221
Keep the boy in Carthage
Hasdrubal the Fair asks for the young Hannibal. Hanno wants him to grow up under the laws of the city, not in a camp where he would learn to rule as a master.
Livy, XXI, 3
Biography · 3rd c. BC
Active c. 247 – late 3rd c. BC
Hanno the Great
The man of Africa against the Barcas
Conqueror of the Libyan hinterland, unlucky general of the Mercenary War, rival of Hamilcar and open opponent of Hannibal: for the ancients, Hanno embodied the Carthage of the great landowners, which wanted peace with Rome.
~247
capture of Hecatompylus, in the Libyan hinterland (Diodorus)
3,000
hostages taken at Hecatompylus, and the city spared (Diodorus, XXIV, 10)
~100
elephants in his army before Utica, in 240 (Polybius, I, 74)
30
senators sent to reconcile him with Hamilcar (Polybius, I, 87)
A faction leader
Who was Hanno?
His family and the dates of his birth and death are unknown. Hanno appears in the sources around 247, as Carthage's general in Africa, and vanishes after the Second Punic War. The nickname "the Great" distinguishes him from his many namesakes; the texts usually call him simply Hanno.
For Polybius as for Livy, he is the figurehead of a faction: the great landowners of the African chora, devoted to working the land and hostile to the Barcids' distant ventures. The institutions page of this site describes these rivalries.
Faction: landed aristocracyRivals: Hamilcar, HannibalSources: Polybius, Livy
Beware of namesakes
Several Hannos
- Hanno the NavigatorPresumed author of the Periplus along Atlantic Africa (5th c.?).
- Hanno, 4th c.The most powerful citizen of his day, shown by Justin (XXI, 4) trying to seize power; also sometimes called "the Great".
- Hanno in SardiniaSent against the rebel mercenaries on the island and crucified by his own troops (Polybius, I, 79).
- Hanno son of BomilcarProbably Hannibal's nephew, cavalry commander at the Rhône crossing in 218.
Timeline
What the sources attribute to him
c. 247Africa first — General in Africa while the war went on in Sicily, he took Hecatompylus, a Libyan town generally identified with Theveste (Tébessa) — a likely but debated identification (Diodorus, XXIV, 10; Polybius, I, 73).
241 – 240Facing the mercenaries — Sent to address the mercenaries gathered at Sicca, he pleaded the state's poverty: these soldiers, whom he had not led in Sicily, distrusted him. Revolt broke out (Polybius, I, 66–67).
240Utica — With siege engines and about a hundred elephants, he drove the rebels from their camp before Utica, then let himself be surprised by their return (Polybius, I, 74).
240 – 238Hamilcar and discord — Hamilcar received a command. The two generals quarrelled so badly that the army was asked to choose: it kept Hamilcar, and Hanno was set aside (Polybius, I, 82).
238 – 237Forced reconciliation — After a setback before Tunis, thirty senators imposed a reconciliation; Hanno and Hamilcar together defeated Mathos and ended the war (Polybius, I, 87–88).
221Against Barcid "kingship" — When Hasdrubal the Fair asked for young Hannibal in Iberia, Hanno opposed it in the Senate (Livy, XXI, 3).
219 – 218Surrender Hannibal? — After the fall of Saguntum, he called for Hannibal to be handed over to Rome to avoid war. He was not followed (Livy, XXI, 10).
216After Cannae — As Mago Barca announced the victory, he advised negotiating peace from a position of strength (Livy, XXIII, 12–13).
203Hannibal's reproach — Recalled from Italy, Hannibal blamed the envy of the Senate and of Hanno for his defeat (Livy, XXX, 20).
Two policies for Carthage
In the 3rd century two visions clashed in the Senate; the sources embody them in two men.
Hanno
The land of Africa
Extend and exploit Libyan territory, the source of the landed aristocracy's income; avoid another war with Rome. Polybius recalls how harsh this policy was: during the First Punic War, Libyan farmers were made to hand over half their harvest (I, 72) — which explains why they joined the mercenaries.
The Barcids
The sea and Iberia
Make up for the loss of Sicily with an empire in Iberia, rich in silver and soldiers, and prepare for revenge. Polybius (III, 8), reporting Fabius Pictor's view, describes the Barcids relying on popular favour; M. Sznycer rejects the notion of a Hellenistic-style monarchy.
Mercenary War · 241 – 237
An unlucky general
The first general in charge of the war, Hanno was a good organiser, Polybius grants, but a poor field commander: he could raise an army, not seize the moment. His failure opened the way for Hamilcar.
Sicca
He came to ask the soldiers to give up part of their pay. The misunderstanding turned into open revolt.
The camp before Utica
Victorious at the first clash thanks to his elephants, he went back into the city without pursuing; the rebels returned and seized his equipment.
Two generals, one army
His rivalry with Hamilcar paralysed the command: the army decided in favour of Hamilcar (Polybius, I, 82).
The joint victory
Reconciled by a Senate commission, he fought alongside Hamilcar against Mathos's last army, which was beaten and captured.
Et aequum postulare videtur Hasdrubal, et ego tamen non censeo quod petit tribuendum. […] Vereor ne quandoque parvus hic ignis incendium ingens exsuscitet.
« Hasdrubal's request seems fair, and yet I do not think what he asks should be granted. […] I fear that one day this little spark may kindle a vast fire. »
Against Hannibal's war
Three speeches reported by Livy: they tell us less what Hanno said than what Rome wanted to hear.
219 – 218
Surrender Hannibal
After Saguntum, he recalls the sworn peace, foretells a ruinous war and proposes handing Hannibal over to the Roman envoys. The Senate chooses war.
Livy, XXI, 10
216
Peace after Cannae
Faced with the gold rings brought by Mago, he asks which Latin people has defected: none. Rome has not bent; now is the time to negotiate.
Livy, XXIII, 12–13
Reading Livy with care
A wise man, really?
Livy is hostile to Hannibal: he makes Hanno the voice of reason, the one who foresaw everything. These speeches are literary reconstructions, written two centuries later, not minutes.
Polybius, closer to the events, is severe on Hanno the general. And the sharp contrast between a "Hanno party" and a "Barcid party" probably simplifies a political game of shifting alliances.
After Zama
Peace and silence
Leaving Italy in 203, Hannibal named Hanno among those who had denied him reinforcements. After Zama (202), the peace faction prevailed and the treaty of 201 was accepted.
Hanno, by then elderly, vanishes from the sources. Other Hannos appear in the accounts of 204–201 and 150–149: nothing allows us to say they are the same man.
Sources
Where our knowledge comes from
Polybius, Histories, IThe Mercenary War: Sicca, Utica, the rivalry with Hamilcar, the reconciliation (I, 66–88).
Diodorus, XXIV, 10The capture of Hecatompylus and the lenient treatment of the town, preserved in fragments.
Livy, XXI, XXIII, XXXThe speeches against the war (XXI, 3 and 10; XXIII, 12–13) and Hannibal's reproach (XXX, 20).
AppianHis accounts of the end of the Second Punic War and of the Third mention several Hannos: identifying them with Hamilcar's opponent remains uncertain.
Further readingSources for this page
7 references
Ancient sources
- Polybius, HistoriesI, 66–67; 72–74; 79; 82; 87–88; III, 8 — the Mercenary War: Sicca, Utica, the rivalry with Hamilcar, the reconciliation
- Diodorus Siculus, Library of HistoryXXIV, 10 — the capture of Hecatompylus (fragments)
- Livy, History of RomeXXI, 3; XXI, 10; XXIII, 12–13; XXX, 20 — the speeches against Hannibal's war and Hannibal's reproach in 203
- Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic HistoriesXXI, 4 — the 4th-century namesake
- Appian, Libyca — several Hannos, of uncertain identity
- Fabius Pictor — lost work; his view of the Barcids is reported by Polybius (III, 8)
Modern scholarship
- Maurice Sznycer, Carthage et la civilisation punique, 1978 — on the supposed Barcid "monarchy"
