Hannibal, son of Hamilcar, was a Carthaginian military commander and tactician who is generally considered one of the most talented military commanders in history. Early in his life, he was made to swear an oath of hatred against Rome, which led him to start the Second Punic War. During this time, he transformed Carthage from a modest place into a military superpower. Although he lost the war, his tactics were far beyond anyone else's at the time, winning him many battles even when the odds were against him. Hannibal was born in 247 BCE in Carthage, located in North Africa. When he was born, Carthage was on the verge of losing the First Punic War. “His father Hamilcar Barca was the main Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War” (ancient.eu.com 1). Before the First Punic War, the city was a growing seaport and had many wealthy provinces. After the war, Rome's victory took Sicily from Carthage, which was one of its most important provinces. During the Carthage Civil War, Rome also took Sardinia and Corsica. These events all left a great impression on Hannibal as a child. Hannibal was the eldest son of Hamilcar Barca, who commanded the Carthaginian army at the time. For this reason, Hamilcar made Hannibal swear an oath of hatred towards Rome. When Hannibal's father died in 229 BCE, Hamilcar's son-in-law Hasdrubal took command of the Carthage army. While he was commander, he made Hannibal an officer in the Carthaginian army. In 221 BCE, Hasdrubal was killed and the Carthaginian soldiers unanimously chose Hannibal as their next commander, a decision which was later approved by their government. “At age 26, Hannibal was given command of an army and was immediately in the middle of a newspaper...Europe and the Alps against Rome in the Second Punic War” (biography.com 5). With such a significant achievement under his belt, he is considered one of the greatest generals to have lived, along with Alexander the Great, Pyrrhus of Epirus, Scipio and Julius Caesar. With his father's influenced hatred for Rome, Hannibal started the Second Punic War. , wanting to make the world a better place for Carthage. He became one of the most famous and greatest military leaders of all time. “Surely no man ever undertook a great work to his own regret, out of a more purely patriotic instinct, than this same Carthaginian” (Dodge 170). Hannibal was truly doing what he thought was best for his country of Carthage, and even though he lost the war, Hannibal went down in history and will always be remembered as one of the greatest strategists and tacticians that this world has ever known..