From earliest childhood, the great Carthaginian general Hannibal nurtured a burning hatred of the Roman Republic, passed down to him by his father Hamilcar Barca. Eventually, Hannibal was to terrorize the Romans more than any enemy they had ever faced. The successes and ultimate failure of Hannibal's brilliant campaign in Italy in the Second Punic War represent a high point in the history of military strategy.

The impact of the so-called Punic Wars (derived from the Latin for "Phoenician"), fought between Rome and Carthage, of which the second or Hannibalic war was the climax, was dramatic. Rome's decisive victory gave her control of the entire Mediterranean world. Given the pivotal role of the Punic Wars, historians have often asked, could things have turned out differently? What if Hannibal had won? We will explore these and other related questions in this essay.

When reviewing the history of the Punic...