Hannibal's Oath

The Life and Wars of Rome's Greatest Enemy

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Pub Date 26 Sep 2017 | Archive Date 22 Aug 2017

Description

According to the ancient sources, Hannibal was nine years old when his father led him to the temple at Carthage and dipped the young boy's hands in the blood of the sacrificial victim. Before those gods, Hannibal swore an oath of eternal hatred toward Rome.

Few images in history have managed to capture and hold the popular imagination quite like that of Hannibal, the fearless North African, perched on a monstrous elephant, leading his mercenaries over the Alps, and then, against all odds, descending the ice-covered peaks to challenge Rome in her own backyard for mastery of the ancient world. It was a bold move, and it established Hannibal as one of history's greatest commanders. But this same brilliant tactician is also one of history's most tragic figures; fate condemned him to win his battles but not his war against Rome.

An internationally recognized expert on Hannibal for nearly thirty years, historian John Prevas has visited every Hannibal-related site and mountain pass, from Tunisia to Italy, Spain to Turkey, seeking evidence to dispel the myths surrounding Hannibal's character and his wars.

Hannibal's Oath is an easily readable yet comprehensive biography of this iconic military leader--an epic account of a monumental and tragic life.
According to the ancient sources, Hannibal was nine years old when his father led him to the temple at Carthage and dipped the young boy's hands in the blood of the sacrificial victim. Before those...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780306824241
PRICE $28.00 (USD)
PAGES 320

Average rating from 20 members


Featured Reviews

I didn'tknow a great deal about Hannibal before reading this, so this was hugely informative. I found the writing accessible, and overal a hugely interesting read.

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A fantastic biography about one of history's greatest conquers. A must read for all history buffs!

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Prevas offers a solid, popular look at the career or Hannibal and his family, with special attention to the geography, which Prevas has considered carefully to make best guess about the calculated risk of the Alpine crossing and most likely locations of battles. The strength of this work is the bigger picture of the still-strong Hellenistic world in the wake of Alexander, the clashing strategies of Hannibal and Rome (Hannibal wanted to break apart Roman hegemony over the Greek and Italian cities, Rome was willing to go all or nothing), the political machinations within Carthage, and the resource management necessary to wage decades-long wars in the ancient world. Prevas began his study as part of a Latin class, so he starts with the documents, and offers background on when, by whom and why the source was made, and how it affects the information offered about Hannibal.

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Hannibal's Oath is a well researched, very accessible biography of one of the most famous military leaders in western history. John Prevas has woven a strong narrative that doesn't waver from chapter to chapter. I particularly like that he is very clear about the suppositions he makes and the potential problems with ancient source material. His end notes are well written and clarify information exceptionally well. I especially liked the note about the hands-on experiment he did with heating a large boulder and pouring vinegar on it to make it easier to break up (the hypothesized way Hannibal's engineers cleared the alpine trail of a massive boulder).
Like many biographies of ancient historical figures, Hannibal's Oath left me wishing for more, and decrying the sparseness of primary sources about his personal life.
I would happily recommend this book to both the reader with a casual interest in ancient history and the confirmed ancient history buff.

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4.5 STARS
Great account of the rise and fall of Carthago. It is very well researched and contains a lot of original info i had never read before about Hannibal and this era in general. The author even disagrees with most historians in some passages, adding facts and sources he researched himself and ideas he got by researching on the actual ground of facts and battles; i found this amazing.
Besides, it is well written and easy to read. Despite the plethora of characters that appear in the book, it was never confusing.
Also, his portrait of Hannibal is well balanced, showing his strong points and his weaknesses alike, something i value a lot in biographies.
The only thing i missed is that i would have liked a lot of maps. The sites in which the story develops are not always well known and maps or pictures of the sites as they look today would have been a great addition.

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A fascinating and true study of Hannibal, one of ancient Rome's greatest enemies, a brilliant general and, according to John Prevas, a "larger-than-life action hero from the past."

Prevas did the translations from period and later documents, historical research and traveled to the places where Hannibal went, to create one of the most insightful, non-fiction examinations of Hannibal that I've ever read.

It all started with Hannibal's father, Hamilcar. "Hamilcar was furious at what he saw as Roman bad faith, but powerless to intervene at the moment, he chose to bide his time and find another way to even the score." loc 290, ebook. Spoiler alert (if you don't know ancient history): Hamilcar had a bunch of kids and made them swear to destroy Rome. The boys, he groomed as warriors; the girls, he married off advantageously to help his sons.

"As the rituals neared completion, Hamilcar called for Hannibal, then only nine years of age, to join him at the altar. There, the young boy begged his father to take him to Spain, and Hamilcar consented on the condition that Hannibal pledge to the god he would always be an enemy to Rome and to anyone who stood with Rome." loc 323, ebook. No pressure or anything.

The Barcas, Hamilcar's family, create a foothold in Spain. It is from there, that Hannibal will eventually attack the Romans by, famously, crossing the Alps- with elephants in tow.

Anything to do with Hannibal's elephants were my favorite parts of this book. "The elephants were often plied with wine before battle to stimulate their aggression, and while the wine might have done that to some degree, it also seems to have contributed to their tendency to panic and then rampage during the mayhem of the fighting." loc 713, ebook.

Drunk, rampaging elephants! It doesn't get much more dramatic than that.

Though written more like a textbook than a historical fiction (which is my favorite way to learn about history), I still learned a lot from Hannibal's Oath and enjoyed it.

Recommended for classic majors, elephant lovers and fans of ancient history.

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Expertly researched, well written and totally readable, this is a very very enjoyable book, Prevas fills in the details brings Hannibal to life. He really is one of the most underappreciated great figures from an age of great figures.

The book is very accessible and should serve well for a both a general as well as academic audience. The author walked the path and lived the history. The snippets from his own travels add a very enjoyable new element to the book.

Highly recommended.

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An interesting, if slightly terse account. I always find it surprising how little we actually know about such ancient characters.

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