ON THIS DAY · 2 AUGUST 216 BC
Battle of Cannae
Cannae. Hannibal’s smaller army swallows eight Roman legions whole — the double envelopment every general since has dreamed of.
WW2 is free in full, and chapter 1 of every atlas is free. A free account opens 3 more chapters a day. Starter, at $9 a month, opens all 21 with no daily limit — see the plans.
The moment in context
Hannibal began his invasion far from Rome. In 218 BC he led an army from Carthaginian Spain across the Rhône and over the Alps in autumn snow. Most of his men were lost on the journey, and perhaps 26,000 reached Italy. The crossing makes sense as part of a political plan: victories on Italian soil might convince Rome’s allies that Rome could no longer protect them, and persuade them to leave the alliance that furnished its armies.
From Second Punic War, chapter 2 of The Rise and Fall of Rome, 264 BC – AD 476 (216 BC).
Teach this in 5 minutes
- Why it happened — A treaty written in resentment. Carthage’s defeat brought heavy peace terms in 241 BC. Three years later, while Carthage fought its mutinous mercenaries, Rome took Sardinia.…
- The turn — Cannae, 2 August 216 BC. The battle at Cannae on 2 August 216 BC destroyed a Roman army. Some ancient estimates put the dead at about 60,000, perhaps an eighth of the adult…
- What it changed — The Mediterranean’s center of gravity moves west. With Carthage reduced to a disarmed client, Rome became the dominant naval power in the western Mediterranean. Numidia under Masinissa allied with…
Then ask the room: Rome suffered immense losses at Cannae and kept fighting. What allowed it to continue? The argued answer is on the chapter page →
The atlas that shows it
THE FREE PRINTABLE STUDY GUIDE
Get the printable study guide for Rome free. I’ll send you a few short letters, then one when a new atlas opens. That’s all. — Paul
NO TRACKING · YOUR ADDRESS IS USED FOR THE DISPATCH AND NOTHING ELSE · UNSUBSCRIBE ANYTIME