__NOTOC__ Carthalo ( xpu, 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤇𐤋𐤑, ,. "Saved by Melqart";. grc-gre, Καρθάλων, ''Karthálōn''; died around 209BC) was an officer in

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

's army during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

Life

Carthalo led the

Numidian cavalry Numidian cavalry was a type of light cavalry developed by the Numidians. After they were used by Hannibal during the Second Punic War, they were described by the Roman historian Livy as "by far the best horsemen in Africa." History Numidian cava ...

in a successful skirmish against

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 249, he assisted Adherbal during an attempt by the Romans headed by Publius Claudius Pulcher to take

Drepana Drepana ( grc, Δρέπανα) was an Elymian, Carthaginian, and Roman port in antiquity on the western coast of Sicily. It was the site of a crushing Roman defeat by the Carthaginians in 249BC. It eventually developed into the modern Italian ...

from the sea. He arrived in the city prior to the siege with 70

quinqueremes From the 4th century BC on, new types of oared warships appeared in the Mediterranean Sea, superseding the trireme and transforming naval warfare. Ships became increasingly large and heavy, including some of the largest wooden ships hitherto co ...

. His contribution was recognized for helping force the Romans to abandon the siege despite the superiority of the invading army. Following the

Battle of Cannae The Battle of Cannae () was a key engagement of the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage, fought on 2 August 216 BC near the ancient village of Cannae in Apulia, southeast Italy. The Carthaginians and their allies, led by ...

, Hannibal sent Carthalo to Rome as a peace envoy. His delegation included a number of Roman prisoners whom the Carthaginians hoped to ransom. However, the newly appointed

Roman dictator A Roman dictator was an extraordinary Roman magistrate, magistrate in the Roman Republic endowed with full authority to resolve some specific problem to which he had been assigned. He received the full powers of the state, subordinating the other ...

M. Junius Pera sent a messenger to intercept Carthalo's delegation, telling them to leave by nightfall. In 209BC, Carthalo was serving as garrison commander of

Tarentum Tarentum may refer to: * Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras) **See also History of Taranto * Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...

, which had fallen to Hannibal three years earlier, when Q. Fabius Maximus Verrucosus led a Roman force to retake the settlement. In the ensuing battle, when defeat seemed inevitable, Carthalo laid down his arms with the intention of surrendering to Fabius but was killed before he could make contact.

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