Due to this, Hannibal was pitted against the Romans from a very young age, by his father Hamilcar Barca, a formidable enemy to the Romans also, and who nursed the desire to beat the Romans at war and destroy their hegemony over his country. Hamilcar Barca felt that both his sons could work together with him in achieving his wish to destroy the Roman Empire. He started a fire within Hannibal that would continue to simmer into a lifelong hatred that would see him attacking the Roman way of life relentlessly. When Hamilcar died in 229 BC, Hamilcar 's son-in-law, the politician Hasdrubal the Fair, began to rule over the army. In 221, Hasdrubal was murdered and the Carthaginian soldiers in Iberia elected Hannibal as their commander at the age of 26, a decision that was confirmed by …show more content…
The fuel of resentment motivated Hannibal to do this at a time when Rome was waging the Second Illyrian War. The Army was unable to send reinforcements so the city fell with little resistance. This unsporting and dishonourable campaign of Hannibal shocked the Romans, they and demanded Hannibal to be extradited by the Carthaginian government. However we can see that this led the senate of Rome to realise that they were not dealing with just another pundit, but rather a smart thinking and hard planning tactician. Whilst Livy pays much respect to him for this, in his writings, at the early stage, we can see that it is not just Hannibal who gets lauded and acclaimed. He describes Hamilcar as a proud and embittered man, this being showed by making his son swear an oath against the Romans. Livy said that, Hasdrubal’s peaceful and diplomatic policies was truly the polar opposite of his brothers, with the unrelenting militarism of Hannibal’s approach, the contrast to which is highlighted by the former’s violent end. Crucial for now is the uncompromising view he gives of the reckless aggression inherited by Hannibal from his