The article analyses inhuman cruelty as an element of the public image asserted by Hannibal, the Carthaginian commander. The author examines whether this negative depiction resulted from Hannibal's actual behaviour during the war (218-201 B.C.) or whether the assertions of Hannibal's inhuman cruelty were the work of Roman historians who were no strangers to manipulation of fact, elimination of inconvenient information and complete fabrication for the needs of propaganda. The author concludes that although Hannibal's actions had pragmatic goals, the Punic commander accumulated all the negative traits of the Carthaginians, including their inhuman cruelty (inhumana crudelitas).
The author of the article investigates the role and importance of Hannibal’s military equipment. Through the analysis of available literary sources, the author indicates imperfections of descriptions concerning this aspect of the Carthaginian’s activity. In addition, he draws attention to the characteristic form of siege weapons – as described in the sources, which allows for assuming some development tendencies in both modes of operating and kinds of Hannibal’s army combat equipment.
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