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           By 264 BC, Rome was a force to be reckoned with. The only power in the region that could match that of the Romans was Carthage. Hannibal was a young Carthaginian general who won most of his battles by coming up with clever ideas. Once, while fighting at sea, Hannibal had his men dump barrels full of live snakes onto the deck of an enemy ship. The enemy had not expected Hannibal to do this. They weren’t prepared to fight snakes. Hannibal won that battle easily.

            In 221 BC, Hannibal tried to attack Rome. Hannibal’s plan was to march 90,000 foot soldiers, 12,000 cavalry, and 37 elephants from Spain, through Gaul, over the Alps, into Italy, and then take Rome by force.

 

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Hamilcar Barca was a daring, intelligent young Carthaginian general He was assigned the command in Sicily in 247 in the First Punic War. From mountain bases he made repeated raids on the Romans. However, the Carthaginians were defeated, and Hamilcar Barca negotiated the terms of the peace that led to Carthage’s withdrawal from Sicily. Later, the Carthaginian mercenaries revolted, but Hamilcar defeated them in 238. After that his popularity made him a virtual dictator. He then set out to conquer Spain as a new base against Rome, and had won considerable territory when he died. Hamilcar was probably the ablest general and statesman that Carthage ever had, until he was succeeded by his son, Hannibal.

 

              Quintas Fabius Maximus was a Roman commander and politician during the Second Punic War. He knew from the reports of Roman commanders in the field that it would be difficult to defeat Rome’s arch enemy Hannibal, in open battle. So, Fabius decided to fight a war of delaying tactics. He dispatched various Roman forces into the hills of Italy to tail Hannibal as closely as possible, without engaging him in battle, knowing that the cavalry would be useless in the hills. These troops constantly cut of Hannibal’s supply lines, and harassed him incessantly and without mercy. Although these tactics were unpopular, and viewed as cowardly, they worked. Fabius would make his first and only offensive move of the war in 209 during his fifth consulship, when he captured the city of Tarentum, which Hannibal had captured three years before.

                Fabius cautious delaying tactics won him the nickname Cunctator, meaning ‘delayer’. He was also called ‘the shield of Rome’, because his tactics gave Rome time to recover its strength, and take the offensive against the invading Carthaginian army of Hannibal. Today, the word Fabianism has come to mean a gradual or cautious policy. 

            Qin Shi Huang was the First Emperor of a unified China, who ruled from 246 BC to 210 BC. He was only 13 years old when he took the throne, so his prime minister Lu Buwei acted as regent for the first eight years. When he took over the reins of power, Qin Shi Huang succeeded in defeating all the six other warring states. By doing so, Qin Shi Huang had unified Northern China. His army would continue to expand the Qin Empire’s southern boundaries throughout his lifetime, driving as far south as what is now Vietnam.

            The king of Qin became the Emperor of Qin Shi Huang reorganized the bureaucracy, abolishing the existing nobility, replacing them with his appointed officials. He also built a network of roads, with the capital of Xian yang at the hub. In addition, the emperor simplified the written Chinese script, standardized weights and measures and minted new copper coins. Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of an enormous defensive wall to keep out invaders from the north. This northern fortification formed the first section of what would become the Great Wall of China.

            Did you know that Qin Shi Huang was often described as a wild beast, because he combined the prominent nose, large eyes and chest of a bird of prey, with the voice of a jackal, and the heart of a tiger?

           Being a far-sighted ruler, Ashoka was aware that if good habits were to be inculcated in his subjects, he would have to interact with them at their mental level. He knew that high philosophical thoughts and teaching would not be effective, and so he formulated a ‘code of conduct’ for his subjects.

           This code of conduct was known as the ‘Dhamma’, and was very broadly based, so as to include people of all religious denominations. In this code, Ashoka instructed people to follow the path of the Dhamma by doing maximum work for noble causes. He also urged his subjects to observe virtues such as respect for elders, following a path of non violence, and being tolerant of other people’s beliefs and ideas. These rules were engraved on rocks and pillars erected throughout the country.

           Ashoka emphasized that evils as rage, cruelty, anger, pride and envy are to be avoided, and virtues like kindness, liberty, truthfulness, gentleness, self-control and purity of heart, were to be pursued vigorously. Ashoka established hospitals for humans and animals, and made liberal donations to the Brahmans and ascetics of different religious sects. He appointed special class of officials called dharama-hamatras whose sole responsibility was to propagate the Dhamma among the people. Ashoka also sent missions to foreign countries to propagate the Dhamma.

Emperor Ashoka was a ruler, whose empire spread across the Indian subcontinent, covering most of India, South Asia, and beyond. It stretched from present day Afghanistan and parts of Persia in the west, to Bengal and Assam in the east, and Mysore in the south. The turning point in Ashoka’s life occurred when he planned to seize the territory of Kalinga, the present day Orissa. He led a huge army, and fought a gruesome battle with the army of Kalinga. Though Ashoka finally emerged victorious at the end, the gruesome sights on the battle-field made his heart break with shame, guilt, and disgust. He vowed never to wage war again and sought refuge in the teachings of Lord Buddha.

Emperor Ashoka is known as Ashoka the Great, since he was one of the most able rulers who ruled India. Under his rule, the whole of India was united as one single entity with smooth administration. Ashoka was not just the first ruler to unify all of India - he was also the first Buddhist king who, after his conversion to Buddhism, attempted to embrace nonviolence and Buddhist principles as part of royal policies. Today, he is considered as one of great Indian Emperors.

 

Demetrius I was the King of Macedon. The son of Antigonus I, he proved himself a very able commander in his father’s wars, particularly against Ptolemy I. Though Ptolemy defeated him at Gaza in 312 BC, Demetrius was able to avenge his defeat later on. He defeated Ptolemy off Salamis, and took Cyprus. He besieged the city of Rhodes with great skill, and this earned him the name Poliorcetes or ‘besieger of cities’. The siege ended with a compromise peace, with Rhodes agreeing to ally herself with Antigonus against anyone other than Ptolemy.

 

           King Porus was the King of Paurava, an ancient state within the territory of Punjab. Porus fought Alexander the Great in the Battle of the Hydaspes River in 326 BC. He brought war elephants with him that terrified the Greeks and their horses. However, during a thunderstorm, Alexander’s troops crossed the Hydaspes, and the Indian chariots were unable to move through the rain-soaked mud.

           Alexander managed to get the upper hand, and the Indian elephants stampeded their own troops. Nearly all of the Indian cavalry were killed, though a few infantry men managed to flee. A wounded king Porus surrendered only after the destruction of his entire army. When Alexander asked him how he wanted to be treated, he gave the famous reply which has become classic: “As a king”.

           To this day, Porus’ reply is considered to represent the height of diplomatic skill.

           The proud manner in which the Indian leader accepted his defeat won Alexander’s admiration, and Porus was reappointed as satrap of his own kingdom. 

           Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Maurya dynasty, which ruled Ancient India for about 140 years. His troops conquered one northern Indian kingdom after another, and claimed lands that stretched as far as west as Afghanistan. In this way, Chandragupta united Northern India under one ruler for the first time in history.

            Before Chandragupta became a powerful emperor, North Western India was mainly ruled by small regional kingdoms that were scattered here and there. Chandragupta’s empire extended from Kashmir in the north, to the Deccan plateau in the south, and Assam in the east, to Afghanistan in the west. Such was the extent of his empire that not just India, but even the neighbouring lands of Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Nepal were part of his kingdom.

              Chandragupta Maurya’s biggest achievements were defeating Alexander’s army and taking over the Nanda Empire at the young age of just 20 years. It is believed that during the last days of his life, King Chandragupta Maurya gave up his throne, and adopted asceticism under the Jain saint, Bhadrabahu. 

           Seleucus I was a daring Macedonian general who aided Alexander’s conquest of Persia and Northern India, and eventually united most of Alexander’s Asian empire, except for Palestine, under his own rule. After Alexander’s death, he became Governor of Babylonia, but was later forced to abandon Babylonia, and seek refuge with Ptolemy, Alexander’s closest friend. However, he did manage to reclaim Babylon, and after the truce of 311 BC, Seleucus was left as master of most Asian provinces, with the notable exception of Phoenicia and Palestine, which Ptolemy had annexed.

             In 305 BC, Seleucus look the title of King. Overcoming his enemies, he claimed all of Syria and the eastern provinces of Asia Minor. To solidify his control of the Mediterranean territories, he transferred his capital from Seleucia on the Tigris, to the new city of Antioch. For almost two decades after this, Seleucus was able to concentrate on consolidating his hold on his vast kingdom. He also launched an invasion of Europe, but was killed before he could return to his homeland. His ashes were enshrined by his son at Seleucia, where he was worshipped posthumously as Zeus Nicator, an incarnation of the head of the Greek pantheon. 

Ptolemy was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt. This family of fifteen kings - all of whom were named Ptolemy - reigned over Egypt for more than three hundred years. 

       Who has not heard of Alexander the Great? He was one of the most famous men in the history of the world. The son of King Philip II of Macedonia, Alexander grew up with a great respect for the Greeks and their culture. Alexander’s father had conquered most of the Greek city-states before Alexander came to power, including the city-state of Sparta. When Alexander became king, even though he allowed the Greeks to manage their own city-states, they fought him at every turn. The Greeks lost and Alexander brought all their outposts and colonies under his control as well. Alexander conquered other cultures in the Mediterranean rather easily, including Egypt. Before his death, he had built over 70 cities, and had conquered the entire known world in the Mediterranean region. His empire stretched all the way to the Indus River.

       Everywhere he went, Alexander introduced Greek literature, myth, dance, language, money, medicine, art, and theatre. He also allowed conquered people the opportunity to run their own country as long as they were loyal to Alexander. Did you know that Alexander never lost a battle? No wonder he was known as Alexander the Great! 

       Philip II was King of Macedonia. He ruled from 359 - 336 BC. When he came to power, Macedonia was in political and military turmoil, and Philip immediately set about bringing the people of Macedonia under his control.

       Philip made several military innovations that helped make Macedonia a great power.

       Philip’s military zenith was at the battle at Chaeronea in August of 338 BC. Philip’s army was greatly outnumbered by the Athenian and Theban forces, yet they over-whelmed the Athenians and Thebans. Athens and Thebes were forced to become subjects of Philip and Macedonia, leaving Sparta as the only Greek state not under Macedonian control.

       Philip gave freedom and autonomy to all the Greek city states that he conquered, yet he established a network of bureaucracies that would be stable and loyal to him.

       Then, with the support of all Greece, Philip declared war on Persia, and sent 10,000 troops into Asia Minor to begin liberating Greek cities along the coast. However, he died before he could achieve this dream, and it was left to his son Alexander the Great to realize it. 

          Alcibiades was an Athenian politician and general. He was not yet twenty years old when the Archidamian War, which was the first phase of the Peloponnesian War, broke out. This was basically a war between the Greek city states of Athens and Sparta. By the time Alcibiades grew up, Athens was beginning to lose the war. Even though he was a brilliant general, he fell out of favour, and was forced to flee Athens. He went to Sparta, and managed to turn the course of the war against his old city.

         Eventually, however, he fell out of favour in Sparta as well, and was forced to flee again. He was welcomed back by the Athenian troops, and under his direction, the tide of war once again turned in favour of Athens, but only until Alcibiades was exiled for a second time. Athens eventually lost the war! 

         Xerxes was a King of the Persians who lived from 520 - 465 BC. When he came to the throne, he quelled a revolt in Egypt, and then he decided to attack Greece. He moved his massive army and a fleet of ships by land and sea, with the fleet following the army, along the coast. The army had to go through a steep mountain pass called Thermopylae, where they were held back by a much smaller Greek force. However, the Persians found another route over the mountains, and defeated the Greeks in this battle.

            It was a costly victory, which ended with 300 Spartan warriors defying the entire Persian army in a last battle to the death. The Persians finally reached Athens, and sacked the deserted city. But the invasion ended in disaster, when the Persian navy was routed by the Greek fleet at Salamis. Xerxes retreated to his palace in Persepolis, leaving behind an occupying army which was defeated by the Greeks.