Hannibal, at a young age, was determined to go to Spain with his father, Hamilcar Barca, a powerful North African general. Before crossing into Spain, Hamilcar made Hannibal touch the offerings on the altar and made him swear to become the enemy of the Roman people.
Hamilcar probably sacrificed a black dog, a white bull, and a ewe as offerings to the gods. Such sacrifices were made by military leaders to seek victory in battles. As Hannibal touched the slaughtered animals, he made a solemn promise to his father to become an enemy of Rome.
Hannibal fulfilled his promise and became a great general. In 217 BCE, he marched to Rome with war elephants, posing a great threat to the city. The Carthaginians, seafaring people who originated from Phoenicia, had a deep hatred for the Romans.
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(1)“Hannibal, then about nine years old, was...pestering Hamilcar to take him along to Spain. His father, who was sacrificing to the gods before crossing over into Spain with his army, led the boy up to the altar and made him touch the offerings.”
(2) What would these offerings have been? Hamilcar Barca, a powerful North African general, would probably have sacrificed a black dog whose body he had split in two with his sword, along with a white bull and a ewe whose throats he had slit. After killing the animals, he would have burned them on an altar so the gods could enjoy the smell of meat roasting in the flames. Military leaders made such sacrifices to persuade the gods to give them victory over their enemies. Livy tells us that as Hannibal touched the bodies of the slaughtered animals, Hamilcar made him“solemnly swear...that as soon as he was able, he would become the declared enemy of the Roman people.”
(3) Hannibal kept the promise that he had made to his father. He became a great general. And in 217 BCE, he took war elephants from Carthage (in modern Tunisia), his hometown in North Africa, and marched to the gates of Rome. Rome had never faced a more dangerous enemy in all of its long history.
(4) Who were these Carthaginians who hated the Romans so much? They were seafaring people who left their homeland in Phoenicia (modern-day Lebanon) around 800 BCE. They set up colonies in North Africa and Spain, and also on the island of Sicily―the ball that the Italian boot seems to be kicking.
(5) The most powerful Phoenician colony was the North African city of Carthage. It became a busy trading post for merchants from all over the Mediterranean world. In time, Carthage gained independence from its mother country, conquered other Phoenician colonies, and founded colonies of its own. By the 3rd century BCE, this thriving and wealthy city controlled trade across the western Mediterranean.
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