Hannibal's father, Hamilcar Barca, has him swear to forever oppose the Romans. The short statue is of the god Baal.

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The Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca (247-182 ) in the Second Punic War fought by Carthage against Rome set out from Spain and crossed the Alps with his army and elephants into Italy In 216 He won a major victory against the Romans at Cannae but never captured Rome. According to the Roman historian Livy, Hannibal's father, Hamilcar Barca, a commander in the First Punic War, took Hannibal to a chamber dedicated to the gods (a small statue of the god Baal is shown standing in front of a column behind father and son) and held his son's hand above a fire on the hearth (pictured here) and made Hannibal take a vow that he would never be a friend to Rome. The illustration dates to 1882.

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Size: 4800px × 3915px
Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: ancient, baal, barca, cannae, carthage, carthaginian, child, father, fire, general, god, hamilcar, hand, hannibal, historian, history, livy, oath, punic, roman, rome, swears, tunisia, war, world