On a hot summer day in 216 BC, at Cannae in southern Italy, Hannibal faced a Roman army of some 80,000 men, nearly twice as large as his own. He let his centre give way while his cavalry and the African infantry on the flanks closed around the Romans from behind, a double envelopment. Tens of thousands of Romans were killed in a single day, including the consul Aemilius Paullus and many senators. Several Italian cities defected to Hannibal, but Rome refused to negotiate and raised new legions. Cannae is still studied as a model of tactical genius.
Before and after
- 232 BCEDeath of Ashoka
- from 221 BCE to 206 BCEQin dynasty
- from May 219 BCE to December 219 BCESiege of Saguntum
- from 218 BCE to 201 BCESecond Punic War
- 217 BCEHannibal destroys the Roman army at Cannae
- 214 BCEBattle of Beneventum
- from 214 BCE to 212 BCESiege of Syracuse
- from 214 BCE to 205 BCEFirst Macedonian War
- from 214 BCE to 148 BCEMacedonian Wars
More in Wars, politics & history
- 587 BCENebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple
- from 499 BCE to 449 BCEGreco-Persian Wars
- from 431 BCE to 404 BCEPeloponnesian War
- from 59 BCE to 51 BCECaesar begins the conquest of Gaul
- 43 CERome invades Britain
- 17 January 395 CEThe Roman Empire is permanently divided
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 3rd century BCE.