Scipio Africanus
236–183 BCE · Roman · Second Punic War
Known for: Defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama, ending the Second Punic War and saving Rome
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus was the Roman general who defeated Hannibal Barca—the man who had terrorized Rome for 15 years. After surviving the catastrophic defeat at Cannae as a teenager, Scipio conquered Carthaginian Spain, invaded North Africa, and crushed Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE using Hannibal's own tactical innovations against him.
He was charismatic, supernaturally confident (claiming visions from Jupiter), and unusually magnanimous for a Roman general. He was also politically naive—after saving Rome, he was accused of corruption by jealous rivals and died in bitter exile, requesting his epitaph read 'Ungrateful fatherland, you shall not even have my bones.'
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