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Scipio Africanus: The Greatest Roman General

Uploaded by Kerrytom on Aug 10, 2013

When trying to decide on the greatest roman general, there are a few outstanding candidates to put forward for nomination. Julius Caesar, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Pompey the Great and Scipio Africanus are some generals who could all make a legitimate claim for this title. To properly judge who was the greatest, many different categories needed to be closely examined and also many elements are shared amongst them which contributed to their greatness. These elements include such things as strategic and tactical excellence, charismatic leadership, their victory records, personal courage, intellect and knowledge into the strengths and weaknesses of their opposition. Indeed another aspect which had to be considered was the actual calibre of the men they were pitted against and the strength of the armies they had to militarily overcome. With all these considerations taken into account, Scipio Africanus would seem to be the outstanding candidate to be called the greatest roman general. There are several vital aspects of Scipio Africanus’ career which elevates him into the role of greatest. Over the course of this essay we will explore a specific aspect of Scipio’s career, which highlight his military brilliance.

The first aspect to examine is the early career of Scipio, where in the Second Punic War, a young Scipio showed his character and willingness to lead in situations where others had already failed or were unwilling to take on the responsibility of leadership for the rest of the war in Spain. “.....that no one dared to take the command in Spain. When suddenly Publius Cornelius, son of Publius who had fallen in Spain, who was about twenty-four years of age, declared himself a candidate, and took his station on a eminence by which he could be seen by all.”
Scipio arrived in Spain in 210BC, and soon set about showing Rome and other Roman generals that victory did not lie solely in numbers. He decided that with an army of far less numbers than that of the various Carthaginian armies, the best way to make an impact in Spain was not to take the Carthaginian armies on one by one, but to launch a masterful surprise attack on the Carthaginian stronghold at New Carthage. This is where Scipio shows his first sign of military genius. He carefully planned out a brilliant strategy that would lead to the Roman capture of the almost impenetrable New Cartage. This included marching...

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Uploaded by:   Kerrytom

Date:   08/10/2013

Category:   Ancient

Length:   6 pages (1,381 words)

Views:   1911

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