Hannibal and Kocaeli, part 2

PUNIC WATCH: Part two of Elsie Alan's survey of the life of Hannibal has been published in Today's Zaman: [THE OUTSIDER] Kocaeli dead celebrities: Hannibal, menace of Rome (2). Excerpt:

Back to Spain, 218 B.C., New Carthage (Cartagena): Little Hannibal has grown up, and is finally in a position to avenge his now-dead daddy, Hamilcar, by managing to pick a fight with Rome. Rome has demanded that Hannibal and his very talented brothers all come to Rome in chains, or it is war. This was very stupid of Rome; that was just what Hannibal wanted them to say. Oh boy, a war with Rome! Like a kid with a new toy, Gen. Hannibal put together a very diverse, scary army, consisting of Spaniards, Celts and Africans. The Africans consisted of Northern Berber tribes, as well as the formidable and feisty Numidians, crazy-fierce horsemen who were renowned for their savagery and skill. He also had elephants, probably shipped down the Med from Syria. So in May, 218 B.C., the all-grown-up Hannibal left Cartagena with 90,000 foot, 12,000 cavalry and 32 elephants to surprise Rome by attacking it FROM THE NORTH; 102,000 people are five times the population of my home town; Hannibal was 29 years old.

The only way he could approach Rome by land, of course, was to go up the Iberian Peninsula, into France, across the Rhone with his elephants, over the Swiss Alps and down into Italy, pursued in Keystone Kops hilarity by the Roman army, who had got the word that Hannibal was up to something no good. He also had to secure Roman and Greek settlements along the way and fight Gallic tribes throughout the Alps, which was where the Victor Mature scenes come in and deal with bad directions from his “friendly” Gallic turncoat guides; never mind the snow and ice past the tree line. Easy, right? In the less than six months it took for him to succeed, for succeed he did, he lost or left behind to secure his back 79,000 men and 31 elephants and many, many horses and mules. At least half the men died, and all of the elephants except the one. But he did it.