Cannae, 216 BC, the day a Roman army was surrounded
TL;DR — At Cannae on August 2, 216 BC, Hannibal’s smaller army let its center give way and then closed around a Roman army of about 80,000 on every side.
At Cannae, in southern Italy, on August 2, 216 BC, Hannibal surrounded and destroyed a Roman army larger than his own. The historian Jona Lendering writes that the Roman Senate had decided “to solve the problem by one great, decisive battle,” and that “the two consuls raised an army of no less than 80,000 men, whereas Hannibal’s army counted some 50,000 men.” By the end of the day the Roman dead numbered, by the ancient counts, between about 48,000 and 70,000. Rome still did not make peace.
Quick facts
- When
- August 2, 216 BC
- Where
- Cannae, near the east coast of Italy
- Who
- Hannibal of Carthage; the Roman consuls Gaius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paullus
- Outcome
- The Roman army was surrounded and destroyed, but Rome refused to make peace and won the war at Zama in 202 BC
Before Cannae
Hannibal had been winning in Italy since he crossed the Alps in 218 BC. In 217 the consul Gaius Flaminius “was defeated and killed in an ambush between the hills and the Trasimene lake,” Lendering writes, and “two legions were annihilated.” Rome then appointed Quintus Fabius Maximus as dictator; he followed Hannibal but avoided battle. In 216 the Senate turned to a single great battle instead, and in July the Romans pinned Hannibal down near Cannae, on Italy’s east coast.
A crescent that bent back
The plan turned on Hannibal’s center. Lendering describes it: “Hannibal’s convex, crescent shaped lines slowly became concave under pressure of the Roman elite troops in the center, which, being encircled and finally surrounded by the Carthaginian cavalry in the rear, failed to break through the Carthaginian lines and were eventually destroyed.”
Polybius gave the credit to the horsemen. The Carthaginians, he wrote, were “on this occasion, as on previous ones, mainly indebted for their victory to their superiority in cavalry: a lesson to posterity that in actual war it is better to have half the number of infantry,” and to be superior in cavalry.
How many died
The ancient figures disagree. Polybius wrote that of the Romans who fought, “only about three thousand perhaps escaped to the towns of the surrounding district; all the rest died nobly, to the number of seventy thousand,” and that 10,000 more were taken prisoner. Of 6,000 Roman cavalry, he says, only 70 escaped with the consul Varro. The Carthaginians lost, in his count, 4,000 Celts, 1,500 Iberians and Libyans, and about 200 horse.
Livy gives “45,500 infantry, 2700 cavalry,” almost equally Romans and allies, among them both quaestors and 29 military tribunes, with 3,000 foot and 1,500 horse taken prisoner. Plutarch wrote that “fifty thousand Romans fell in that battle” and four thousand were taken alive.
Why Cannae did not end the war
The victory did not bring Rome to terms. After Cannae, Lendering writes, “the Senate refused to come to terms and Rome’s closest allies, those in central Italy, remained loyal,” and a Roman army attacking Carthage’s African possessions kept reinforcements from reaching Hannibal.
Fabius’s slow war had its defenders. Plutarch says Fabius meant, “having plenty of time, money, and men, to wear out and consume gradually” Hannibal’s “culminating vigour, his scanty resources, and his small army.” Livy, recording Fabius’s death, quotes the poet Ennius: “one man by delaying restored our state.”
The end came in Africa. Carthage recalled Hannibal from Italy, and at Zama on October 19, 202 BC, Lendering writes, “Hannibal tried to repeat his Cannae tactics, but Scipio had better cavalry than the unfortunate consuls fourteen years before.”
Key facts
- Cannae was fought on August 2, 216 BC, near Italy’s east coast (Lendering).
- Rome fielded no fewer than 80,000 men against some 50,000 under Hannibal (Lendering).
- Hannibal’s crescent-shaped line became concave under Roman pressure, and his cavalry closed the ring from the rear (Lendering).
- Polybius gives 70,000 Romans killed; Livy 45,500 infantry and 2,700 cavalry; Plutarch 50,000 (Polybius 3.117; Livy 22.49; Plutarch, Fabius 16).
- Polybius credited the victory to Carthage’s superior cavalry (Polybius 3.117).
- At Zama on October 19, 202 BC, Scipio, with better cavalry, defeated Hannibal’s attempt to repeat Cannae (Lendering).
FAQ
When and where was the Battle of Cannae?
On August 2, 216 BC, near Cannae, on the east coast of southern Italy.
How did Hannibal win at Cannae?
His crescent-shaped center bent back under the Roman attack until it was concave, and his cavalry closed in behind the Romans, who were surrounded and destroyed.
How many Romans died at Cannae?
The ancient sources differ: Polybius says about 70,000, Livy 45,500 infantry and 2,700 cavalry, and Plutarch 50,000.
How big were the armies at Cannae?
Jona Lendering gives the Romans no fewer than 80,000 men and Hannibal some 50,000.
Why didn't Hannibal win the war after Cannae?
The Senate refused to make peace, Rome's allies in central Italy stayed loyal, and a Roman attack on Carthage's African territory kept reinforcements away. Scipio defeated Hannibal at Zama in 202 BC.
Sources
- Polybius, The Histories 3.117, translated by Evelyn S. Shuckburgh (1889), Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University
- Livy, The History of Rome 22.49, translated by Canon Roberts (1912), Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University
- Livy, The History of Rome 30.26, translated by Frank Gardner Moore (1949), Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University
- Plutarch, Fabius Maximus 5 and 16, translated by Bernadotte Perrin (1916), Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University
- Jona Lendering, "Hannibal Barca," Livius.org
Cite this article
- APA
- Song Letter. (2026, October 11). Cannae, 216 BC, the day a Roman army was surrounded. Our Earth's History. https://ourearthshistory.com/africa/classical/cannae-double-envelopment/
- Chicago
- Song Letter. “Cannae, 216 BC, the day a Roman army was surrounded.” Our Earth's History, October 11, 2026. https://ourearthshistory.com/africa/classical/cannae-double-envelopment/.
- MLA
- Song Letter. “Cannae, 216 BC, the day a Roman army was surrounded.” Our Earth's History, 11 Oct. 2026, https://ourearthshistory.com/africa/classical/cannae-double-envelopment/.
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