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Zhang Jiashi himself did not think about the future, he may have an all-out attack on the Huns at the moment, and he did not expect that he would fight against the Roman Republic one day in the future. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ（）

In a sense, the Roman Republic around 200 B.C. was in fact gradually becoming stronger.

The first great enemy of the Roman Republic during this period was not the Great Qin Empire, which was too busy to take care of itself, and according to the original history, even the end of the Han Dynasty, there was no formal war with the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.

Two years earlier, in 202 BC, the Romans had won a brilliant victory at the Battle of Zama.

Because this victory in a sense announced the end of Rome's history of years of suppression by the famous Carthaginian general Hannibal.

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The Battle of Zama took place on 19 BC during the Second Punic War, in a battle fought against the Carthaginian army (35,000 infantry, cavalry, 80 war elephants) under the command of Publius Cornelius Scipio (of Africa) near Zama (an ancient city in North Africa, 120 km southwest of Carthage, in present-day Kraft).

This was the only head-on clash between Hannibal and Scipio the Great, and led to the first and final defeat of Hannibal in his life.

At that time, Hannibal went deep into Italy, although he stirred the hearts of the Romans, but also because his own troops could not be replenished, and did not dare to carry out a big frontal conflict, and the Romans were also afraid of Hannibal and did not dare to take the initiative to attack him, in 208 BC, Hannibal's younger brother Hasdrubal followed his brother's march route from Spain to Italy to support his brother, Rome naturally did not let them succeed again, and Hasdrubal did not have the same talent as his brother, in 207 BC Nero annihilated this support army in the Battle of Metorus, this defeat was unthinkable for Hannibal, which made him afraid to take any further action until the beginning of the Battle of Zama.

Rome lost this thorn and began to act, Scipio the Great took control of the Spanish peninsula and began to look at Carthage Africa proper, he first united with Numidia behind Carthage, and then began to march into Africa, and he won the two battles of Utica with small casualties, thus gaining a foothold in Africa, and threatening Carthage with both soft and hard forces.

At this time, Hannibal was also ordered to return to Africa, and Hannibal's 15-year conquest of Italy was useless, and it also laid the groundwork for his first and final defeat in his life.

The principle of the formation of the battle formations of the two opposing armies was that the light infantry in front, the two columns behind were hoplites, and the two flanks were cavalry. The Romans especially strengthened the right flank of their battle formation, where the Numidian cavalry was deployed, and on the left flank were the Roman cavalry. The Carthaginians divided their cavalry evenly, with war elephants and light infantry in front, and placed the second horizontal column of the battle formation 200 meters behind the first column. In order to fight the Carthaginian war elephants, Scipio appointed a special thrower. The trained and experienced Roman army surpassed the Carthaginian army in quality. The battle was initiated by the Carthaginians, who threw war elephants into the storm. However, the Romans threw their mobile phones and made loud noises with trumpets and horns, causing the Carthaginian war elephants to turn around and cause confusion among the infantry and cavalry. The Roman cavalry took advantage of this to turn to the charge, and then deliberately retreated and drew the Carthaginian cavalry away from the battlefield. Hannibal was determined to encircle both flanks of the enemy with his own infantry, and for this purpose he had two columns of his army march through both flanks. The Romans repeated this maneuver as well, so that the battle became a frontal clash on the front. In the course of the fierce battle, Scipio ordered the soldiers of the second column, the main force, to advance in large groups to the flanks and encircle the enemy by stretching the battle column. The Carthaginians, having received an onslaught from both flanks, began to retreat. The Romans threw their most experienced soldiers, the reservists, into battle, formed a phalanx (10 columns) and stormed the second column of the Carthaginians, which consisted of veterans. The Carthaginians withstood this assault.

But at this time they were attacked from the rear by the spreading Roman cavalry, and this decided the outcome of the engagement. Carthage's army was crushed. Its losses amounted to 10,000 people. Hannibal was able to flee for his life. The Romans lost a total of 1,500 men. Comments: For the first time in the battle of Zama, the echelon configuration of the battle formation was implemented, which expanded the mobility of the army. The second column of the battle formation was able to maneuver and flexibly repel the assault or strike the flank and rear of the enemy. The depth of the battle formation has increased. Not only cavalry, but also infantry in deep echelons became a means of maneuver. Decisive for the victory of the Romans was the fact that the Emperor Masinissa of East Numidia had switched to their side before the battle began, and his powerful cavalry created a general advantage among the Roman cavalry.

The battle seemed to be evenly matched in terms of forces, but in fact, the essence of Hannibal's tactics lies in the mobility and entrapment of the cavalry on both flanks, and at this time Hannibal's elite cavalry Numidian cavalry had almost lost in Italy, and although it was slightly replenished after arriving in Africa, the improvised patchwork team seemed vulnerable, "Lelius and Masinissa had driven Hannibal's cavalry out of the battlefield and turned back to attack the rear of the Carthaginian army" It can be seen that this cavalry no longer has the strength of the past, and a large number of new African infantry (mainly Margo's troops and infantry from Mauritania, Liguria, Gaul, the Balearic Islands and Libya) are even more cowardly, which directly leads to defeat.

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The reason for Hannibal's defeat is in a sense related to the fact that his brother led reinforcements to support him and finally died in defeat.

If Hasdrubal had succeeded in joining up with Hannibal, Hannibal would have commanded a new force that might have been able to launch another victorious pursuit against the Romans.

It's just that history has no ifs, and after Hannibal's defeat at the Battle of Zama, he finally went to the final path of life:

After losing faith in Hannibal's military prowess at this battle, Carthage surrendered to Rome, officially ending the Second Infantry War. After the war, Rome imposed extremely harsh terms on Carthage, and in addition to the huge war reparations, Carthage lost all its overseas territories, disbanded its navy to only ten ships against pirates, and was never allowed to build an army without Roman permission.

Forty-six-year-old Hannibal began his political career at this time and proved that he was no less capable in domestic affairs than his military talent. After the war, he kept a low profile for a while, but the corruption of Carthaginian politics soon led him to rectify it, and he was elected magistrate to restore the prestige of the position, and carried out a series of reforms that made it possible for Carthage to pay the war reparations to Rome in installments without a significant increase in taxes.

Seven years after the Battle of Zama, the Romans demanded that the Carthaginian government surrender Hannibal, fearing that the Carthaginian economy would pose a renewed threat to them. Hannibal voluntarily went into exile from Carthage for this. He first visited the city of Tyre in Phoenicia, the hometown of Carthage, and then traveled to Ephesus, where he was honored by the Seleucid king Antiochus III, who was preparing for war against Rome.

Hannibal soon found that Antioch's army could no match the power of the Romans, so he suggested that he send a fleet to land in southern Italy and volunteer to lead it.

However, Antiochus III, who listened to the advice of his ministers, was reluctant to hand over any important position to Hannibal, so he did not accept it. According to Strabo and Plutarch, during this time he also spent some time in the court of the Kingdom of Armenia, helping King Artacus I to build a new capital, Artaxata.

In 190 BC, Hannibal was given command of Antioch's fleet, but was defeated by Roman allies at the Battle of Side. After losing to Rome in a series of battles, Antiochus intended to sue for peace with the Romans and surrender Hannibal, so Hannibal fled to Crete, but soon returned to Asia Minor to join the Bithynian king Prusias I, who was at war with the Roman ally Pergamum. Hannibal's exploits for Prusia in this war reinstated the Romans' resolve to capture him. At the request of Rome, Prussia agreed to hand it over, but Hannibal, determined not to fall into the hands of the Romans, committed suicide by poisoning, presumably by poisoning.

The exact date of his death is still debated, but the writings of the historian Livy seem to suggest that Hannibal died in 183 BC at the age of sixty-four, along with Scipio the Great, who was twelve years his junior.

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And as Hannibal's most powerful enemy, Scipio the Great's life after the Battle of Zama also went to glory:

Scipio returned to Rome with a grand triumphal ceremony and was given the title of "African Conqueror". He refused to be given other higher honors (some of Scipio's supporters even offered to grant him the position of consul or dictator for life). In 199 BC Scipio was elected Ombudsman. After stepping down from the post of Ombudsman, he remained politically inactive for many years until his second term as consul in 194 BC.

In 193 BC, Scipio traveled to Africa with several other delegates in an attempt to reconcile the sharp contradictions between the expanding Masinissa and the already declining Carthage. Due to the obvious preference of the Romans towards Masinissa, this mediation did not bear any fruit. In 191 BC, Rome went to war with the Seleucid Empire, the most powerful Hellenistic state in the East. The war was caused by the invasion of the Balkans by the Seleucid king Antiochus III, but the expansionist intentions of the Romans also played a decisive role.

After Antiochus III was driven out of Greece, the Roman Senate resolved to send an expeditionary force to invade the Seleucid Empire itself in Asia. Scipio the Great's younger brother, Lucius Cornelius Scipio, was appointed commander of the Roman army by the Senate, and Scipio the Great accompanied him (the reason for this arrangement was that Scipio had just stepped down from the consulship in 194 BC and had not yet reached the time interval between re-consuls). Most likely, it was Scipio the Great who really held the leadership of the army. In 190 BC, the Roman army completely defeated Antiochus III in Magnesia (in Asia Minor). Scipio the Great did not personally command the battle due to illness. Upon his return to Rome, his younger brother Lucius received the title of "conqueror of Asia".

Scipio's preference for Greek and Oriental cultures, as well as certain shortcomings in his personal character, made him many political enemies. Cato the Elder was a leading figure among Scipio's opponents, who were known for his harshness and simplicity, and whom he considered and hated Scipio's pursuit of glitz. When Scipio's brothers returned to Rome from their war with Antiochus III, Scipio's enemies found a way to strike him. Ostensibly, the campaign was directed against Scipio the Great's younger brother, Lucius Cornelius Scipio. In 187 BCE, the tribune accused Lucius of misappropriating an indemnity paid to Rome by Antiochus III. Scipio had to defend his brother, even though he knew that his political opponents were really targeting him. Scipio questioned in court why the tribunes were so concerned about the whereabouts of the 3,000 tarrants and not the 15,000 tarrants that had already entered the treasury, implying that Rome was responsible for the reparations. This high-profile move overwhelmed the judges, and the trial was not closed.

But it didn't end there, and the issue haunted the Scipio brothers for several years (in fact, after Scipio the Great's death, Lucius was finally convicted, fined, and nearly imprisoned). In 185 BC, Scipio himself was accused of accepting bribes from Antiochus III during the war. The matter went all the way to the citizens' assembly. According to records, Scipio gave a speech at a citizens' assembly. In his speech, he made no mention of the trial itself, but emphasized his contribution to Rome to the population, especially reminding them that the day of his trial was the day of his victory over Hannibal at the Battle of Zama. As a result, he succeeded in arousing a frenzy of support among the people, and many people, including some judges, flocked to him and followed him all the way to Capitori Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome, on which the Temple of Jupiter was located. There they held festivals and prayed to the gods to give Rome more great commanders like Scipio the Great. So Scipio used his personal prestige to escape the trial. Several subsequent attempts to try him were skillfully stopped by his future son-in-law, Tiberius Sempronius Grachus (Gracchus the Elder). Tiberius Gracchus, son of Gracchus the Elder and grandson of Scipio the Great, was one of the most important statesmen in the history of ancient Rome.

After these experiences, Scipio's spirit was devastated, and his energy declined significantly. Deciding to live in seclusion, he left Rome to live on his own estate in Littellum (in Campania). He spent the last part of his life there.

The date of Scipio the Great's death is inconclusive, but later generations seem to like to place his death in the same year as Hannibal's:

Scipio the Great probably died in September 183 BC. The exact date of his death is unknown. Livy went so far as to say that Scipio died in 187 BC, but it was only after discovering Scipio's speech at the citizens' assembly that he could not have died earlier than 185 BC. Polybius believes that Scipio died in 183 BC, a year accepted by most modern scholars. Ironically, Scipio's opponent Hannibal also died that year.

It is recorded that Scipio refused to be buried in the cemetery of Scipio's ancestors along the Via Appia, because the cemetery was in Roman territory. Scipio left his last words, which literally translate as: "Ungrateful fatherland, what right do you have to possess my bones?" "So his tomb is located in Littellum. (To be continued.) )

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