Hannibal: Enemy of Rome

Illyricum (or Illyria): the Roman name for the lands that lay across the Adriatic Sea from Italy: including parts of modern-day Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. intervallum: the wide, flat area inside the walls of a Roman camp or fort. As well as serving to protect the barrack buildings from enemy missiles, it could when necessary allow the massing of troops before battle. kopis (pl. kopides): a Greek sword with a forward curving blade, not dissimilar to the falcata sword. It was normally carried in a leather-covered sheath and suspended from a baldric. Many ancient peoples used the kopis, from the Etruscans to the Oscans and Persians. lictor (pl. lictores): a magistrates’ enforcer. Only strongly built citizens could apply for this job. Essentially, lictores were the bodyguards for the consuls, praetors and other senior Roman magistrates. Such officials were accompanied at all times in public by set numbers of lictores (the number depended on their rank). Each lictor carried a fasces. Other duties included the arresting and punishment of wrongdoers.

Ligurians: natives of the coastal area that was bounded to the west by the River Rhone and to the east by the River Arno.

Lusitanians: tribesmen from the area of modern-day Portugal.

Massilia: the city of Marseille in modern-day France.

Melqart: a Carthaginian god associated with the sea, and with Hercules. He was also the god most favoured by the Barca family. Hannibal notably made a pilgrimage to Melqart’s shrine in southern Iberia before beginning his war on Rome. mulsum: a drink made by mixing four parts wine and one part honey. It was commonly drunk before meals and during the lighter courses. munus (pl. munera): a gladiatorial combat, staged originally during celebrations honouring someone’s death.

Padus: the River Po. papaverum: the drug morphine. Made from the flowers of the opium poppy, its use has been documented from at least 1000 BC. peristyle: a colonnaded garden which lay to the rear of a Roman house. Often of great size, it was bordered by open-fronted seating areas, reception rooms and banqueting halls. pilum (pl. pila): the Roman javelin. It consisted of a wooden shaft approximately 1.2 m (4 ft) long, joined to a thin iron shank approximately 0.6 m (2 ft) long, and was topped by a small pyramidal point. The javelin was heavy and, when launched, all of its weight was concentrated behind the head, giving it tremendous penetrative force. It could strike through a shield to injure the man carrying it, or lodge in the shield, making it impossible for the man to continue using it. The range of the pilum was about 30 m (100 ft), although the effective range was probably about half this distance.

Pisae: modern-day Pisa.

Placentia: modern-day Piacenza. praetor: one of four senior magistrates (in the years 228-198 BC approximately) who administered justice in Rome, or in its overseas possessions such as Sardinia and Sicily. He could also hold military commands and initiate legislation. The main understudies to the consuls, the praetors convened the Senate in their absence. principes (sing. princeps): these soldiers – described as family men in their prime – formed the second rank of the Roman battle line in the third century BC. They were similar to the hastati, and as such were armed and dressed in much the same manner. provocatio: an appeal on behalf of the Roman people, made against the order of a magistrate. pteryges: also spelt pteruges. This was a twin layer of stiffened linen strips that protected the waist and groin of the wearer. It either came attached to a cuirass of the same material, or as a detachable piece of equipment to be used below a bronze breastplate. Although pteryges were designed by the Greeks, many nations used them, including the Romans and Carthaginians. quinquereme: the principal Carthaginian fighting vessel in the third century BC. They were of similar size to triremes, but possessed many more rowers. Controversy over the exact number of oarsmen in these ships, and the positions they occupied, has gone on for decades. It is fairly well accepted nowadays, however, that the quinquereme had three sets of oars on each side. The vessel was rowed from three levels with two men on each oar of the upper banks, and one man per oar of the lower bank.

Rhodanus: the River Rhone.

Saguntum: modern-day Sagunto.