Hannibal
Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Regional History or Period History
Forum Name: Ancient Mediterranean and Europe
Forum Discription: Greece, Macedon, Rome and other cultures such as Celtic and Germanic tribes
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=26711
Printed Date: 21-May-2024 at 00:09
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.56a - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Hannibal
Posted By: Fastrada
Subject: Hannibal
Date Posted: 03-Mar-2009 at 17:22
| Just curious ..There were so many nationalities among his army.. How did he manage to communicate with them as to the battle plan? |
Replies:
Posted By: Knights
Date Posted: 03-Mar-2009 at 21:07
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He had interpreters/translaters from different regions that spoke the multitude of dialects. Plus, most of his men would have picked up some universal battle commands, I would imagine. Does this clarify for you? ------------- |
Posted By: Fastrada
Date Posted: 03-Mar-2009 at 22:03
| Yes, that makes sense. Thanks. |
Posted By: khshayathiya
Date Posted: 03-Mar-2009 at 23:16
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Most of his foreign soldiers fought as bands, under the leadership of captains. It was sufficient that these captains had some notion of Punic for him to be able to deliver his orders. Besides, he is known as having been a polyglot. In the Punic army, as Polybios tells us when describing the episode of the Truceless War, there were officers especially trained to deal with different nationalities: some with Gauls, some with Numidians and so on. Presumably this included some degree of acquaintance with the language of the soldiers. So I should think the two layers of the army - Punic leadership and foreign soldiery - meet somewhere in the middle in so far as language was concerned. ------------- 
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