Hannibal, a Carthaginian general and one of the greatest generals who ever lived, was famous for his strategies and courage, such as crossing the Alps and using the "bottleneck strategy " at Lake Trasemene. He used strategies that many generals of the time, especially Roman ones, would never have thought of and in doing so he almost destroyed the Roman republic. Hannibal's first battle took place when he was only nine years old. He participated in an expedition with his father, Hamilcar Barca, to conquer Spain. From the beginning of Carthage's invasion of Spain, Hannibal swore eternal hatred for Rome; Hannibal became commander-in-chief of the army of Carthage when he was 26 after his father was murdered. His conquest of the Roman city of Sagunto in Spain led to a new declaration of war by Rome; which began the Second Punic War and Hannibal's promise to punish Roman injustice on Rome a hundredfold. For Carthage to take the city of Saguntum was completely within Carthage and treaty rights, but Rome at the time was getting too big and becoming very imperialistic. All Rome could see was that they had to have the whole Mediterranean and the only thing that stood in their way was a single general and his men. It was disturbing how the Romans unconsciously distanced themselves from the “mos maiorum” to manipulate the course of events. Although these actions were not entirely the "evil" work of Rome. From his earliest memories Hannibal could remember nothing but hatred for Rome. Hannibal's father had instilled in Hannibal a horribly self-destructive desire to see the fall of Rome. This desire manifested itself during the Second Punic War, which was the final struggle for supremacy in the ancient world. The victor would have control over the entire Mediterranean Sea and all trade routes bringing land, pride, wealth and dominion over the victor's enemies. Hannibal undertook a 1,600-mile journey from New Carthage, Spain, through the Alps, northern Italy, and finally to Carthage. Hannibal won most of his battles with Rome, but he never got the reinforcements he needed to conquer Rome. The men he had with him at the time were renowned for their loyalty to Hannibal and unconventional fighting tactics. Their war fair of the "Gorilla" or "delay" type wars almost saw... middle of paper... death and destruction for the Romans that Adolf Hitler would have wanted for our Civilization. Hannibal's name became synonymous with Rome's stereotype of Carthaginian perfidy. And this was what Rome never wanted to see again; so to be a good Roman, he had to be taught what it meant to be a "Hannibal" and how not to be a "Hannibal". In the end Rome received many valuable lessons and the spoils go to the victor; so it is a measure of the fear instilled by Hannibal's name, that long after his death, parents scolded bad children warning them that if they were not good, Hannibal would come for them at night. Italy itself suffered cruelly in the war. Hannibal spent fourteen years there, mostly in southern Italy. As the years passed, the steep slopes began to lose their topsoil. By the end of the war, southern Italy was permanently impoverished. Indeed, in our century, in the 1960s, the Italian government began attempting to reclaim and reclaim land from Hannibal, an effort that still continues intermittently. Hannibal's legacy outlived Rome itself, Cato the Elder would turn in his grave if he knew.