The general who took an army — and elephants — over the mountains to fight Rome.
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These are the new words for Hannibal. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = D (a general) · 2 = B (an army) · 3 = F (a battle) · 4 = A (the mountains)
5 = E (an elephant) · 6 = C (an enemy) · 7 = H (a victory) · 8 = G (to defeat)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
Long ago, more than two thousand years ago, there were two great cities. One was Rome, in Italy. The other was Carthage, in North Africa. The two cities did not like each other. They both wanted to be the strongest. They fought a long war, and Carthage lost. Carthage was angry and sad.
In Carthage there was a strong family. The father was a soldier called Hamilcar. He had a young son called Hannibal. Hamilcar took his son to fight in Spain. People say that Hamilcar told his son to promise one thing: never to be a friend of Rome. Hannibal grew up in the army. He learned to fight, and he became a very good leader.
When Hannibal was still young, he became the general of the army in Spain. His soldiers loved him. His enemies were afraid of him. Then he attacked a city that was a friend of Rome, and a new war began. Rome thought Hannibal would come by sea. But Hannibal had a different plan.
1. What were the two great cities, and how did they feel about each other?
2. What promise did Hannibal make when he was young?
1. Rome (in Italy) and Carthage (in North Africa). They did not like each other. They both wanted to be the strongest, and they fought a war.
2. He promised to never be a friend of Rome.
Hannibal did not wait for Rome to come to him. He took the war to Italy — by land. In the summer, he left Spain with a big army. He also took war elephants! He walked across the south of France. Then he came to the Alps, very high and cold mountains. No one thought an army could cross them.
The journey over the mountains was very hard. It was cold. The paths were narrow and dangerous. People from the mountains attacked his army. Many soldiers and animals died in the cold before any battle. But Hannibal did not stop. At last, he came down into Italy with his army. Only a few elephants were still alive, but the crossing became famous. Rome was very surprised. The war was now in Italy.
Then Hannibal won battle after battle. His biggest victory was at a place called Cannae. He used a clever plan. He let the middle of his army move back. The Roman army came forward. Then Hannibal's soldiers came round the sides and surrounded them. It was a terrible day for Rome. For a short time, people thought that Rome itself might fall.
1. How did Hannibal bring the war to Italy, and what did he take with him?
2. What clever plan did Hannibal use at Cannae?
1. He went by land, from Spain, over the Alps. He took a big army and war elephants.
2. He let the middle of his army move back, and when the Romans came forward, his soldiers came round the sides and surrounded them.
After the big victory at Cannae, people thought Hannibal would go straight to Rome. But he did not. Maybe his army was not big enough. Rome did not give up. Rome made new armies and changed its plan. Rome did not fight Hannibal in a big battle. Instead, Rome waited, and attacked Carthage in other places.
A young Roman general called Scipio took the war to North Africa, near Carthage. So Carthage called Hannibal home to help. Hannibal had been in Italy for about fifteen years. In 202 BC, the two armies met at a place called Zama. This time, Scipio won. Hannibal lost the battle. Carthage had to stop the war and accept a hard peace.
The last years of Hannibal's life were sad. He left his home and lived in other countries in the east. Rome still wanted to catch him. In the end, he did not let Rome take him. Many years later, Rome destroyed the city of Carthage. But people never forgot Hannibal. Today, more than two thousand years later, many people say he was one of the greatest generals in all of history.
1. How did Rome change its plan after Cannae?
2. What happened at Zama, and what happened to Hannibal after the war?
1. Rome did not give up and did not fight Hannibal in a big battle. It made new armies, waited, and attacked Carthage in other places.
2. At Zama in 202 BC, the Roman general Scipio defeated Hannibal. After the war, Hannibal left his home and lived in other countries.
This is a true story from the past. To tell a story about the past, we use the past simple. This is the most important tense for telling a story.
Write the past simple form of the verb in brackets.
1. Hannibal (walk) over the mountains with his army.
2. The mountain people (attack) his soldiers.
3. Rome (want) to be the strongest city.
1. walked
2. attacked
3. wanted
These verbs are irregular. Write the correct past simple form.
1. Hannibal (take) elephants over the mountains.
2. He (win) many battles.
3. At Zama, Hannibal (lose) the battle.
4. He (become) a great general when he was young.
1. took
2. won
3. lost
4. became
Fill each gap with the past simple. Some verbs are regular and some are irregular. Read it aloud when you finish.
Hannibal (leave) Spain with a big army. He (go) over the high mountains. It was very cold and many soldiers (die). In Italy, he (win) many battles. But Rome (not / give) up.
left · went · died · won · did not give
Remember: regular verbs add -ed, but many key verbs are irregular (go → went, win → won). For the negative, use did not + base verb.
There is a real podcast about Hannibal. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. Open Spotify and search "Short History Of Hannibal" to find the episode.
Open the show on Spotify →Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Hannibal in your own words. Use these steps to help you: two cities, Rome and Carthage → a boy and a promise → an army and elephants over the mountains → many victories, and the big win at Cannae → the last battle at Zama → Hannibal loses, but people remember him.
Try to use the past simple (went, took, won, lost, became) and some of the key words (general, army, battle, mountains, elephant, enemy, victory, defeat).
Hannibal lost the war, but he is still famous. Do you think it is good to remember people who lost? Can you think of a team, a person or a country that lost but that people still love? Why do people remember them?
Tell a story about a difficult journey — yours or someone else's. Use the past simple: where did you go? What happened? Was it hard?
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: