Pride of Carthage
Encyclopedia
Pride of Carthage is a 2005 a novel about the Second Punic War
by American author David Anthony Durham
. It was first published by Doubleday, in the United States, 2005. The book was translated in Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.
's, the Carthaginian military leader, assault on the Roman Republic
. The novel begins in Ancient Spain
, where Hannibal Barca sets out with tens of thousands of soldiers and 30 elephants. After conquering the Roman-allied city of Saguntum, Hannibal accepts Rome's declaration of war. He befriends peoples disillusioned by Rome and outwits the opponents who believe the land route he has chosen is impossible. Hannibal’s armies suffers brutal losses as they pass through the Pyrenees Mountains, ford the Rhone River
, and make a winter crossing of the Alps
before descending to fight battles at the Trebia
River, Lake Trasimene
, Cannae
and Zama
. The novel ends roughly where the war ends, although Hannibal lived on for some years as both a political figure and a mercenary soldier.
The novel features a wide cast of characters of many nationalities, from famous generals down to infantrymen and campfollowers, from Numidians
to Macedonians
. Durham draws a complex portrait of Hannibal, both as a warrior and as a husband and father.
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
by American author David Anthony Durham
David Anthony Durham
David Anthony Durham is an American novelist, author of historical fiction and fantasy.Durham's first novel, Gabriel's Story, centered on African American settlers in the American West. Walk Through Darkness followed a runaway slave during the tense times leading up to the American Civil War...
. It was first published by Doubleday, in the United States, 2005. The book was translated in Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.
Plot summary
The novel is a retelling of Hannibal BarcaHannibal Barca
Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca Hannibal's date of death is most commonly given as 183 BC, but there is a possibility it could have taken place in 182 BC. was a Carthaginian military commander and tactician. He is generally considered one of the greatest military commanders in history...
's, the Carthaginian military leader, assault on the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
. The novel begins in Ancient Spain
Prehistoric Iberia
The prehistory of the Iberian peninsula begins with the arrival of the first hominins 1.2 million years ago and ends with the Punic Wars, when the territory enters the domains of written history...
, where Hannibal Barca sets out with tens of thousands of soldiers and 30 elephants. After conquering the Roman-allied city of Saguntum, Hannibal accepts Rome's declaration of war. He befriends peoples disillusioned by Rome and outwits the opponents who believe the land route he has chosen is impossible. Hannibal’s armies suffers brutal losses as they pass through the Pyrenees Mountains, ford the Rhone River
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
, and make a winter crossing of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
before descending to fight battles at the Trebia
Battle of the Trebia
The Battle of the Trebia was the first major battle of the Second Punic War, fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and the Roman Republic in December of 218 BC, on or around the winter solstice...
River, Lake Trasimene
Battle of Lake Trasimene
The Battle of Lake Trasimene was a Roman defeat in the Second Punic War between the Carthaginians under Hannibal and the Romans under the consul Gaius Flaminius...
, Cannae
Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
and Zama
Battle of Zama
The Battle of Zama, fought around October 19, 202 BC, marked the final and decisive end of the Second Punic War. A Roman army led by Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus defeated a Carthaginian force led by the legendary commander Hannibal...
. The novel ends roughly where the war ends, although Hannibal lived on for some years as both a political figure and a mercenary soldier.
The novel features a wide cast of characters of many nationalities, from famous generals down to infantrymen and campfollowers, from Numidians
Numidians
The Numidians were Berber tribes who lived in Numidia, in Algeria east of Constantine and in part of Tunisia. The Numidians were one of the earliest natives to trade with the settlers of Carthage. As Carthage grew, the relationship with the Numidians blossomed. Carthage's military used the Numidian...
to Macedonians
Ancient Macedonians
The Macedonians originated from inhabitants of the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, in the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Axios...
. Durham draws a complex portrait of Hannibal, both as a warrior and as a husband and father.
Awards and nominations
- Finalist for the 2006 Legacy Award for Fiction from the Hurston/Wright Foundation.
- Book Sense 76 pick
- Black Issues Book ReviewBlack Issues Book ReviewBlack Issues Book Review was a bimonthly magazine published in the U.S. in which books of interest to African-American readers were reviewed. It was published from 1999 through 2007....
’s Best Books of 2005 - Book Sense Extended Bestseller List
- For reviews see: Black Issues Book Review (January-February 2005), The Christian Science Monitor (January 11, 2005), The New York Times Book Review (February 6, 2005), The San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
(February 13, 2005), “All Things Considered” on National Public Radio (February 15, 2005), The News and Observer (February 20, 2005), The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
(March 30, 2005).
Further reading (non-fiction)
- Bradford, E, Hannibal, London, Macmillan London Ltd., 1981
- Caven, B., Punic Wars, London, George Werdenfeld and Nicholson Ltd., 1980
- Cottrell, Leonard, Hannibal: Enemy of Rome, Da Capo Press, 1992, ISBN 0-306-80498-0
- Daly, Gregory, Cannae: The Experience of Battle in the Second Punic War, London/New York, Routledge, 2002, ISBN 0-415-32743-1
- Delbrück, HansHans DelbrückHans Delbrück was a German historian. Delbrück was one of the first modern military historians, basing his method of research on the critical examination of ancient sources, the use of auxiliary disciplines, like demography and economics, to complete the analysis and the comparison between...
, Warfare in Antiquity, 1920, ISBN 0-8032-9199-X - Hoyos, Dexter: Hannibal's Dynasty: Power and Politics in the Western Mediterranean, 247–183 B.C. (Routledge: London & New York, 2003; paperback edition with maps, 2005) - has much discussion of strategy and warfare.
- Hoyos, Dexter, Hannibal: Rome's Greatest Enemy, Bristol Phoenix Press, 2005, ISBN 1-904675-46-8 (hbk) ISBN 1-904675-47-6 (pbk)
- Lamb, HaroldHarold LambHarold Albert Lamb was an American historian, screenwriter, short story writer, and novelist.Lamb was born in Alpine, New Jersey. He attended Columbia University, where his interest in the peoples and history of Asia began. Lamb's tutors at Columbia included Carl Van Doren andJohn Erskine. ...
, Hannibal: One Man Against Rome, 1959. - Lancel, Serge, Hannibal, Blackwell Publishing, 1999, ISBN 0631218483
- LivyLivyTitus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, and De Selincourt, Aubery, The War with Hannibal: Books XXI-XXX of the History of Rome from its Foundation, Penguin Classics, Reprint edition, July 30, 1965, ISBN 0-14-044145-X (pbk)(also http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=Liv3His.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=all)) - Prevas, John, Hannibal Crosses the Alps: The Invasion of Italy and the Second Punic War, 2001, ISBN 0306810700, questions which route he took
- Talbert, Richard J.A.Richard TalbertRichard John Alexander Talbert is a contemporary British-American ancient historian and classicist on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is William Rand Kenan, Jr., Professor of Ancient History and Classics. Talbert is a leading scholar of ancient geography...
, ed., Atlas of Classical History, Routledge, London/New York, 1985, ISBN 0-415-03463-9
External links
- Official website
- Author's Blog
- Various Pride of Carthage Reviews
- The Battle of Cannae at www.unrv.com
- The Battle of Cannae at Roman-empire.net