Editing Hannibal (section)

===Battle of Cannae===
{{Main|Battle of Cannae}}
[[File:Battle cannae destruction.svg|thumb|330px|The destruction of the Roman army (red) [[Battle of Cannae|at Cannae]], courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military Academy]]
In the spring of 216&nbsp;BC, Hannibal took the initiative and seized the large supply depot at Cannae in the Apulian plain. By capturing Cannae, Hannibal had placed himself between the Romans and their crucial sources of supply.<ref name="polybius">{{cite web| url = http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/polybius-cannae.html | title = Internet Ancient History Sourcebook}}</ref> Once the Roman Senate resumed their consular elections in 216&nbsp;BC, they appointed [[Gaius Terentius Varro]] and [[Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul 219 BC)|Lucius Aemilius Paullus]] as [[Roman consul|consuls]]. In the meantime, the Romans hoped to gain success through sheer strength and weight of numbers, and they raised a new army of unprecedented size, estimated by some to be as large as 100,000 men, but more likely around 50,000–80,000.<ref name="cottrell">Cottrell, Leonard, ''Enemy of Rome'', Evans Bros, 1965, {{ISBN|0-237-44320-1}}{{page?|date=May 2023}}</ref>

The Romans and allied legions resolved to confront Hannibal and marched southward to [[Apulia]]. They eventually found him on the left bank of the Aufidus River, and encamped {{convert|6|mi|km|0|order=flip|abbr=on}} away. On this occasion, the two armies were combined into one, the consuls having to alternate their command on a daily basis. According to Livy, Varro was a man of reckless and hubristic nature and it was his turn to command on the day of battle. This account is possibly biased against Varro as its main source, Polybius, was a client of Paullus's aristocratic family whereas Varro was less distinguished. Some historians have suggested that the sheer size of the army required both generals to command a wing each. This theory is supported by the fact that, after Varro survived the battle he was pardoned by the Senate, which would be peculiar if he were the sole commander at fault.<ref name="cottrell"/>

Hannibal capitalized on the eagerness of the Romans and drew them into a trap by using an [[Pincer movement|envelopment tactic]]. This eliminated the Roman numerical advantage by shrinking the combat area. Hannibal drew up his least reliable infantry in the centre in a semicircle curving towards the Romans. Placing them forward of the wings allowed them room to fall back, luring the Romans after them, while the cavalry on the flanks dealt with their Roman counterparts. Hannibal's wings were composed of the Gallic and Numidian cavalry.<ref name="cottrell" /> The Roman legions forced their way through Hannibal's weak centre, but the Libyan mercenaries on the wings, swung around by the movement, menaced their flanks.

The onslaught of Hannibal's cavalry was unstoppable. Hannibal's chief cavalry commander, [[Maharbal]], led the mobile [[Numidian cavalry]] on the right which shattered the Roman cavalry opposing them. Hannibal's Iberian and Gallic heavy cavalry on the left, led by Hanno, defeated the Roman heavy cavalry after which both the Carthaginian heavy cavalry and the Numidians attacked the legions from behind. As a result, the Roman army was fully surrounded with no means of escape.

[[Image:Hannibal Slodtz Louvre MR2093.jpg|thumb|upright|Hannibal counting the rings of the [[Roman Senate|Roman senators]] killed during the Battle of Cannae, statue by [[Sébastien Slodtz]], 1704, [[Louvre]]]]
Due to these brilliant tactics, Hannibal managed to surround and destroy all but a small remnant of his enemy, despite his own inferior numbers. Depending upon the source, it is estimated that 50,000–70,000 Romans were killed or captured.<ref name="dodge" /> Among the dead were Roman consul [[Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul 219 BC)|Lucius Aemilius Paullus]], two consuls for the preceding year, two [[quaestor]]s, 29 of the 48 military tribunes, and an additional eighty senators. At a time when the Roman Senate was composed of no more than 300 men, this constituted 25–30% of the governing body. This makes the battle one of the most catastrophic defeats in the history of [[ancient Rome]], and one of the bloodiest battles in all of human history, in terms of the number of lives lost in a single day.<ref name="cottrell" />

After Cannae, the Romans were very hesitant to confront Hannibal in pitched battle, preferring instead to weaken him by attrition, relying on their advantages of interior lines, supply, and manpower. As a result, Hannibal fought no more major battles in Italy for the rest of the war. It is believed that his refusal to bring the war to Rome itself was due to a lack of commitment from Carthage of men, money, and material—principally siege equipment. Whatever the reason, the choice prompted Maharbal to say, "Hannibal, you know how to gain a victory, but not how to use one."<ref>Prevas, John, ''Hannibal Crosses the Alps'', p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zgi7RMJSCxMC&dq=defect,+Cannae,+Hannibal&pg=PR15 xv]</ref>

As a result of this victory, many parts of Italy joined Hannibal's cause.<ref>Chaplin, Jane Dunbar, ''Livy's Exemplary History'', p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ssSnfznYZp8C&dq=defect,+Cannae,+Hannibal&pg=PA66 66]</ref> As Polybius notes, "How much more serious was the defeat of Cannae, than those that preceded it can be seen by the behaviour of Rome's allies; before that fateful day, their loyalty remained unshaken, now it began to waver for the simple reason that they despaired of Roman Power."<ref>Polybius, The Histories of Polybius, 2 Vols., trans. [[Evelyn S. Shuckburgh]] (London: Macmillan, 1889), I. 264–275.</ref> During that same year, the Greek cities in Sicily were induced to revolt against Roman political control, while Macedonian King [[Philip V of Macedon|Philip V]] [[Macedonian–Carthaginian Treaty|pledged his support]] to Hannibal— initiating the [[First Macedonian War]] against Rome.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Hanson|first=Victor Davis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGr16-CxpH8C|title=Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power|year=2007|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-42518-8|language=en}}</ref> 

Hannibal also secured an alliance with newly appointed tyrant [[Hieronymus of Syracuse]]. It is often argued that, if Hannibal had received proper material reinforcements from Carthage, he might have succeeded with a direct attack upon Rome. Instead, he had to content himself with subduing the fortresses that still held out against him, and the only other notable event of 216&nbsp;BC was the defection of certain Italian territories, including [[Capua]], the second largest city of Italy, which Hannibal made his new base. However, only a few of the Italian city-states that he had expected to gain as allies defected to him.