In 202 BC, near the North African city of Zama, the armies of two empires clashed. The Romans under Scipio Africanus won a bloody, decisive victory over Hannibal's Carthaginians. Scipio's victory signalled a shift in the balance of power in the ancient world. Thereafter, Rome became the dominant civilization of the Mediterranean. Zama also saw the eclipse of one legendary commander, Hannibal, the scourge of Rome and the preeminent general of the Second Punic War, by Scipio, one of the greatest leaders Rome ever produced. Brian Todd Carey's compelling, original reconstruction of the battle, the grueling skirmishes that led up to it, and its aftermath—including Hannibal's exile and suicide, Scipio's triumph, and the epic Roman siege that destroyed Carthage forever as a Mediterranean power— gives a fascinating insight into the Carthaginian and Roman methods of waging war. In addition to discussing the military organization and equipment and the tactics the armies employed, the book examines the lives and military careers of Hannibal and Scipio and offers critical assessment of their contrasting leadership styles. Carey's concise account of this climactic confrontation at Zama—a pivotal episode in ancient warfare—is complemented by the detailed maps of cartographers Joshua B. Allfree and John Cairns. Hannibal's Last Battle: Zama and the Fall of Carthage will appeal to readers of military history and is an essential text for all students of the classical period.
BRIAN TODD CAREY teaches history at the American Military University. He is author of Warfare in the Ancient World and Warfare in the Medieval World

Hannibal's Last Battle: Zama and the Fall of Carthage

History

Brian Todd Carey

Africa

Westholme Publishing

Warfare in the Ancient World

Warfare in the Ancient World explores how civilizations and cultures made war on the battlefields of the Near East and Europe between the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia in the late fourth millenium BC and the fall of Rome. Through a exploration of twenty-six selected battles, military historian Brian Todd Carey surveys the changing tactical relationships between the four weapon systems - heavy and light infantry and hevay and light cavalry - focusing on how shock and missile combat evolved from tentative beginnings in the Bronze Age to the highly developed military organization created by the Romans. The art of warfare reached a very sophisticated level of development during this three millenia span. Commanders fully realized the tactical capabilities of shock and missile combat in large battlefield situations. Modern principles of war, like the primacy of the offensive, mass, and economy of force, were understood by pre-modern generals and applied on battlefields throughout the period. Through the use of dozens of multiphase tactical maps, this fascinating introduction to the art of war during western civilization’s ancient and classical periods pulls together the primary and secondary sources and creates a powerful historical narrative. The result is a synthetic work that will be essential reading for students and armchair historians alike.

Ancient Civilizations

Penn & Sword Books

Warfare in the Medieval World explores how civilizations and cultures made war on the battlefields of the Near East and Europe in the period between the fall of Rome and the introduction of reliable gunpowder weapons during the Thirty Years War. Through an exploration of thirty-three selected battles, military historian Brian Todd Carey surveys the changing tactical relationships between the four weapon systems-heavy and light infantry and heavy and light cavalry - focusing on the evolution of shock and missile combat. This is the second part of an ambitious two-volume study of the subject. The first volume, Warfare in the Ancient World, examined the evolution of warfare from the Bronze Age to the highly organized armies of the Greeks and the Romans.

Warfare in the Medieval World

Pen and Sword Military

In August 1071, the Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV Diogenese led out a powerful army in an attempt to roll back Seljuk Turkish incursions into the Anatolian heartland of the Empire. Outmaneuvered by the Turkish sultan, Alp Arslan, Romanus was forced to give battle with only half his troops near Manzikert. By the end of that fateful day much of the Byzantine army was dead, the rest scattered in flight and the Emperor himself a captive. As a result, the Anatolian heart was torn out of the empire and it was critically weakened, while Turkish power expanded rapidly, eventually leading to Byzantine appeals for help from Western Europe, prompting the First Crusade. This book sets the battle in the context of the military history of the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic World (Arab and Seljuk Turkish) up to the pivotal engagement at Manzikert in 1071, with special emphasis on the origins, course and outcome of this battle. The composition, weapons and tactics of the very different opposing armies are analyzed. The final chapter is dedicated to assessing the impact of Manzikert on the Byzantine Empire's strategic position in Anatolia and to the battle's role as a causus belli for the Crusades. Dozens of maps and battle diagrams support the clear text.

Road to Manzikert: Byzantine and Islamic Warfare, 527-1071

Europe

Warfare in the Medieval World explores how civilizations and cultures made war on the battlefields of the Near East and Europe in the period between the fall of Rome and the introduction of reliable gunpowder weapons during the Thirty Years' War. Through an exploration of thirty-three selected battles, military historian Brian Todd Carey surveys the changing tactical relationships between the four weapon systems - heavy and light infantry and heavy and light cavalry - focusing on the evolution of shock and missile combat.Through the use of dozens of multiphase tactical maps, this fascinating introduction to the art of war during western civilization's ancient and classical periods pulls together the primary and secondary sources and creates a powerful historical narrative. The result is a synthetic work that will be essential reading for students and armchair military historians alike.

Warfare In The Medieval World