Hannibal Barca, who was the greatest military leader and strategist of all time, was born in 247 B.C. when Carthage, the then maritime power, had started to decline.

Hannibal accompanied Hamilclar, his father, in a battle against the Romans when very young, and he succeeded his father and became supreme commander of the peninsula seventeen years later.

Hannibal, the North African Hercules is the black man hailed by scholars and military historians as the father of military strategy. Hannibal performed the astounding feat of marching his army and war elephants through the Alps to surprise and conquer his enemies in 218 B.C. With only 26,000 of his original force of 82,000 troops, he defeated Rome which was the mightiest military power at the time, with an army of a million men. For the next fifteen years Rome was defeated in every battle.

Hannibal’s tactics are still taught today in leading military academies of the U.S.A., Europe & other lands, and to this very day his genius as a strategist, warrior, statesman and economist, along with his example of moral courage, is an example to be emulated by all members of the African, Afro-American, West Indian and Black Communities across the globe.

In one battle led by Scipio, the Romans put 80,000 men on the battle grounds to defeat Hannibal. When Scipio attacked with his entire army, Hannibal had so studied the layout of the field and had organized his men in such a way, that they surrounded the Romans. He then turned his war elephants loose and crushed them first before sending in his African swordsmen behind them to complete the slaughter. Scipio Africanus admired and praised his noble enemy, and the two adversaries developed a friendship.

In another battle, Rome sent 90,000 men led by Varro and Emilius. With only 50,000 men, Hannibal placed the weakest part of his army in the centre contrary to the best military rules, knowing that he could not win if he had used his main force. With his veterans and cavalry on both wings, the Romans attacked them in the centre just as Hannibal had envisaged. When they were sure of a victory by overcoming the centre, Hannibal's flank then closed in and killed 70,000 men and 80 senators, including Emilius.

Hannibal was described as a tall man of exceptional physical strength, endurance, skill as an athlete and soldier. The men who served under his command admired his superior martial art skills and his willingness to endure the same hardships that they were faced with. These physical and mental characteristics made him stand out high above all the others.

Hannibal possessed extraordinary courage, cunning, resourcefulness, great intellect, all of which made him a difficult opponent against the Romans. His charismatic influence as an orator, politician, and military commander enabled him to solidify an army made up of Phoenicians, Greeks, Estrucans, Africans from the many nations of Africa, Iberians from Spain, nomads of the African Coast, Gauls, Libyans, and Numidians, making him therefore the first commander in charge of a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-racial military force.

Hannibal used his great personal wealth, which was envied by the Romans, mainly to finance the army that defended the Carthaginian Empire and enabled him to maintain the war against Rome.

The Romans reluctantly admitted that Hannibal was a lot less cruel than they were during combat, and that he treated women captured in battle with the utmost respect compared to the Romans.

Hannibal was famous for his honourable and courteous treatment of prisoners, friendly camaraderie with his troops, the frightening intensity of his anger, and his intense hatred of Rome.

Hannibal would rise early in the morning and retire late at night to sleep. He was the first to engage the enemy in battle and the last one to leave. He was a moderate drinker of wine and displayed physical fortitude when challenged by the extreme cold of the Alps, or the vicious heat of the African climate.

Hannibal the Great, however was superior to Alexander the Great when it came to self-control, his own anger, moral integrity, and how he could render his facial expressions unreadable to the observer. He was challenged far more than Alexander when one considers the reversal of fortune he had to contend with.

There were several European nations which fell under black Africa's rule. Hannibal, the great genius and Carthaginian general plundered deep inside Europe and seized Spain, Portugal, a portion of France, all of Italy and also made a triumphant trip across the Alps to conquer Rome.

The Carthaginians were descendants of the Negro-Phoenicians also called Zidonians who were the descendants of Ham's grandson Sidon, the black first son of Canaan. (This bust of a Phoenician is from the Louvre museum.) They were known as great Black merchants who traded with India, the people of the Mediterranean and the Scilly Isles, but the Phoenicians were also highly skilled seamen, navigators, ship builders, traders, and architects.

Hannibal was a member of the Barca family which was the most prominent family of the Carthaginian Empire which was renowned for its enormous prosperity and dominance of the Mediterranean Sea.

The people of Carthage were described by contemporaries as having very dark skin, flat noses, finely curled hair, and full lips, as commonly seen among North Africans. The Carthaginian women were famed for their beauty and the men for their handsome appearance.

While dwelling in Europe, Hannibal and his Negro-African Army intermixed their blood with the Europeans, and even to this day, the people of those nations have frizzy coiled hair and darkish skin.