Dan’s & ChatGPT’s Explenation of the Carthaginian War With Rome
This was more of an education day than a picture day for me. The Museum of the History of Catalonia really had a lot of great info about the Catalonian people (of which Barcelona was/is part of). I did a deep dive into the Roman occupation portion of the museum, and Carthage’s impact on the area as well. What I could figure out is that the Carthaginian general Hannibal and his family had significant influence in the Spain and Barcelona areas. It appears to me that Hannibal was digging mines in Spain to basically print money. With this money he enlisted the mercenaries (mostly Iberian natives) to join his army and take on the Roman Empire.
The Roman Empire was Carthage’s chief rival in the Mediterranean area around 250BC. Although Carthage is in Northern Africa it seems like they basically had free reign in Spain to recruit armies. The native peoples in the Iberian Peninsula (Iberians) were dark skinned and very tough people. They remind me of Mexicans in looks, and it really made me think about what the Mexican culture really is and how much breeding there was between Spanish settlers in Mexico and the Native Americans. I imagine there’s more than most people suspect.
Hannibal is perhaps best known for figuring out a way to move elephants through the Pyrénées Mountains. He was a guy who colored outside of the lines, and surprised the Romans week-by-week as he proceeded through the Roman legions on his way to Rome. He was so flush with cash (probably from the mines of Spain) that he’d just purchase more mercenaries on his way to Rome. He had some epic battles in Italy that put the Rome Empire into terror.
The Roman general Scipio Africanus was elevated to take on Hannibal and the Carthaginians. Hannibal was eventfully summoned back to Carthage after his two brother were killed in combat and Carthage was under attack. Eventually the Carthaginians lost and that was that. What an interesting piece of history, and directly related to Barcelona itself.
