Antiochus III was barely 19 when he became king of Seleucia. By a show of force, and skilful diplomacy, he formed alliances with neighbouring rulers. Once he had his neighbours under his control, Antiochus then turned his attention to Western territories and formed an alliance with Philip V of Macedon against Egypt. In 200 BC, he defeated the Egyptian forces, and claimed control of Palestine and Phoenicia.
Pressing his military advantage, Antiochus invaded Egypt itself, forcing a peace treaty. But Antiochus did not rest on that victory. He later led his forces to regain the cities of Western Asia Minor that his father had lost. Not content with having extended Seleucia’s control over more territory than any of his predecessors, he crossed into Europe, but was defeated by the Romans and the allies.
Hamilcar Barca was a daring, intelligent young Carthaginian general He was assigned the command in Sicily in 247 in the First Punic War. From mountain bases he made repeated raids on the Romans. However, the Carthaginians were defeated, and Hamilcar Barca negotiated the terms of the peace that led to Carthage’s withdrawal from Sicily. Later, the Carthaginian mercenaries revolted, but Hamilcar defeated them in 238. After that his popularity made him a virtual dictator. He then set out to conquer Spain as a new base against Rome, and had won considerable territory when he died. Hamilcar was probably the ablest general and statesman that Carthage ever had, until he was succeeded by his son, Hannibal.
Quintas Fabius Maximus was a Roman commander and politician during the Second Punic War. He knew from the reports of Roman commanders in the field that it would be difficult to defeat Rome’s arch enemy Hannibal, in open battle. So, Fabius decided to fight a war of delaying tactics. He dispatched various Roman forces into the hills of Italy to tail Hannibal as closely as possible, without engaging him in battle, knowing that the cavalry would be useless in the hills. These troops constantly cut of Hannibal’s supply lines, and harassed him incessantly and without mercy. Although these tactics were unpopular, and viewed as cowardly, they worked. Fabius would make his first and only offensive move of the war in 209 during his fifth consulship, when he captured the city of Tarentum, which Hannibal had captured three years before.
Hammurabi was an ancient Babylonian king. He was the sixth king of Babylon, but expanded it by uniting cities. He therefore became the first king of the empire. He first conquered cities towards the south, and then his conquest expanded. He respected all the religions in his empire, and did many things in order to make Babylon a better place.
Sargon the Great was the ruler of the Akkadians, who conquered the land between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers around 2300 BC. According to legend, Sargon’s mother was a princess, and his father a poor gardener. His mother abandoned him, and put him in a reed basket which she then set float on the river. However, he was rescued by a gardener named Akki, and he became a favourite of the Goddess Ishtar.