Hasdrubal

HASDRUBAL, the silent hero.

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When history-books are telling stories over the second Punic war, it is always Hannibal who gets the bulk of the attention. In some ways that is correct, because he was the main opponent for the Romans. Nevertheless there were a lot of other Carthaginians who fought as hard as he did. Among them there was his younger brother Azrubaal (Hasdrubal). He was left behind in Spain in 218 B.C. with the task to defend the little empire of Carthage in that country. This was an impossible task against the two armies,  that were sent by the Romans against him. This Azrubaal was not a fighting genius as his famous brother was, but he had other talents. He was an organiser and a diplomat. He was beaten several times on the battlefield, but he always knew to reorganise his beaten troops and bought the Spanish tribes into his ranks just in time to withstand another attack of the Romans. In this way he managed to hold his empire in Spain for more than 10 years! That was necessary, because the silver-mines of Spain had to pay the Carthaginian armies in Spain itself, but also in Africa, Sicily and even Italy. Moreover he kept open the supply route over land through Gallia Transalpina and Gallia Cisalpina to Hannibal who needed more and more soldiers. If this had not functioned properly, then the army would have faded away in less than 10 years. And then the miracle happened! In 212 or 211 B.C. he managed to defeat the two armies of Publius and Gnaeus Scipio. More than that: he annihilates them. At the right moment he organised for himself to have two armies and another supporting army of the Illergetes and the Numidian cavalry of Massinissa. He bought off the Spanish allies of the Romans and from that time on the Romans were lost. Later he had to obey the order of the government of Carthage. He had to go in the offensive to help his brother Hannibal in Italy. This was not a good task for him. He was not an eminent fighter. Of course he organised his attack on Italy perfect. He surpassed the Alps in record-time, but in Umbria his army was beaten by one and a half Roman army. He died fighting in the battle of the Metaurus in 207 B.C. The Roman consuls wanted to find his body, not to give him a descent burial, but only to chop off his head in order to be able to throw that in the army-camp of Hannibal. From that time on Hannibal knew, that the war was lost. There is much more to tell about this imposant brother of Hannibal. For now this is enough. We have, oh wonder, an image of him.

 

 ncfps

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