Denzel Washington and Vin Diesel, two of the biggest names in Hollywood are slugging it out to make a Hannibal biopic, and to film the exploits of Hannibal, Carthage's greatest son, and his lifelong feud with Rome.

Hannibal Barca, the famous General of Carthage crossed the Alps with his elephants to fight the Romans around 2,200 years ago. Carthage  - with its capital near Tunis in modern-day Tunisia, North Africa - was a trading empire that had co-existed with Rome for many centuries.

Eventually the two empires clashed in the series of three wars called the Punic Wars. Rome defeated Carthage three times, finally destroying the city and the empire.

Hannibal's war was the Second Punic War - he started it by attacking Saguntum in Spain and then invading Italy. He rampaged through Italy for 16 years, inflicting horrific defeats on the Roman forces. He was never defeated in a major engagement by the Romans in Italy but was gradually bottled up in the south of the country. Finally Rome invaded his north African homeland and he was recalled to defend it. There he suffered his first major defeat, which ended the Second Punic War.

Hannibal was then on the run and travelled through the Middle East, selling his military skills - usually to the opponents of Rome's allies. Finally Hannibal was trapped (in present-day Turkey) and took poison to avoid capture.

In this article, an amateur historian/hiker considers a dozen likely routes Hannibal is considered to have taken over the Alps, and traverses the most likely after considering possibilities based on texts of Livy and the earlier Greek historian Polybius, Napoleon, Edward Gibbon, Gavin de Beer, and John Prevas.

An amateur historian retraces the treacherous French Alps route
the general may have taken to invade Italy.

Los Angeles Times
By Greg Langley
Special to The Times
October 3, 2004

Gasping for breath in the thin Alpine air, we peered into the thick veils of clouds, desperate for a glimpse of the Italian plains stretching somewhere below. Above us, Monte Viso, the 12,600-foot, twin-peaked colossus of the southern French Alps, appeared briefly through the mist. But in the distance? Whiteout.

Striking a precarious pose on an icy ledge, my hiking companion Chris swung a climbing pick around his head. Then, primed on the works of Roman historian Livy, he proclaimed to the shrouded peaks, "Soldiers! … You have now surmounted not only the ramparts of Italy, but also of the city of Rome."

It sounded pompous and absurd at that desolate height, but it lessened our disappointment and suited the location. This, after all, was Hannibal country. If the latest theories are correct, it was over this treacherous path high in the Alps that the bold Carthaginian general led his army of about 35,000 troops and 36 elephants more than 2,000 years ago.

Starving, decimated by fierce Celtic tribes and with snow thick underfoot, the great military column is thought to have rested on this mountain peak at the end of October 218 BC. Hannibal, intent on launching a surprise attack on Rome, gathered his exhausted troops the next morning and, revealing to them the fertile plains along the Po River far below, urged them downward into Italy.

The pass is known today as the Col de la Traversette and is one of the highest and most remote in the French Alps. It lies above La Queyras (pronounced "lah qway-rah"), a region of rugged valleys...

I journeyed to La Queyras in summer 2003. Driving in trepidation along a road carved into the gorges of the Combe du Queyras, we emerged through a tunnel at the base of a picture-book castle guarding a valley of rich meadows.

Certainly La Queyras, a spur digging into the Italian border, has always been an isolated bastion. From 1349 to 1789, a medieval confederation of seven towns here formed its own independent, democratic government — the République des Escartons. Even today the enclosing mountains keep the place secluded, which is reflected in the facilities. There are no ATMs, no shopping malls, no traffic lights. Pampered tourists will search in vain for a luxury hotel.

Yet, the 160,000-acre La Queyras Regional Nature Park has its own rewards. La Queyras remains one of the most traditional areas of the southern French Alps, and the landscape around the Guil Valley — featuring jagged-edged schistose Alps and pastured slopes — is, in turns, imposing, charming and austere.

In nearby valleys, pretty villages grace mountainsides. Even the weather is distinctive. The region is renowned for blue skies — with as many as 300 days of sunshine a year, making it one of the sunniest climates on the Continent.

For hikers, La Queyras offers wide-ranging trails and a sense of solitude rarely found elsewhere in the Alps. Plus, in season, its meadows are swathed in flowers and might provide a chance glimpse of ibex, chamois (a type of antelope), marmots and rare golden eagles.

At 6,560 feet, St.-Véran is the highest village in Europe inhabited year round and one of the most idyllic in the French Alps...with cozy guesthouses and traditional chalets scattered throughout the valleys...

'No, not for 'Annibal'

I caught up with a collegue, Chris,..,who was keen to track down Hannibal.

An amateur historian, Chris had long been fascinated by the Punic Wars, the three bitter conflicts in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC that secured Roman dominion over the ancient world. I was less enthused. It was only after showing me an article on the race between Denzel Washington and Vin Diesel to make a Hannibal biopic that he convinced me to visit La Queyras. That two of the biggest names in Hollywood were slugging it out to film the exploits of Carthage's greatest son and his lifelong feud with Rome added spice to the destination...

Chris mentioned his quest for the Hannibal trail to the barmaid.

"No," she said to Chris, shaking her head. "You didn't come all the way from America for this."

She could not comprehend. "No, not for 'Annibal," she said, intoning the general's name. She smiled, shook her head again...

The barmaid's incredulity was understandable. Although Hannibal's crossing of the Alps at the start of winter is considered one of the most remarkable military feats in history, there is no evidence to indicate which pass he and his frozen elephants traversed.

Based on texts of Livy and the earlier Greek historian Polybius, scholars have identified a dozen likely routes. Napoleon thought he crossed at Montcenis; Edward Gibbon, author of "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire," claimed Col de Montgenèvre.

The Col de la Traversette was first suggested in 1805 — a theory largely ignored until the 1950s. For centuries, only traders and smugglers used the pass; scholars avoided it not only because of the difficulty of the climb but because of "the ease with which triggers are pulled in that area," as historian Gavin de Beer wrote.

American academic John Prevas rekindled the debate in 1988, when he claimed that Col de la Traversette was undoubtedly Hannibal's route. He'd spent six summers scaling every pass on the French-Italian border, trying to match the geography with historical descriptions of Hannibal's journey. His conclusion: Only the Guil Valley leading to the Col de la Traversette matched the historic texts.

Why would Hannibal, one of the most astute generals in history, take his army over one of the most demanding routes in the Alps? Prevas, again drawing on Livy and Polybius, argues that duplicitous guides led Hannibal into a military ambush in the Combe du Queyras, believing that those who did not die in its treacherous gorges would later perish crossing the snow-covered Alps.

Undoubtedly Prevas will not have the last word on the matter, but his description of the Col de la Traversette in his 1998 book, "Hannibal Crosses the Alps: The Invasion of Italy and the Punic Wars," captured our imaginations. Even if it was not Hannibal's pass, Chris and I resolved to climb it.

How did the elephants cross?

Nowadays, the pass is part of a strenuous high-level walking circuit, the Tour de Monte Viso. It crosses into Italy near the 9,917-foot-high Pointe de Marte. Snow lies year round on the summit and few people take the trail, even in the height of summer.

Although neither of us claimed to be as hardened as Hannibal's mercenary troops — Nubian horsemen, slingers from the Balearic Islands and Gaelic swordsmen — we had the advantages of Gore-Tex clothing, stout boots and a car ride to Petit Belvedere, near the head of the Guil Valley.

The day was fine when we started, the sky clear and blue. Four hours later,... the clouds were closing in and a fierce wind clawed at our packs. It was cold, bleak and icy, and what should have been an inspiring view of the Po Valley toward (Turin) resembled a television tuned between stations — with reception worsening fast.

As we clung tightly to this massive bulwark of ice and stone straddling the border, it became clear what an astonishing feat Hannibal's crossing was. Regardless of exactly where he crossed, it would have been onerous. It is, however, difficult to imagine a route more perilous for an army than the Col de la Traversette.

" 'Annibal. It's a nice story," Thérèse Comte, a representative of the local tourism office, had said to me, sounding skeptical. "It is difficult to imagine how anyone could cross that pass with elephants…. Though to be honest, no one here thinks much about 'Annibal. It is still a poor region and most people are busy enough trying to earn a living rather than worry about such matters."

Although La Queyras presents stunning, bucolic scenery and a respite from the pace of urban Europe, for us it was Hannibal's ghost that breathed life into the landscape.

After descending into Italy, Hannibal raged through the country for 16 years. He was always outnumbered by the Roman armies yet never lost a battle. He failed only at the gates of Rome itself and spent his final 20 or so years in exile...

*
"Hannibal Crosses the Alps: The Invasion of Italy and the Punic Wars," by John Prevas.

"Hannibal," historic novel by Ross Leckie.