Hasdrubal was the younger brother of
Hannibal, he was a general in the
Second Punic War.
In 218 B.C. Hannibal crossed the Alps to invade Italy, leaving Hasdrubal in command of the Carthaginian forces in Spain. He crossed the river Ebro in 218 B.C. and defeated the Romans responsible for defeating Hanno, but then retreated back south. In 217 B.C. he led an attack by land and sea going north of the Ebro once more. However this failed and he was defeated at the mouth of the river.
In 214 B.C. Hasdrubal was recalled to Africa to put down a revolt led by Syphax. He returned to Spain and led one of the armies that chased and killed Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus.
In 208 B.C. Hasdrubal met Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus in battle at Baecula. He lost and escaped with most of his army in a bid to meet up with Hannibal. He made it over the Pyrenees by going round them the wrong way and made it to Gaul. In Gaul he was opposed by Gaius Claudius Nero and Marcus Livius Salinator. Rather than fight Hasdrubal led his army down the via Flaminia. He was pursued and caught at the battle of Metaurus in 207 B.C., where he was killed and his army was defeated.
Hasdrubal was also the name of a Carthaginian commander following the
First Punic War. He was the son-in-law of
Hamilcar and the brother-in-law of
Hannibal, the Hasdrubal mentioned above, and
Mago.
In 237B.C. Hasdrubal went with Hamilcar to Spain. At some point he had to return to Africa to suppress a Numidian revolt, however we know he had returned to Spain by 229B.C. when Hamilcar died and he assumed command. As a leader he preferred to use diplomacy over force. He was responsible for the founding of Carthago Nova and he married a Spanish princess. He also negotiated the Ebro treaty with Rome, specifying that any Carthaginian force crossing the Ebro was a declaration of war. He was assasinated in 221 B.C.. Some have suggested that he tried to overthrow the Carthaginian constitution and that his rule in Spain was independant, but most people discount this view.
Hasdrubal was the name of another Carthaginian general in the
Second Punic War. He was the son of
Gisgo.
In 214 B.C. Hasdrubal went to Spain to command an army. In 211 B.C. he was joined by Mago in defeating and killing Publius Cornelius Scipio and then the two led their army in the pursuit of Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus. In 207 B.C. he retreated from his camp at Orongis to Gades. Then in 206 B.C. he and Mago were defeated decisively at Ilipa by Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus.
Hasdrubal fled to Africa to meet Syphax, the two there met Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Scipio had been hoping to secure the support of Syphax, but his hopes were dashed when Syphax married Hasdrubal's daughter. In 204 B.C. Hasdrubal was the commander-in-chief in Africa and he succeeded in forcing Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus to abandon the siege of Utica.
In 203 B.C. Hasdrubal and Syphax had their camps burnt by Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. Hasdrubal raised forces once more and even managed to convince Syphax to once more rejoin the conflict. Unfortunately they were once more defeated at the battle of the Great Plains again by Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. Before the Battle of Zama Hasdrubal committed suicide, probably as a result of being convicted of treason.
Hasdrubal was also the name of a Carthaginian commander in the
Third Punic War.
In 150 B.C. he was defeated by Masinissa, and condemned to death by his fellow Carthaginians. Hasdrubal was not enamoured with his punishment and raised a rebel army.
When Rome declared war he was asked to return to defend Carthage. He held out for the year 148 B.C. in the countryside before moving to Carthage in 147 B.C..
In Carthage he executed his opposing Carthaginians along with Roman prisoners. When the situation became desparate he made overtures to Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus to spare Carthage. He was refused and he surrendered in 146 B.C..
Hasdrubal spent the rest of his life in Italy in unchained captivity. His wife did not go with him choosing instead to kill herself and their children.