Billon Dishekel

Struck: 210 - 202 B.C.
Mint: Zeugitana, Carthage
Size: 26.2mm
Weight: 8.51g
Die Axis: 0°
Grade: VF
Ref: SNG Copenhagen 190

Obv: Head of Tanit left, wreathed with barley, wearing necklace and earring.
Rev: Horse standing right, palm tree in background.
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Hannibal was a Carthaginian general and is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. He was born in 247 B.C the son of Hamilcar Barca who led the Carthaginian forces during the First Punic War. Hannibal lived during a time of constant conflict when the Roman Republic was establishing its dominance over the other great Mediterranean powers. According to the historian Livy, Hamilcar demanded that his son swear an oath to forever be an enemy to Rome.

Hannibal assumed command in 221 and first led a number of successful campaigns against the Celtic tribes of the Iberian Peninsula. In 218 he began his famous overland march over the Pyrenees and the Alps into Italy. His army consisted of 28,000 infantry, 8.000 cavalry and 37 war elephants. Most of the elephants would not survive the harsh conditions.

Over the next 15 years he engaged in a number of large battles against Rome, sometimes with the aid of the Gauls. Despite winning several spectacular victories, the campaign in Italy eventually ended in a strategic stalemate. In 203 Hannibal was recalled to Carthage to lead the defense of his native country against a powerful counter invasion that was being led by Scipio Africanus. He was defeated by Scipio at the Battle of Zama in October of 202.

Hannibal was allowed to live in Carthage for a number of years but was eventually exiled in 195. He fled to Tyre and then to Ephesus. In 190 he was placed in command of a Seleucid fleet and engaged in a number of skirmishes with the Romans. Rome was determined now to hunt him down. In order to evade capture, Hannibal poisoned himself. He left behind a letter that stated "Let us relieve the Romans from the anxiety they have so long experienced, since they think it tries their patience too much to wait for an old man's death." The exact year of his death is not known but sources place it between 183 and 181 B.C.