Scipio Africanus (the Elder)

in full Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus

(born 236—died 183 BC, Liternum, Campania) Roman general in the Second Punic War. He was born into a patrician family that had produced several consuls. As a military tribune, he fought at the Battle of Cannae (216), managing to escape from the defeat. While still young, he secured Spain for Rome by 206, driving the Carthaginians out and avenging his father's death. As consul in 205 he was granted permission to attack the Carthaginians in Africa. In 202 he was victorious over Hannibal at the Battle of Zama, ending the Second Punic War and winning the name Africanus. His political opponents, led by Cato, accused Scipio and his brother Lucius of offering too lenient terms to Macedonia after their engagement there and of not being able to account for money supposedly received in those terms. Though there was no evidence of his guilt, Scipio withdrew from public life and died a virtual exile.

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