Hannibal the Rhodian
Encyclopedia
Hannibal the Rhodian was a Carthaginian sailor in the First Punic War
. He commanded a fast quadreme. During the Siege of Lilybaeum he was able to use the velocity of his ship and its shallow draft to go into the shallows and avoid the Roman fleet. He was able to gain valuable intelligence that he reported to the Carthaginian commander, Ad Herbal
and to the Carthaginian Senate. He later was forced to run aground by the Roman navy, and his ship was taken by Roman marines. The Romans took his ship design and used it to construct a navy as capable as the Carthaginians.
First Punic War
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...
. He commanded a fast quadreme. During the Siege of Lilybaeum he was able to use the velocity of his ship and its shallow draft to go into the shallows and avoid the Roman fleet. He was able to gain valuable intelligence that he reported to the Carthaginian commander, Ad Herbal
Ad Herbal
Adherbal or Ad Herbal was name of two different Carthaginian commanders:*Ad Herbal was the admiral of the Carthaginian fleet who battled for domination of the Mediterranean Sea for Carthage in the First Punic War against Rome, 264 BC-241 BC...
and to the Carthaginian Senate. He later was forced to run aground by the Roman navy, and his ship was taken by Roman marines. The Romans took his ship design and used it to construct a navy as capable as the Carthaginians.