Thread by @TMauretanian

Thread - The Carthaginian Army - Part III : War Elephants, Chariots and Siege engines

The Carthaginians were introduced to war elephants by Pyrrhus of Epirus (295-272 B.C.) during its sicilian campaign, leading them to promptly abandon their Tyrean war chariots. They first deployed elephants against the Romans during the Battle of Agrigentum (262 B.C.)

Carthage employed war elephants that were native to North Africa and were smaller compared to the Asian and African Savannah subspecies. They belonged to a small forest species (Loxodonta africana cyclotis), which lacked the capacity to carry a tower like the other subspecies.

Carthage, dependent on the favor of Numidian monarchies for their supply of elephants, occasionally had to seek assistance from the Greco-Macedonian monarchies. This allowed them to acquire larger Asian elephants capable of carrying towers.

In addition, the Carthaginians equipped these elephants with metal plates for protection. According to Appian, Carthage maintained stables for 300 elephants, although this full capacity was never deployed. The highest number recorded was 140 elephants in Sicily in 252 BC.

It appears that these elephants were often guided by black/aethiopian mahouts, as evidenced by numerous depictions on Etruscan coins and terracotta figurines but the origin of these riders is unclear.

It is possible that these riders originated from the northern fringes of the Sahara or the region around the Red Sea, as historical evidence suggests that Ptolemaic Egypt supplied small elephants from the Red Sea along with their mahouts.

Despite their strength, These elephants were vulnerable to extreme nervousness and could become uncontrollable in the midst of battle. The Carthaginians had to resort to using an iron wedge to kill them through their spine, a method credited to Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal.

The Carthaginians upheld the tradition of Eastern scythe chariots (biga and quadriga) until at least the 4th century. However, these chariots disappeared entirely during the Punic Wars as they were replaced by war elephants.

The existence of these chariots in the Middle East dates back to the 2nd millennium, making them an archaic feature that persisted in Carthaginian armies until relatively late. Scythed chariot would have especially been used by persians during the Vth cent. BC

These war chariots accommodated two soldiers—a driver and an archer. Blades could be attached to the wheels and the front of the chariot, enabling charges against enemy lines. However, it was hindered by the lack of open ground and linear enemy formations in island terrains.

It is worth mentioning that war chariots were employed by certain Libyan and Celtic tribes. The Libyans were mentioned during Agathocles' invasion of Africa in 310 BC, where they allied with him. The Romans also noted the frequent usage of chariots among noble Celts.

The Carthaginians utilized a wide range of siege engines, primarily imported from the Middle East, where an old and longstanding tradition of siege warfare existed. They made use of mobile towers, catapults, mining and battering ram.

The battering ram was not an original invention of Carthage as believed in the past, as it had already been known in the Near East, particularly in the Assyrian world, during the 2nd millennium BC.

However, it was the Phoenician colonists who introduced this device to the western Mediterranean. They first employed it during the siege of Gadir (Cadix, Spain), which took place either at the end of the 6th century or the beginning of the 5th century BC.

They adopted different kinds of torsion catapult from the Greek sicilians during the 4th cent. BC to shoot stone or darts shot. Hannibal even used alternative ammunation such as clay pots filled with poisonous snakes against ennemy ships when he served under the king of Bithynia.

Diodorus Siculus mentions the Carthaginians using mobile towers "of exceptional size" filled with archers and slingers in Sicily during the late 5th century BC. When these towers were set on fire, Carthaginian generals would respond by building embankments in the Persian style.

Carthaginian army standards featured crescent shapes with horn-like ends, ribbons, lunar crescents, and sun discs. These symbols held celestial and religious meaning, associated with the goddesses Tanit and Astarte. They likely adopted them from the Babylonian and Assyrian armies

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