When Hannibal (in his own, Punic language: Hanba'al, "mercy of Baal") was born in 247 BCE, his birthplace Carthage was about to lose a long and important war. The city had been the Mediterranean's most prosperous seaport and possessed wealthy provinces, but it had suffered severe losses from the Romans in the First Punic War (264-241). After Rome's victory, it stripped Carthage of its most important province, Sicily; and when civil war had broken out in Cartage, Rome seized Sardinia and Corsica as well. These events must have made a great impression on the young Hannibal.

He was the oldest son of the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca, who took the ten-year old boy to Iberia in 237. There were several Carthaginian cities in Andalusia: Gadir ('castle', modern Cádiz), Malkah ('royal town', Málaga) and New Carthage (Cartagena). The ancient name of Córdoba is unknown, although the Punic element Kart, 'town', is still recognizable in its name.

Hamilcar added new territories to......

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Title: Hannibal
Approximate Word Count: 2497
Approximate Pages: 10 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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