Category Ancient World\’s Commanders

           Mithridates became king when he was only twelve, and so, it was his mother who actually wielded power. However, when he was seventeen, he had his mother imprisoned, and seized power. He also killed off several of his brothers to eliminate any competition for the throne!

            Mithridates invaded Bithynia, which was a Roman ally, and this brought him into conflict with Rome. Later, Roman general Sulla captured Athens, and defeated Mithridates at the Battle of Chaeronea in 86 BC. Mithridates fought three wars against the Romans. Eventually, he lost his kingdom, and died after being overthrown by one of his sons.

            Today, Mithridates VI is remembered as one of the Roman Republic’s most persistent enemies, though he won only one major battle.

             Cornelius Sulla came to prominence mainly in the Social War that was fought from 91-89 BC. When in 88 BC, Mithridates, King of Pontus, attacked the Roman province in Asia; the senate decided that Sulla, who was then one of the current consuls, would be commander of the army against Mithridates. After successfully completing his campaign against Mithridates, Sulla returned to Italy, marched to Rome, and took charge politically by force, as a dictator.

             Sulla introduced a new judicial device called ‘proscription’. This meant, the publication of lists of any people he deemed undesirable. Rewards would be made to those who brought them in, be they dead or alive. It goes without saying that Sulla used this device in order to wipe out any political opposition. He introduced a law by which, any new member to be admitted to the Senate had to have at least to have had some experience in an official position. Sulla created new courts for particular types of crime. Only Senators could sit as judges, and this strengthened the Senate. Unusually for a tyrant, Sulla retired in 79 BC.

            Gaius Marius was a Roman general and politician. He was a strong and brave soldier, and a skilful general, popular with his troops, but he showed little flair for politics, and was not a good public speaker.

            Gaius was given command of the Roman army in Africa. In recruiting fresh troops, Marius broke with custom, because of a manpower shortage. He recruited volunteers from outside the propertied classes. This was a bold step because till then, only those who owned property could serve in the army. Gaius’ victory in Africa got him elected consul again-he was consul seven times- but he soon had to go to war once more. This time, he showed his foresight by ensuring that his men were excellently trained in commando tactics by gladiatorial instructors. There is no doubt that Gaius’ military reforms and great command led to the growing involvement of the army in politics, and the eventual collapse of the republican system.

            Publius Cornelius Scipio was born into one of the great aristocratic families of Rome. Even as a boy, he proved his bravery when, seeing his father wounded and cut off by the enemy during a battle, he charged forward, and saved him. Scipio began his career as a military tribune. In 210, the Romans decided to send an army to Spain against the Carthaginians, but it is said that no senior general would undertake the task, and that young Scipio offered himself as a candidate. He was determined to hold the Carthaginian armies at bay, and prevent them from sending reinforcements to Hannibal in Italy. He was also determined to turn back the tide of war, and to drive the enemy out of the Peninsula.

            Scipio first defeated the Carthaginian commander Hasdrubal Barca in Spain, and then the other two Carthaginian armies still there, making Roman control of Spain complete. However, his greatest achievement was undoubtedly his victory over the Carthaginian leader Hannibal in the great Battle of Zama in Africa, in 202 BC, ending the Second Punic War. For this he won the surname Africanus.

          Philip V was one of the last great Macedonian sovereigns ruling from 221 to 179, whose attempt to extend Macedonian influence throughout Greece, resulted in his defeat by Rome.

          Philip became king when his father died in 229 BC. He was just nine years old then, and real power lay in the hands of his cousin, Antigonus Dosun, the regent. Antigonus later declared himself to be the king but he died when Philip was just seventeen. So in effect, Philip became king only in 221.

           Philip’s reign witnessed an expansion of Macedonian power, but it also saw an even greater expansion of the power of Rome. During his reign he was preoccupied with the vain struggle to maintain the old Macedonian supremacy in the Balkan Peninsula, which became hopeless after the intervention of Rome and the decisive Battle of Cynoscephalae.

           Philip devoted the last decade of his life to consolidating his kingdom. He reorganized finances, transplanted, populations, reopened mines, and issued central and local currencies. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Perseus who ruled as the last king of Macedon. 

            Han Xin was a very famous general who lived around two centuries before Christ at a time when China’s first empire, Qin was on the verge of collapsing, because of peasant uprisings. He came from a poor family, but he studied hard and became familiar with military strategy and tactics. In 209 BC, rebellions broke out everywhere in China. Han Xin went to join the rebel army of Xiang Liang, who founded the nation of West Chu. After Xiang Liang was killed in a battle, his nephew Xiang Yu became the ruler of West Chu. However, Han Xin felt he was not being treated well, and left Xiang Liang’s army to join another rebel army called Han under Lord Liu Bang. It was here that Han Xin soon proved that he had a rare military talent.

            In May of 206 BC, the Han army won a major victory against Lord Zhang Han’s army. This was followed by a series of victories. What is amazing is that Han Xin started as a lowly guard for Xiang Liang, and became a general under Liu Bang. Moreover, he achieved outstanding victories repeatedly within just a few years. He was the major figure in deciding the outcome of the war between Han and its enemies, and was praised as an all-powerful military leader and brilliant strategist.

            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.

           By 264 BC, Rome was a force to be reckoned with. The only power in the region that could match that of the Romans was Carthage. Hannibal was a young Carthaginian general who won most of his battles by coming up with clever ideas. Once, while fighting at sea, Hannibal had his men dump barrels full of live snakes onto the deck of an enemy ship. The enemy had not expected Hannibal to do this. They weren’t prepared to fight snakes. Hannibal won that battle easily.

            In 221 BC, Hannibal tried to attack Rome. Hannibal’s plan was to march 90,000 foot soldiers, 12,000 cavalry, and 37 elephants from Spain, through Gaul, over the Alps, into Italy, and then take Rome by force.

Continue reading “Why Hannibal is considered one of the greatest warriors of all time?”

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.

                Fabius cautious delaying tactics won him the nickname Cunctator, meaning ‘delayer’. He was also called ‘the shield of Rome’, because his tactics gave Rome time to recover its strength, and take the offensive against the invading Carthaginian army of Hannibal. Today, the word Fabianism has come to mean a gradual or cautious policy.