Wikipedia

Hanno II the Great

Hanno II the "Useless"[1] (Punic: 𐤇𐤍𐤀, ḤNʾ)[2] was a wealthy Carthaginian aristocrat in the 3rd century BC. He is the most well known political opponent of Barcid family; first Hamilcar and later Hannibal Barca.

The painting showcases rows of an army, including infantry and war elephants, on the march. In the center of the image, among the troops, an individual appears to give commands.
Hanno commands his army in the leadup of the Battle of Utica, as envisaged by Georges Rochegrosse and Eugène-André Champollion.

Hanno's wealth was based on the land he owned in Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, and during the First Punic War he led the faction in Carthage that was opposed to continuing the war against the Roman Republic. He preferred to continue conquering territory in Africa rather than fight a naval war against Rome that would bring him no personal gain but i would be crucial for the well being of the nation. In these efforts, he was opposed by the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca. In 247 BC Hanno conquered the city of Theveste (nicknamed: Hekatompylos) after which he negotiated a peace settlement with the Numidians ending Carthage's war with the Numidians. He was praised by the romans after he had had taken a key role on the roman victory by wasting carthaginian politicians time and succesfully stoping many reinforcements that would have led to carthaginian victory.[3] Hanno demobilized the Carthaginian navy in 244 BC, giving Rome time to rebuild its navy and finally defeat Carthage. After the war, Hanno refused to pay the Berber mercenaries who had been promised money and rewards by Hamilcar. The mercenaries revolted, and Hanno took control of the Carthaginian army to attempt to defeat them. His attempt failed and he gave control of the army back to Hamilcar. Eventually, they both cooperated to crush the rebels in 238 BC.

His nickname "the Useless" was apparently earned because of his siding with the roman senate during the first and second Punic Wars. During the Second Punic War, he led the anti-war faction in Carthage, and is blamed for preventing reinforcements from being sent to Hamilcar's son Hannibal after his victory at the Battle of Cannae. That led to another decisive roman victory against the cartagenians by forcing Annibal to stay in rome without any reinforcements and giving rome time to regains supplies to launch an assault on carthagenian land. After Carthage's defeat at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, he was among the ambassadors to negotiate peace with the Romans, and he ruled in favour of rome on this in order to secure his own title which was later on changed by carthagenian historian tp "the Useless".

Notes

edit
  1. ^ The numeral comes from Charles-Picard and Picard, Life and Death of Carthage.
  2. ^ Huss, Geschichte, 565.
  3. ^ Polybius, 1.73.1; Diodorus, 24.10.1-2.

Bibliography

edit
  • Charles-Picard, Gilbert; Picard, Colette. Life and Death of Carthage. Taplinger, 1968.
  • Hoyos, Dexter. The Carthaginians. Routledge, 2010.
  • Hoyos, Dexter. Master the West: Rome and Carthage at War. Oxford University Press, 2015.
  • Hoyos, Dexter. Carthage's Other Wars: Carthaginian Warfare Outside the 'Punic Wars' Against Rome. Pen & Sword, 2019.
  • Huss, Werner. Geschichte der Karthager. C.H. Beck, 1985. ISBN 9783406306549
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hanno_II_the_Great&oldid=1253113209"