Hannibal won the battle but lost the (Second Punic) war. Details at the link. Plus, here is a recent analysis of the battle and its outcome: The Importance of the Battle of Cannae (BRET C. DEVEREAUX, War on the Rocks).
The Battle of Cannae, fought on Aug. 2, 216 BCE, the crowning success of Hannibal Barca over the Romans, sits comfortably in the pantheon of great military victories. It is one of the most spectacular examples of adroit tactics enabling a smaller, less heavily equipped army to defeat a larger, heavier opposing force in an open, pitched battle. However, though Cannae is frequently described as a “decisive victory,” it was, of course, nothing of the sort: The battle took place two years into the 17-year-long Second Punic War, which Hannibal lost. The failure of even the greatest of tactical victories to alter the overall strategic situation is every bit as much of the legacy of Cannae as Hannibal’s dazzling double-envelopment tactics.Every so often I also like to link to this post, which explains why PaleoJudaica pays attention to the Phoenicians, Phoenician, the Carthaginians, and Punic and Neo-Punic.[...]
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