04-19-2019, 02:58 PM
Michael wrote:
I would have said that Laelius was Polybius` main eye witness with Laelius providing Polybius with what he wanted to hear about Zama.
Appian does not mention Laelius as being at Zama. In his place he has Gaius Octavius, the commander of a Roman fleet. Laelius travels back to Rome for the peace negotiations, so maybe Appian knew he could not be present at Zama.
Michael wrote:
Of course, Thermus` battle is left out because it would clash with Polybius` borrowed three spies story, but I believe that Thermus`s action, the event in Appian that caused Hannibal to seek to negotiate with Scipio, is more likey to have been fought against a reinforcement from Vermina. I think this very likey to be the case if you take into account that Scipio`s position would have been a central one; ideal to intercept and ambush a force approaching from the west to reinforce Hannibal in the east, close to the city of Zama.
That is a possibility. So much of the chronology of the African campaign has been altered.
Michael wrote:
It would appear that Hannibal`s position was bad after the cavalry battle near Zama,
No, I don’t think so. No one has declared how many cavalry were involved, which tells me it was an extremely minor engagement, and most likely a chance encounter. There were peace negotiations occurring, so both sides did not want the situation to escalate.
I would have said that Laelius was Polybius` main eye witness with Laelius providing Polybius with what he wanted to hear about Zama.
Appian does not mention Laelius as being at Zama. In his place he has Gaius Octavius, the commander of a Roman fleet. Laelius travels back to Rome for the peace negotiations, so maybe Appian knew he could not be present at Zama.
Michael wrote:
Of course, Thermus` battle is left out because it would clash with Polybius` borrowed three spies story, but I believe that Thermus`s action, the event in Appian that caused Hannibal to seek to negotiate with Scipio, is more likey to have been fought against a reinforcement from Vermina. I think this very likey to be the case if you take into account that Scipio`s position would have been a central one; ideal to intercept and ambush a force approaching from the west to reinforce Hannibal in the east, close to the city of Zama.
That is a possibility. So much of the chronology of the African campaign has been altered.
Michael wrote:
It would appear that Hannibal`s position was bad after the cavalry battle near Zama,
No, I don’t think so. No one has declared how many cavalry were involved, which tells me it was an extremely minor engagement, and most likely a chance encounter. There were peace negotiations occurring, so both sides did not want the situation to escalate.
