Hannibal~Lindsay+Finn

Lindsay Finn Tournament of Greatness: Hannibal Word Count: 500 __ Hannibal: The Greatest Leader of all Times __ The title, “ A great leader ” can often be misinterpreted but an accurate definition of a great leader is a leader that is quick minded, fearless, decisive, commanding, and militarily strong. A great leader must be quick mindedto devise effective and clever battle plans, fearless because they cannot back down from any fight, decisive and commanding to successfully have control of their people, and militarily strong to be able to conquer land and intimidate others**.** Hannibal was the greatest leader of all times because he was brave enough to try to conquer the Alps in the winter, commanding enough to successfully make it over the Alps, quick minded enough to strategize a surprise attack on Rome, and militarily strong enough to majorly threaten Rome and defeat almost all of the Roman legions he came in contact with. Hannibal lived between 247-182 BCE during the time of the Punic Wars. He was the greatest military leader of his time. [1] According to Jona Lendering, his greatest success was his military campaign that “ took place during the Second Punic War, when he caught the Romans off guard by crossing the Alps. ” [2] To do this, Hannibal successfully ferried elephants on rafts across the Rhone River, a very difficult task. From there, the brave and heroic Hannibal led his troops, elephants and all, into the Alps during the winter, an unthinkably harsh undertaking. Hannibal and his troops remained strong and successfully emerged from the Alps ready for battle. Hannibal then led his troops up and down Italy defeating Roman legions on every battlefield. [3] Hannibal was so militarily strong that even the dictator of the Roman senate, Quintus Fabius, knew that he could not defeat Hannibal on the battlefield. [4] His strength was almost strong enough to lead the little country of Carthage to overthrow the vast Roman Empire. As said by N. S. Gill, "Hannibal was considered Rome's greatest enemy." [5] Hannibal ’ s only downfall was that he lost an important battle in Carthage to the Romans. Before this battle, Hannibal had been drawn back to Carthage because the Roman commander, Scipio, had attacked Carthage. Hannibal marched his army inland to Zama where he fought against Scipio and the Roman army. At this battle, Hannibal was weakened because the Roman cavalry majorly outnumbered his cavalry, which he heavily relied on. The Romans defeated the Carthaginians and Hannibal at the battle of Zama forcing Carthage to surrender to Rome. Although he was forced to surrender the war, Hannibal is still considered a great military general because for fifteen years he managed to win numerous battles against the Romans. Hannibal was a great military general and leader despite the fact that he was forced to surrender to Rome. He was a major threat to Rome because of his military strength and was able to win most of the battles he fought with Rome. Hannibal was the greatest leader of all times because of his military strength, bravery, cleverness, and his ability to control an army in any kind of conditions.

[1] Lendering, Jona. “ Hannibal. ” Last modified August 23, 2009. __ []  __. Internet Rating: 15 [2] Ibid [3] Hoist, Sanford. "Ancient Carthage and Hannibal Barca." Last modified 2011. __ []  __. Internet Rating: 15 [4] Swenson, Tait M., Nathan A. Leafgren, and Joshua E. VerHage. "The Second Punic War 218-202 BC." Last modified October 9, 2005. __ []  __. Internet Rating: 14 [5] Gill, N S. "Hannibal-Who Was Hannibal." The New York Times Company. Last modified 2012. __ [] __. Internet rating: 14