction," as Cottrell isn't really an academic or a historical expert, but rather a historical enthusiast. It sometimes feels as though he is trying too hard. I enjoyed most of this book, but I have a feeling much better Hannibal histories exist

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leonard Cottrell provides a historical account of Hannibal's campaigns during the Second Punic War that is concise, factual, and endowed with an imaginative flair that would otherwise only be found in fiction. He is able to put the reader into the shoes of figures both Carthaginian and Roman due to his hands-on journey along Hannibal's warpath through countrysides that are largely the same as they looked centuries ago, complete with on-the-road references to Greek historians who also took on the task of chronicling Hannibal's groundbreaking war against the Roman Republic.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet military history of the second Punic War. pretty boring and hard to finish. The descriptions of the battles were captivating but the history was very loosely put forward and many things were not mentioned, or skimmed over that deserved at least some attention. It would be a great book to start the subject with, but for a more thorough military history of the Second Punic War try Henry Dodge's "Hannibal".

[blacksheep01 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be an excellent overview of the Second Punic War with vivid quotes and battle imagery. This book set me down the path to loving ancient history.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cottrell probably exaggerates the importance of most of the battles Hannibal was in, but it makes for a very entertaining read. Reading this made me add Polybius and Livy to my "too read" column.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gave me a new respect for this military genius and I now consider him to be one of my favorite generals. It had to be a genius to keep almighty Rome on the run for 15 years!

[Jairamy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent and quick look at the life of one of the most brilliant tacticians ever

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Cottrell keeps the readers attention, and made me want to constantly read it. It is also very informative and would recommend if for anyone who is interested in Hannibal.

[Smith Nickerson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little entertaining but less informative then I would have liked.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A readable, though all-too-favorable, account of Hannibal.

[Sasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm really interested in Hannibal, but this book sucked. Really poorly written.

[Shaney Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing feats of courage & dare, to march an army numbering 100 000+ through the Pyrenees shows the intellect,acuity, and audacity of Hannibal Immortal Warrior, Conqueror of Rome.