Hannibal's Oath

After the First Punic War, Hamilcar Barca, Carthage's most successful general in that war, prepared to lead an army to Spain, where he meant to build a new empire for Carthage, rich in silver and soldiers. It was about 237 BC. His eldest son, Hannibal, was nine years old.

The story of what happened before they left comes from Hannibal himself. Many years later, as an exile at the court of the Seleucid king Antiochus III, he fell under suspicion of secret dealings with Rome. To prove his loyalty, Polybius says, he told the king this story. His father, about to set out for Spain, was offering sacrifice to the chief god of Carthage, whom Polybius calls Zeus. When the omens were favorable, Hamilcar asked the boy whether he wanted to come on the expedition. Hannibal eagerly said yes and begged to go. His father then took him by the hand, led him to the altar, and told him to lay his hand on the sacrifice and swear that he would never be a friend to the Romans. Hannibal told Antiochus that he could rely on him as long as he was working against Rome. Livy repeats the story, and it became the founding legend of the Second Punic War, which Hannibal began in Spain nineteen years later.