In 202 B.C., the Romans and Carthaginians met in the decisive battle of the Second Punic War. Two of the greatest generals in history faced off. The battle was fought outside Carthage. Scipio (later Africanus) had invaded north Africa earlier and started scorching earth and threatening Carthage. This strategy succeeded in forcing Hannibal and his army to vacate Italy and return to protect his capital. Both generals knew the battle would decide the war and their place in history. According to Polybius, the two men met before the battle. Polybius is our best source for the war. He was a Greek who had been brought to live in Rome as a hostage in 167 B.C. when he was 33 years old. He was no common hostage. He was taken into the home of Lucius Aemilius Paullus, the victor of the Third Macedonian War. Paullus put him in charge of the education of his adopted son Scipio Aemilius. He was the grandson of Scipio Africanus. Polybius used his connections to help him write his history of the Second Punic War. He had access to a letter written by Scipio in which he described his role in the war. Polybius was able to interview many important Romans about the war, including Scipio’s second in command Laelius. Polybius accompanied Scipio Aemilius in the Third Punic War. He was with him when he sacked Carthage. Polybius was able to describe how the Roman army worked. His history is one of the most important historical documents. Sadly, much of the book has been lost, but quite a bit is intact, including this story. Polybius is highly thought of as a historian and despite his good relations with the Romans and the Scipio family, he is considered to be a neutral chronicler. We can assume the story is based on an eyewitness, probably Laelius.
The day before the battle, the two generals met between their camps. It was just the two men and their interpreters. Hannibal did most of the talking. He was wistful in his attitude. He had seen a lot in the last 16 years, starting with his crossing the Alps, his victories that included Cannae, and the frustrating years after when the Romans refused to crack. He wished that Carthage had not coveted territory outside Libya and that Rome had not coveted territory outside Italy. He endangered Scipio’s land and Scipio was now endangering his. We need to “deprecate the wrath of the gods” and end this “obstinate hostility.” He then reminded Scipio that fortune was fickle and it could switch sides at the moment’s notice. Clearly, Hannibal was hoping to avoid battle and knew Scipio had the better army. He tried to get Scipio to come to terms because he could still lose the battle. Polybius does not go on to record what Scipio said to this, but it most likely was something like “I’ll take my chances.” We don’t know if they shook hands after the meeting.
In the Battle of Zama, Scipio used his knowledge of Hannibal’s tactics to defeat him. His big advantage was in cavalry. Ironically, it was his Numidian cavalry that was decisive. This was ironic because the Numidians had been Hannibal’s ace card in Italy. So, Scipio had made his own luck.
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