Alexander the Great was antiquity\'s greatest commander

[Felix]

The American Civil War was not of Robert E. Lee's choosing. He was pretty well forced by circumstance to make the best of what he had, and he did very well. He acted and made decisions according to the interest of his country.

That is very different than starting a war, for *no* reason other than to make a name for yourself or supposedly to avenge your father's wounded pride, when you have no reason to expect victory. Carthage wanted nothing to do with this war because they didn't feel they were ready. This was not Hannibal's concern. Hannibal feared growing old and dying in obscurity before the war would start naturally, so he jumped the gun squarely against the interest of Carthage. Everyone was rightly shocked by his initial success, but the end result was *entirely* predictable.

I'm not sure that reasoning does Hannibal justice. True, the Roman accounts do emphasize the role of familial vengeance. However, consider the actions of the Romans in regard to Saguntum - they were clearly interfering in what was defined, by mutual treaty, as a Carthaginian sphere of influence. Furthermore, consider the behaviour of the Roman Republic up until its very end. Is there any neighbor which it didn't invade? In grand strategy terms, if you bordered the Romans, you were going to end up on their "to be conquered" list, sooner or later. If you struck when you were ready, you might at least gain a temporary advantage.