__NOTOC__ Carthalo ( xpu, 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤇𐤋𐤑, ,. "Saved by Melqart";. grc-gre, Καρθάλων, ''Karthálōn''; died around 209BC) was an officer in Hannibal's army during the Second Punic War.

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 con ...

. 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, 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 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 magistrates, con ...

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, 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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Life

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