Scipio Africanus - Military Innovator and Early Diplomat

Publio Cornelius Scipio, (236 BC – 183 BC), known to history as Scipio Africanus, has been called arguably "the greatest general of the ancient world". Part of this tagging is due his remarkable defeat of Hannibal of Carthage and his awesome war elephants in 202 BC but it can also be fairly stated that part of his reputation was earned from his skillful diplomacy, which paved the way for later generals to become statesmen as well as soldiers. Add to the equation the fact that he never lost a battle and was able to inspire unequaled loyalty among his troops and you begin to understand some of his greatness.

So great was Scipio's ability to adapt tactics on the battlefield that during the decisive battle with Hannibal, which effectively ended the Second Punic War, he was able to kill some 20,000 of Hannibal's battle hardened troops while losing only about 500 or his own men. Clearly one of the more one-sided victories in military history and it cemented Scipio Africanus' place in Roman and world history. Always one to spot and exploit a weakness in his opponent, Scipio immediately turned his army towards Carthage after the battle and while he really didn’t have the resources to take or siege the city-state, his reputation and the totally defeated Hannibal’s insistence that resistance was futile forced capitulation and secured some 50 years of paying tribute to Rome’s treasury.

Titus Livius (59 BCE - 17 CE) whom many consider to be the greatest Roman historian for his masterpiece "The History of Rome from its Founding", states that Scipio Africanus was celebrated as much for achieving peace as he was for defeating Hannibal. Again, demonstrating how effective positive public relations could be for military heroes and paving the way for future soldier-statesmen to capitalize on their military conquests for political gain.