Something I found interesting in this weeks readings was, The differences between Roman's army and Carthage's army. Rome's army was much better with their lands men then at sea. Where on the other hand Carthage's one big advantage on the Romans was their sea men. Carthage's military on land was made up of all types of different kinds of men. Where Roman's military was all made up of their native kind. Carthage's fought until death they wouldn't take defeat. Romans had that same kind of tenacity to fighting as the Carthage's. They fought for their land,families and they would throw their lives into the struggle until they defeated their enemies. Even though Roman's army and Carthage's army had some differences they had a thing or two in common.
Something that I found interesting about this weeks reading was the intricacy of Roman hair styles. When I think of Rome, I mostly think of things related to their military, not anything fashion related. From what I gathered from the small portion of reading about Roman hair styles this week, it seems to me that Romans actually did spend a large amount of time on their hair as well as their overall appearance.
Hannibal took a huge risk when he decided to take his army across the Alps. And sometimes, in battle, that's what it takes to win; a huge risk that could lead to destruction. In this case, it did lead to destruction. But Hannibal had no way of knowing that until after the battle was over. The risk that he took reminded me of a part from Rangers Apprentice;
"'There are always risks in battle. It's a dangerous business. The trick is to take the right ones.' 'How do you know which are the right ones?' Shigeru asked. Halt glances at his two younger companions. They grinned and answered in chorus, 'You wait and see if you win.'" ~John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
Hannibal was an indefatigable rival of Rome. He fought to win. He wanted everything to do with war, and little to do with anything else. This is apparent in the first 10 minutes of the video, Hannibal - The Rise and Fall. Near the beginning he states "Get these children out of here, we are going to war." He doesn't care about the children's safety, his mind is completely wrapped around was and victory. Hannibal also doesn't care about what other commanders have to say about his plans and decisions. When he decided to take 50,000 men through Spain into France crossing over the alps on his way East to Italy. Crossing 1,500 miles, 150 miles over snow covered, cold, icy alps, before landing in Rome, hopefully before winter set. His brother, Hasdrabal, remarks "They don't like it" Hannibal replies "They don't need to." Hannibal was sure about his plan and didn't doubt his decisions. He was fought for victory but revenge most of all, and he wouldn't let anything get in the way of it.
I just loved reading about the Punic wars this week, I found it awesomely fascinating. I especially enjoyed Hannibal. He was super brave and kinda of insane for trying to cross the Alps, but it worked and that's pretty amazing. Even though it was probably hard for him to lose most of his men while traveling, he decided to keep going and in the end it paid off. I do wonder whether he was satisfied with the victory though, considering how many of his men died due to the journey. I also loved reading about the Roman hair :)
I found it sad that the Punic Wars started because of jealousy, fear, and wanting to be the greatest. The First Punic War began, because Rome and Carthage both desired control of the island Sicily. The one and only thing Rome could do to stop Carthage was to somehow breakdown her naval superiority. Fresh tactics were also created by Romans in hopes they would beat Carthage. The new tactics worked and Rome was able to defeat the Carthaginians. In the end, the Romans obtained power over Sicily. During the Second Punic War, Hannibal was introduced into the picture. Because of his brilliant strategies, daring plans, and strong leadership Carthage was in victory for most of the Second Punic War. However, there was a man on the Romans side who made a turning point in the war. His name was Scipio and he had just as daring plans as Hannibal. In the battle of Zama (202 BC) with Scipio as their leader, the Romans defeated Carthage. Now Rome was the chief controller of the western Mediterranean. The Third Punic War started because Rome resented the fact that Carthage was recovering its previous wealth and success. Sadly, Carthage was in no place to fight powerful Rome. After a siege for three years, the Romans captured, and destroyed helpless Carthage. It is easy to see how the love of power can overcome a country and led to its destruction. Wanting to be the greatest can be a dangerous idol.
Hannibal was a really crazy guy. He was really smart with his war techniques, but really stupid by going over the alps. A lot of his men died or were left behind. This was really cold of Hannibal. But once they got to Rome, they destroyed everything. They burned people's crops and homes. But what was really amazing was that after all of this, they lost. Scipio used Hannibal's war techniques against him. Hannibal fled form the battle and disappeared for nineteen. He acted like a coward. He ran off because he saw he had lost. He then killed himself when Rome found out where he was. Kind of a sad ending for a guy as great as Hannibal. Then again, was he as great has he seemed?
Something that I thought was interesting in this weeks reading was that even though Hannibal was such a clever general and yet he was outsmarted by Scipio. Hannibal, being the strong and able leader that he was, defeated the Roman army terribly at the battle of Cannae, slaughtering thousands. I think it was very interesting that he did not press his advantage and take Rome when he had the chance. However this was exactly the opportunity Rome had been waiting for. Scipio became the most famous Roman of his time by defeating attacking Carthage and its army. Even Hannibal could do nothing as the Romans destroyed his home. Scipio and Hannibal were similar in many ways. Both were very clever (Hannibal for his brilliant battle strategy and Scipio for learning from Hannibal how to use his own plans against him and work to his advantage. They were also both very influential in there homeland (whether good or bad). In my opinion, it was rather ironic that Hannibal was so great and yet he was defeated by someone very like himself.
Though Hannibal was ultimately destroyed by Rome when Scipio, copying every tactic of Hannibal defeated his army at Zama, he lived in the minds of the Romans as their worst nightmare. When I think of the Romans, I think of an invincible world empire that is undefeatable. But Hannibal nearly did destroy the Roman Empire. Why was Hannibal such a threat to the Romans? It was not because of his numbers, because the Romans were overly confident at first when they assumed they could overpower him. His superb stratagem paired with the predictability of the Romans ensured a more than fair chance against the mighty empire. He was a nightmare to the Romans because he was fearless, unpredictable, sly, courageous, and an outstanding leader. His leadership, inciting his men even in extreme hardship proved to be exceedingly beneficial. If he lacked this gift, his followers would have slowly fallen away until he was left standing alone, a military genius with no military.
In this week’s readings, I thought that Hannibal’s march through the Alps evoked many thoughts and questions. While it could be considered a smart military tactic, the impact it had on Hannibal’s army was staggering. Rome was surprised that Hannibal took this crazy route. But it cost Hannibal an incredible amount, and in the end, turned out to be pointless. The Alps were 120 miles of snow, ice and rock. Moving through altitudes of 8,000 feet, the army had to march constantly. If they stopped, they would freeze. Each day 1,000 lives were lost through the Alps. This is a huge amount of people for an army to loose every day. At times, I can’t believe Hannibal chose this fate upon so many men. The amount that Hannibal, and other generals, would willingly give up for “the greater good,” which they had no guarantee of receiving, was enormous. 50,000 men marched into the Alps. A little over half of them came out. If this was the result of Hannibal’s choice, it makes you wonder if he thought it was all worth it when they finally reached Roman soil.
While Hannibal had incredible confidence in his army and the feat of crossing the Alps, I think he was being nonsensical. And in the end, crossing the Alps did not aid him in the battle against Rome. Hannibal had wonderful military tactics that he used during the Battle of Cannae, but those too proved to be of no use. He was unsuccessful in his conquest to conquer Rome because he did not have a sufficient number of men in his army, or the equipment necessary to break open the walls of Rome. Although Hannibal had some wonderful ideas, he did not play them out correctly, and thus did not succeed in his conquest to capture Rome.
The Romans and the Carthaginians desired to be the most powerful, most influential nation. These two nations strove against each other, but, ultimately, "time and circumstance erases it all". Carthage and Rome both wanted to be the sole ruler of the Mediterranean. Carthage expended all her efforts to defeat Rome, in the three costly Punic Wars. Many soldiers died, and many families hurt after the Battle of Zama, and other various battles. Rome's defeat of Carthage may have earned it its victory, but it spurred on Rome's pride. The pride of Rome was perhaps its downfall. They had economical pride as well as social pride.
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23 comments:
Something I found interesting in this weeks readings was, The differences between Roman's army and Carthage's army. Rome's army was much better with their lands men then at sea. Where on the other hand Carthage's one big advantage on the Romans was their sea men. Carthage's military on land was made up of all types of different kinds of men. Where Roman's military was all made up of their native kind. Carthage's fought until death they wouldn't take defeat. Romans had that same kind of tenacity to fighting as the Carthage's. They fought for their land,families and they would throw their lives into the struggle until they defeated their enemies. Even though Roman's army and Carthage's army had some differences they had a thing or two in common.
Something that I found interesting about this weeks reading was the intricacy of Roman hair styles. When I think of Rome, I mostly think of things related to their military, not anything fashion related. From what I gathered from the small portion of reading about Roman hair styles this week, it seems to me that Romans actually did spend a large amount of time on their hair as well as their overall appearance.
Hannibal took a huge risk when he decided to take his army across the Alps. And sometimes, in battle, that's what it takes to win; a huge risk that could lead to destruction. In this case, it did lead to destruction. But Hannibal had no way of knowing that until after the battle was over. The risk that he took reminded me of a part from Rangers Apprentice;
"'There are always risks in battle. It's a dangerous business. The trick is to take the right ones.'
'How do you know which are the right ones?' Shigeru asked.
Halt glances at his two younger companions. They grinned and answered in chorus,
'You wait and see if you win.'"
~John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja
Hannibal was an indefatigable rival of Rome. He fought to win. He wanted everything to do with war, and little to do with anything else. This is apparent in the first 10 minutes of the video, Hannibal - The Rise and Fall. Near the beginning he states "Get these children out of here, we are going to war." He doesn't care about the children's safety, his mind is completely wrapped around was and victory. Hannibal also doesn't care about what other commanders have to say about his plans and decisions. When he decided to take 50,000 men through Spain into France crossing over the alps on his way East to Italy. Crossing 1,500 miles, 150 miles over snow covered, cold, icy alps, before landing in Rome, hopefully before winter set. His brother, Hasdrabal, remarks "They don't like it" Hannibal replies "They don't need to." Hannibal was sure about his plan and didn't doubt his decisions. He was fought for victory but revenge most of all, and he wouldn't let anything get in the way of it.
I just loved reading about the Punic wars this week, I found it awesomely fascinating. I especially enjoyed Hannibal. He was super brave and kinda of insane for trying to cross the Alps, but it worked and that's pretty amazing. Even though it was probably hard for him to lose most of his men while traveling, he decided to keep going and in the end it paid off. I do wonder whether he was satisfied with the victory though, considering how many of his men died due to the journey. I also loved reading about the Roman hair :)
... by the way...
WHO. IS. ANONYMOUS.
Yeah, Betsy! It was fascinating! And I agree...who is anonymous?
I found it sad that the Punic Wars started because of jealousy, fear, and wanting to be the greatest. The First Punic War began, because Rome and Carthage both desired control of the island Sicily. The one and only thing Rome could do to stop Carthage was to somehow breakdown her naval superiority. Fresh tactics were also created by Romans in hopes they would beat Carthage. The new tactics worked and Rome was able to defeat the Carthaginians. In the end, the Romans obtained power over Sicily. During the Second Punic War, Hannibal was introduced into the picture. Because of his brilliant strategies, daring plans, and strong leadership Carthage was in victory for most of the Second Punic War. However, there was a man on the Romans side who made a turning point in the war. His name was Scipio and he had just as daring plans as Hannibal. In the battle of Zama (202 BC) with Scipio as their leader, the Romans defeated Carthage. Now Rome was the chief controller of the western Mediterranean. The Third Punic War started because Rome resented the fact that Carthage was recovering its previous wealth and success. Sadly, Carthage was in no place to fight powerful Rome. After a siege for three years, the Romans captured, and destroyed helpless Carthage. It is easy to see how the love of power can overcome a country and led to its destruction. Wanting to be the greatest can be a dangerous idol.
Hannibal was a really crazy guy. He was really smart with his war techniques, but really stupid by going over the alps. A lot of his men died or were left behind. This was really cold of Hannibal. But once they got to Rome, they destroyed everything. They burned people's crops and homes. But what was really amazing was that after all of this, they lost. Scipio used Hannibal's war techniques against him. Hannibal fled form the battle and disappeared for nineteen. He acted like a coward. He ran off because he saw he had lost. He then killed himself when Rome found out where he was. Kind of a sad ending for a guy as great as Hannibal. Then again, was he as great has he seemed?
Something that I thought was interesting in this weeks reading was that even though Hannibal was such a clever general and yet he was outsmarted by Scipio. Hannibal, being the strong and able leader that he was, defeated the Roman army terribly at the battle of Cannae, slaughtering thousands. I think it was very interesting that he did not press his advantage and take Rome when he had the chance. However this was exactly the opportunity Rome had been waiting for. Scipio became the most famous Roman of his time by defeating attacking Carthage and its army. Even Hannibal could do nothing as the Romans destroyed his home. Scipio and Hannibal were similar in many ways. Both were very clever (Hannibal for his brilliant battle strategy and Scipio for learning from Hannibal how to use his own plans against him and work to his advantage. They were also both very influential in there homeland (whether good or bad). In my opinion, it was rather ironic that Hannibal was so great and yet he was defeated by someone very like himself.
Betsy, I think it is entertaining how annoyed you are at Anonymous. :P
Hey! you aren't anonymous!
Hey! you aren't anonymous!
I like Leah's paragraph.
Though Hannibal was ultimately destroyed by Rome when Scipio, copying every tactic of Hannibal defeated his army at Zama, he lived in the minds of the Romans as their worst nightmare. When I think of the Romans, I think of an invincible world empire that is undefeatable. But Hannibal nearly did destroy the Roman Empire. Why was Hannibal such a threat to the Romans? It was not because of his numbers, because the Romans were overly confident at first when they assumed they could overpower him. His superb stratagem paired with the predictability of the Romans ensured a more than fair chance against the mighty empire. He was a nightmare to the Romans because he was fearless, unpredictable, sly, courageous, and an outstanding leader. His leadership, inciting his men even in extreme hardship proved to be exceedingly beneficial. If he lacked this gift, his followers would have slowly fallen away until he was left standing alone, a military genius with no military.
You make some good points Cassie!
Interesting to think about.....
In this week’s readings, I thought that Hannibal’s march through the Alps evoked many thoughts and questions. While it could be considered a smart military tactic, the impact it had on Hannibal’s army was staggering. Rome was surprised that Hannibal took this crazy route. But it cost Hannibal an incredible amount, and in the end, turned out to be pointless. The Alps were 120 miles of snow, ice and rock. Moving through altitudes of 8,000 feet, the army had to march constantly. If they stopped, they would freeze. Each day 1,000 lives were lost through the Alps. This is a huge amount of people for an army to loose every day. At times, I can’t believe Hannibal chose this fate upon so many men. The amount that Hannibal, and other generals, would willingly give up for “the greater good,” which they had no guarantee of receiving, was enormous. 50,000 men marched into the Alps. A little over half of them came out. If this was the result of Hannibal’s choice, it makes you wonder if he thought it was all worth it when they finally reached Roman soil.
While Hannibal had incredible confidence in his army and the feat of crossing the Alps, I think he was being nonsensical. And in the end, crossing the Alps did not aid him in the battle against Rome. Hannibal had wonderful military tactics that he used during the Battle of Cannae, but those too proved to be of no use. He was unsuccessful in his conquest to conquer Rome because he did not have a sufficient number of men in his army, or the equipment necessary to break open the walls of Rome. Although Hannibal had some wonderful ideas, he did not play them out correctly, and thus did not succeed in his conquest to capture Rome.
P.S. Anonymous (or Anonymous pl.) reveal yourselves!
I agree I want to know who Anonymous is? :)
I was anonymous after Cassie's post.
The Romans and the Carthaginians desired to be the most powerful, most influential nation. These two nations strove against each other, but, ultimately, "time and circumstance erases it all". Carthage and Rome both wanted to be the sole ruler of the Mediterranean. Carthage expended all her efforts to defeat Rome, in the three costly Punic Wars. Many soldiers died, and many families hurt after the Battle of Zama, and other various battles.
Rome's defeat of Carthage may have earned it its victory, but it spurred on Rome's pride. The pride of Rome was perhaps its downfall. They had economical pride as well as social pride.
Thank you for confessing! Now I liked what you said Renee.And you too Cassie!
@ Anonymous Mystery
What did you like about Cassie's and my comment?
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