Scipio Africanus: Part One - The Roman General
I have been learning about the Roman Republic and I wanted to find out more about some of the people that were there. Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus was one of those people.
Today I am learning a bit about his early life.
He was born around 236 BC, his family were the Cornelii Scipiones, a family where success was expected. He was surrounded by relatives who had held high office.
When the Second Punic War broke started in 218 BC, everything changed. He followed his father into the army. During a clash near the river Ticinus, his father was surrounded by enemy cavalry led by Hannibal Barca. Scipio is said to have rode forward to help save him.
In 216 BC, he served as a military tribune and witnessed the Roman defeat at the Battle of Cannae. Tens of thousands of soldiers were killed, and panic soon spread. But he helped rally those that were left. There is even a story that he forced fleeing nobles to swear they would not abandon Rome. Whether this is embellished or not, it shows how he was remembered.
He continued to rise. In 213 BC, while he was still younger than most candidates, he was elected aedile, a public official. Some tried to block him because of his age, but the people really supported him.
Do you think a crisis can reveal who someone really is, or do they create the person they become?
Image info:
Artist: Andrea Schiavone
Date: 1558
Collection: Kunsthistorisches Museum
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