28/02/2024
-War elephants were considered in ancient times like tanks in our modern era. Elephants were an essential part of the Carthaginian Empire's forces throughout their wars, especially in the Punic Wars, and they were one of the symbols of the Carthaginians and their army.
-Most of the elephants used by Carthage were loxodonta cyclotis, also called African forest elephants, and were slightly smaller than the African elephants that live on the savannah today.
-African forest elephants were common in the areas surrounding Carthage, so many of them were captured, tamed and trained to fight in wars, and it is likely that there were up to 300 elephants in stables in the Carthaginian Empire at that time.
-But this is a type of elephant that has become extinct and has ceased to exist in North Africa for a very long time. This came during a period when the Romans occupied the entire region of North Africa. This was done because of their barbaric and random hunting in order to obtain her tusks and for fun and entertainment. Which contributed to the complete extinction of African elephants from the region.
-Many civilizations and kingdoms in China, India, Syria, and Egypt used war elephants in their wars before Carthage, but Carthage most relied on war elephants in its wars throughout its history, and one of the most prominent leaders of the Carthaginians who relied on elephants in wars is Hamilcar Barca and This was especially in a mercenary war and against the Romans in the first punic war.
-But the best person who employed war elephants in battles remains the military genius Hannibal Barca. He was well aware of how to use this weapon to his advantage in a suitable place and time in battles, especially against the Romans because they were one of the most organized armies in the Mediterranean, and this is what Hannibal was well aware of. Which made him use these elephants to create fear and confusion in the hearts of the Roman soldiers, which contributed to breaking up their ranks and crushing them easily. Because of Rome's fear of this weapon of war, it stipulated that Carthage, after the second Punic War, would not keep or tame war elephants at all.
Hannibal Barca fans
