This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2011)

Carthage *
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Country	Tunisia
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, vi
Reference	37
Region **	Arab States
Inscription history
Inscription	1979 (3rd Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO

Downfall of the Carthaginian Empire

  Lost to Rome in the First Punic War (264BC - 241BC)

  Won after the First Punic War, lost in the Second Punic War

  Lost in the Second Punic War (218BC - 201BC)

  Conquered by Rome in the Third Punic War (149BC - 146BC)

Carthage (Latin: Carthago or Karthago, Ancient Greek: Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Arabic: قرطاج Qarṭāj‎, Berber: ⴽⴰⵔⵜⴰⵊⴻⵏ Kartajen, Etruscan: *Carθaza, Modern Hebrew: קרתגו‎ Qartágo, from the Phoenician Qart-ḥadašt^[1] meaning New City (Aramaic: קרתא חדאתא, Qarta Ḥdatha), implying it was a 'new Tyre',^[2] is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC. It is currently a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia, with a population of 20,715 (2004 Census).

The first civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic (a form of the word "Phoenician") or Carthaginian. The city of Carthage is located on the eastern side of Lake Tunis across from the centre of Tunis. According to Greek historians it was founded by Canaanite-speaking Phoenician colonists from Tyre (in modern Lebanon) under the leadership of Elissa who was renamed (Queen Dido) in Virgil's Aeneid. It became a large and rich city and thus a major power in the Mediterranean. The resulting rivalry with Syracuse, Numidia, and Rome was accompanied by several wars with respective invasions of each other's homeland.

Hannibal's invasion of Italy in the Second Punic War culminated in the Carthaginian victory at Cannae and led to a serious threat to the continuation of Roman rule over Italy; however, Carthage emerged from the conflict weaker after Hannibal's defeat at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. Following the Third Punic War, the city was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC. However, the Romans refounded Carthage, which became the Empire's fourth most important city and the capital of the short-lived Vandal kingdom. It remained one of the most important Roman cities until the Muslim conquest when it was destroyed a second time in 698.

Topography[link]

Carthage was built on a promontory with inlets to the sea to the north and south. The city's location made it master of the Mediterranean's maritime trade. All ships crossing the sea had to pass between Sicily and the coast of Tunisia, where Carthage was built, affording it great power and influence.

EO-1

Two large, artificial harbours were built within the city, one for harbouring the city's massive navy of 220 warships and the other for mercantile trade. A walled tower overlooked both harbours.

The city had massive walls, 23 miles (37 kilometres) in length, longer than the walls of comparable cities. Most of the walls were located on the shore and thus could be less impressive, as Carthaginian control of the sea made attack from that direction difficult. The 2.5 to 3 miles (4 to 4.8 kilometres) of wall on the isthmus to the west were truly large and, in fact, were never penetrated.

The city had a huge necropolis or burial ground, religious area, market places, council house, towers and a theatre and was divided into four equally sized residential areas with the same layout. Roughly in the middle of the city stood a high citadel called the Byrsa.

Carthage was one of the largest cities in Hellenistic times (by some estimates only Alexandria was larger)^{[citation needed]} and was among the largest cities in pre-industrial history.

History[link]

Layout of the city.

The historical study of Carthage is problematic. Because its culture and records were destroyed by the Romans at the end of the Third Punic War, very few Carthaginian primary historical sources survive. While there are a few ancient translations of Punic texts into Greek and Latin, as well as inscriptions on monuments and buildings discovered in North Africa,^[3] the main sources are Greek and Roman historians, including Livy, Polybius, Appian, Cornelius Nepos, Silius Italicus, Plutarch, Dio Cassius, and Herodotus. These writers belonged to peoples in competition, and often in conflict, with Carthage.^[4] Greek cities contested with Carthage for Sicily,^[5] and the Romans fought three wars against Carthage.^[6] Not surprisingly, their accounts of Carthage are extremely hostile; while there are a few Greek authors who took a favorable view, these works have been lost.^[7]

Foundation legends[link]

Queen Elissa (Dido)[link]

Carthage

According to Roman sources, Phoenician colonists from modern-day Lebanon, led by Queen Dido (Elissa) founded Carthage. Queen Elissa (also known as "Alissar"), was an exiled princess of the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre. At its peak, the metropolis she founded, Carthage, came to be called the "shining city," ruling 300 other cities around the western Mediterranean and leading the Phoenician (or Punic) world.

Elissa's brother, King Pygmalion of Tyre, had murdered her husband, the high priest. Elissa escaped the tyranny of her own country, founding the "new city" of Carthage and subsequently its later dominions. Details of her life are sketchy and confusing, but the following can be deduced from various sources. According to Justin, Princess Elissa was the daughter of King Matten of Tyre (also known as Muttoial or Belus II). When he died, the throne was jointly bequeathed to her and her brother, Pygmalion. She married her uncle Acherbas (also known as Sychaeus), the High Priest of Melqart, a man with both authority and wealth comparable to the king. This led to increased rivalry between religion and the monarchy. Pygmalion was a tyrant, lover of both gold and intrigue, who desired the authority and fortune enjoyed by Acherbas.^{[citation needed]} Pygmalion assassinated Acherbas in the temple and kept the misdeed concealed from his sister for a long time, deceiving her with lies about her husband's death. At the same time, the people of Tyre called for a single sovereign, causing dissent within the royal family.

Virgil's Aeneid[link]

In the Roman epic of Virgil, the Aeneid, Queen Dido, the Greek name for Queen Elissa, is first introduced as an extremely respected character. In just seven years, since their exodus from Tyre, the Carthaginians have rebuilt a successful kingdom under her rule. Her subjects adore her and present her with a festival of praise. Her character is perceived by Virgil as even more noble when she offers asylum to Aeneas and his men, who have recently escaped from Troy. A spirit in the form of the messenger god, Mercury, sent by Jupiter, reminds Aeneas that his mission is not to stay in Carthage with his new-found love, Dido, but to sail to Italy to found Rome. Virgil ends his legend of Dido with the story that, when Aeneas tells Dido, her heart broken, she orders a pyre to be built where she falls upon Aeneas' sword. As she lay dying, she predicted eternal strife between Aeneas' people and her own: "rise up from my bones, avenging spirit" (4.625, trans. Fitzgerald) she says, an invocation of Hannibal. The details of Virgil's story do not, however form part of the original legend and are significant mainly as an indication of Rome's attitude towards the city she had destroyed.^[8]

Carthaginian Republic[link]

Carthaginian held territory in the early 3rd century BC

The Carthaginian Republic was one of the longest-lived and largest states in the ancient Mediterranean. Reports relay several wars with Syracuse and finally, Rome, which eventually resulted in the defeat and destruction of Carthage in the third Punic war. The Carthaginians were Semitic Phoenician settlers originating in the Mediterranean coast of the Near East. They spoke Canaanite and followed a predominantly Canaanite religion.

Army[link]

According to Polybius, Carthage relied heavily, though not exclusively, on foreign mercenaries,^[9] especially in overseas warfare. The core of its army was from its own territory in north Africa (ethnic Libyans and Numidians (modern northern Algeria), as well as "Liby-Phoenicians" — i.e. Phoenicians proper). These troops were supported by mercenaries from different ethnic groups and geographic locations across the Mediterranean who fought in their own national units; Celtic, Balearic, and Iberian troops were especially common. Later, after the Barcid conquest of Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal), Iberians came to form an even greater part of the Carthaginian forces. Carthage seems to have fielded a formidable cavalry force, especially in its North African homeland; a significant part of it was composed of Numidian contingents of light cavalry. Other mounted troops included the now extinct North African elephants, trained for war, which, among other uses, were commonly used for frontal assaults or as anti-cavalry protection. An army could field up to several hundred of these animals, but on most reported occasions fewer than a hundred were deployed. The riders of these elephants were armed with a spike and hammer to kill the elephants in case they charged toward their own army.

Navy[link]

Roman trireme mosaic from Carthage, Bardo Museum, Tunis

The navy of Carthage was one of the largest in the Mediterranean, using serial production to maintain high numbers at moderate cost. The sailors and marines of the Carthaginian navy were predominantly recruited from the Phoenician citizenry, unlike the multi-ethnic allied and mercenary troops of the Carthaginian armies. The navy offered a stable profession and financial security for its sailors. This helped to contribute to the city's political stability, since the unemployed, debt ridden poor in other cities were frequently inclined to support revolutionary leaders in the hope of improving their own lot.^[10] The reputation of her skilled sailors implies that there was in peacetime a training of oarsmen and coxswains, giving their navy a cutting edge in naval matters.

The trade of Carthaginian merchantmen was by land across the Sahara and especially by sea throughout the Mediterranean and far into the Atlantic to the tin-rich islands of Britain and also to North West Africa. There is evidence that at least one Punic expedition under Hanno sailed along the West African coast to regions south of the Tropic of Cancer, describing how the sun was in the north at noon.^{[citation needed]}

Polybius wrote in the sixth book of his History that the Carthaginians were "more exercised in maritime affairs than any other people."^[11] Their navy included some 300 to 350 warships. The Romans, who had little experience in naval warfare prior to the First Punic War, managed to finally defeat Carthage with a combination of reverse engineering captured Carthaginian ships, recruitment of experienced Greek sailors from the ranks of its conquered cities, the unorthodox corvus device, and their superior numbers in marines and rowers. In the Third Punic War Polybius describes a tactical innovation of the Carthaginians, augmenting their few triremes with small vessels that carried hooks (to attack the oars) and fire (to attack the hulls). With this new combination, they were able to stand their ground against the superior Roman numbers for a whole day.

Fall[link]

Ruins of Carthage

The fall of Carthage came at the end of the Third Punic War in 146 BC at the Battle of Carthage.^[12] Despite initial devastating Roman naval losses and Rome's recovery from the brink of defeat after the terror of a 15-year occupation of much of Italy by Hannibal, the end of the series of wars resulted in the end of Carthaginian power and the complete destruction of the city by Scipio Aemilianus. The Romans pulled the Phoenician warships out into the harbor and burned them before the city, and went from house to house, capturing, raping and enslaving the people. Fifty thousand Carthaginians were sold into slavery.^[13] The city was set ablaze, and razed to the ground, leaving only ruins and rubble. After the fall of Carthage, Rome annexed the majority of the Carthaginian colonies, including other North African locations such as Volubilis, Lixus, Chellah, and Mogador.^[14] The legend that the city was sown with salt is not mentioned by the ancient sources; R.T. Ridley suggested that the story originated from 1930 in section of the Cambridge Ancient History written by B Hallward whose influence might be an account of Abimelech's salting of Shechem in Judges 9:45.^[15][16] Warmington admitted his fault in repeating Hallward's error but mentions an example of the story that goes back to 1299 when Bonaface VIII destroyed Palestrina.^[17]

City of survivors[link]

Byrsa[link]

Punic ruins in Byrsa

On top of Byrsa hill, the location of the Roman Forum, a residential area from the last century of existence (early 2nd century) of the Punic city was excavated by the French archaeologist Serge Lancel. The neighborhood, with its houses, shops and private spaces, is significant for what it reveals about daily life there over twenty-one hundred years ago. .^[18]

The habitat is typical, even stereotypical. The street was often used as a storefront; cistern tanks were installed in basements to collect water for domestic use, and a long corridor on the right side of each residence led to a courtyard containing a sump, around which various other elements may be found. In some places the ground is covered with mosaics called punica pavement, sometimes using a characteristic red mortar.

The remains have been preserved under embankments, the substructures of the later Roman forum, whose foundation piles dot the district. The housing blocks are separated by a grid of straight streets approximately six metres wide, with a roadway consisting of clay; there are in situ stairs to compensate for the slope of the hill. Construction of this type presupposes organization and political will, and has inspired the name of the neighborhood, "Hannibal district", referring to the Punic general or Suffete at the beginning of the 2nd century BC.

Roman period[link]

Roman Carthage

When Carthage fell, its nearby rival Utica, a Roman ally, was made capital of the region and replaced Carthage as the leading center of Punic trade and leadership. It had the advantageous position of being situated on the Lake of Tunis and the outlet of the Majardah River, Tunisia's only river that flowed all year long. However, grain cultivation in the Tunisian mountains caused large amounts of silt to erode into the river. This silt was accumulated in the harbor until it was made useless, and Rome was forced to rebuild Carthage.

By 122 BC Gaius Gracchus founded a short-lived colony, called Colonia Iunonia, after the Latin name for the punic goddess Tanit, Iuno caelestis. The purpose was to obtain arable lands for impoverished farmers. The Senate abolished the colony some time later, in order to undermine Gracchus' power.

After this ill-fated attempt a new city of Carthage was built on the same land by Julius Caesar in 49-44 BC period, and by the 1st century A.D. it had grown to be the second largest city in the western half of the Roman Empire, with a peak population of 500,000^{[citation needed]}. It was the center of the Roman province of Africa, which was a major breadbasket of the Empire.

Carthage also became a centre of early Christianity. In the first of a string of rather poorly reported councils at Carthage a few years later, no fewer than seventy bishops attended. Tertullian later broke with the mainstream that was represented more and more in the west by the bishop of Rome, but a more serious rift among Christians was the Donatist controversy, which Augustine of Hippo spent much time and parchment arguing against. In 397 at the Council at Carthage, the biblical canon for the western Church was confirmed.

Vandal Empire in 500 AD, centered in Carthage.

The political fallout from the deep disaffection of African Christians is supposedly a crucial factor in the ease with which Carthage and the other centres were captured in the 5th century by Gaiseric, king of the Vandals, who defeated the Roman general Bonifacius and made the city his capital. Gaiseric was considered a heretic too, an Arian, and though Arians commonly despised orthodox Catholic Christians, a mere promise of toleration might have caused the city's population to accept him. After a failed attempt to recapture the city in the 5th century, the Eastern Roman empire finally subdued the Vandals in 533-534.

Thereafter the city became the seat of the praetorian prefecture of Africa, which during the emperor Maurice's reign, was made into an Exarchate, as was Ravenna in Italy. These two exarchates were the western bulwarks of the Roman empire, all that remained of its power in the west. In the early 7th century it was the exarch of Carthage who overthrew emperor Phocas.

Islamic conquests[link]

The Roman Exarchate of Africa was not able to withstand the Muslim conquerors of the 7th century. Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik in 686 AD sent a force led by Zuhayr ibn Qais who won a battle over Romans and Berbers led by Kusaila, on the Qairawan plain; but could not follow that up. In 695 AD Hasan ibn al-Nu'man captured Carthage and advanced into the Atlas Mountains. An imperial fleet arrived and retook Carthage, but in 698 AD Hasan ibn al-Nu'man returned and defeated emperor Tiberios III at the Battle of Carthage. Roman imperial forces withdrew from all Africa except Ceuta. Roman Carthage was destroyed, just as the Romans had destroyed the Carthaginian republic in 146 BC. Carthage was replaced by Tunis as the major regional centre. The destruction of the Exarchate of Africa marked a permanent end to the influence there of the eastern Roman empire.

Modern times[link]

In the mid-19th century Nathan Davis and other European archaeologists were given permission to excavate the ancient city.

Carthage remains a popular tourist attraction and residential suburb of Tunis. The Tunisian presidential palace is located in the city.^[19]

In February 1985, Ugo Vetere, the mayor of Rome, and Chedly Klibi, the mayor of Carthage, signed a symbolic treaty "officially" ending the conflict between their cities, which had been supposedly extended by the lack of a peace treaty for more than 2,100 years.^[20]

Portrayals in fiction[link]

Carthage features in Gustave Flaubert's historical novel Salammbô (1862). Set around the time of the Mercenaries' War, it includes a dramatic description of child sacrifice, and the boy Hannibal narrowly avoiding being sacrificed.

In The Dead Past, a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, a leading character is an ancient historian who is trying to disprove the allegation that the Carthaginians carried out child sacrifice.

In Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey, Carthage is a conquering nation that is geographically and culturally based on the historical Carthage.

The Purple Quest by Frank G. Slaughter is about the founding of Carthage.

The TV Series Spartacus: Blood and Sand and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which are set in ancient Rome, feature a gladiator named Barca who is also known as "The Beast of Carthage" and was present at its fall.

See also[link]

Tunisia portal

• List of Kings of Carthage
• Carthaginian Republic
• History of Tunisia
• Phoenician languages
• Umayyad conquest of North Africa
• Phoenicians and wine
• Punics

Sources[link]

Religion[link]

• Polybius^[21]
• Hannibal's Campaigns. Tony Bath. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble Books, 1981.
• La vie quotidienne à Carthage au temps d'Hannibal. Gilbert et Colette Charles-Picard. Paris: Hachette, 1958.
• La légende de Carthage. Azedine Beschaouch. Paris: Gallimard, 1993.
• Carthage: Uncovering the Mysteries and Splendors of Ancient Tunisia. David Soren, Aicha Ben Abed Ben Kader, Heidi Slim. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990.
• The Phoenicians and the West: Politics, colonies and trade. Maria Eugenia Aubet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
• Itineraria Phoenicia.Edward Lipinski. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters en Department Oosterse Studies, 2004. "Aeneid" Virgil

Navy[link]

• Polybius. Ancient History Sourcebook: Polybius (c 200–118 BC): Rome at the End of the Punic Wars History, Book 6.

Further reading[link]

• Richard Miles. Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization (Viking; 2011) 521 pages
• J. Freed, Bringing Carthage Home The Excavations of Nathan Davis, 1856-1859 (2011)
• S. Raven, Rome in Africa (3rd. ed., 2002)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carthage

• Ancient History Encyclopedia: Carthage
• Municipality of Carthage (French)
• Ancient History Sourcebook: Aristotle: On the Constitution of Carthage, c. 340 BC
• Carthage Timeline on Ancient History Encylcopedia
• Ancient Places TV: HD video of Carthage
• Brian K. Garnand: "From infant sacrifice to the ABC'S: ancient Phoenicians and modern identities" - (University of Chicago). Earlier version presented in Standford Colloquium "Past Narratives / Narratives Pasts"
• Hannibal: Published by Decapo Books, an excellent source of military history about ancient Carthage and the tactics of Hannibal and the Roman Republic
• Livius.org: Carthage
• In Our Time: The Destruction of Carthage (may be audible in UK only)
• Carthage Time Line
• Satellite view of the old harbor

Coordinates: 36°51′11″N 10°19′23″E / 36.85306°N 10.32306°E / 36.85306; 10.32306

v t e World Heritage Sites in Tunisia Amphitheatre of El Jem · Dougga/Thugga · Ichkeul National Park · Kairouan · Medina of Sousse · Medina of Tunis · Punic Town of Kerkuane and its Necropolis · Site of Carthage

v t e Communes of Tunisia Ariana Governorate Aryanah (seat) Ettadhamen-Mnihla Kalâat el-Andalous Raoued Sidi Thabet La Soukra Béja Governorate Béja (seat) El Maâgoula Goubellat Medjez el-Bab Nefza Téboursouk Testour Zahret Mediou Ben Arous Governorate Ben Arous (seat) Bou Mhel el-Bassatine El Mourouj Ezzahra Hammam Chott Hammam Lif Khalidia Mégrine Mohamedia-Fouchana Mornag Rades Bizerte Governorate Bizerte (seat) Aousja El Alia Ghar El Melh Mateur Menzel Bourguiba Menzel Jemil Menzel Abderrahmane Metline Raf Raf Ras Jebel Sejenane Tinja Gabes Governorate Gabes (seat) Chenini Nahal El Hamma Ghannouch Mareth Matmata Métouia Nouvelle Matmata Oudhref Zarat Gafsa Governorate Gafsa (seat) El Guettar El Ksar Mdhila Métlaoui Moulares Redeyef Sened Jendouba Governorate Jendouba (seat) Ain Draham Beni M'Tir Bou Salem Fernana Ghardimaou Oued Melliz Tabarka Kairouan Governorate Kairouan (seat) Ain Djeloula Alaâ Bou Hajla Chebika Echrarda Oueslatia Haffouz Hajeb El Ayoun Menzel Mehiri Nasrallah Sbikha Kébili Governorate Kébili (seat) Douz El Golâa Djemna Souk Lahad Kef Governorate Le Kef (seat) Dahmani Jérissa El Ksour Kalaat Senan Kalâat Khasba Menzel Salem Nebeur Sakiet Sidi Youssef Sers Tajerouine Touiref Mahdia Governorate Mahdia (seat) Bou Merdes Chebba Chorbane El Bradâa El Jem Essouassi Hebira Hiboun Kerker Ksour Essef Mellouleche Ouled Chamekh Rejiche Sidi Alouane Manouba Governorate La Manouba (seat) Borj El Amri Den Den Douar Hicher Djedeida El Battan Oued Ellil Mornaguia Tebourba Médenine Governorate Médenine (seat) Ajim Ben Gardane Beni Khedache Houmt Souk Midoun Zarzis Monastir Governorate Monastir (seat) Amiret El Fhoul Amiret El Hojjaj Amiret Touazra Bekalta Bembla Beni Hassen Bennane Bouhjar Cherahil El Masdour Ghenada Jemmal Khniss Ksar Hellal Ksibet el-Médiouni Lamta Menzel Ennour Menzel Farsi Menzel Hayet Menzel Kamel Moknine Ouerdanin Nabeul Governorate Nabeul (seat) Azmour Béni Khalled Béni Khiar Bou Argoub Dar Allouch Dar Chaabane El Haouaria El Maâmoura El Mida Grombalia Hammam Ghezeze Hammamet Kélibia Kerkouane Korba Korbous Menzel Bouzelfa Menzel Horr Menzel Temime Soliman Somâa Takelsa Tazerka Zaouiet Djedidi Sfax Governorate Sfax (seat) Agareb Bir Ali Ben Khélifa Bir Salah Chihia El Ain Graiba Gremda Jebiniana Kerkennah El Hencha Mahres Menzel Chaker Sakiet Eddaier Sakiet Ezzit Skhira Thyna Sidi Bouzid Governorate Sidi Bouzid (seat) Bir El Hafey Cebbala Ouled Asker Jilma Menzel Bouzaiane Meknassy Mezzouna Ouled Haffouz Regueb Sidi Ali Ben Aoun Siliana Governorate Siliana (seat) Bargou Bou Arada El Aroussa El Krib Gaâfour Kesra Makthar Rouhia Sidi Bou Rouis Sousse Governorate Sousse (seat) Akouda Bouficha Enfida Ezzouhour Hammam Sousse Hergla Kalâa Kebira Kalâa Seghira Kondar Ksibet Thrayet Messaadine M'saken Sidi Bou Ali Sidi El Hani Zaouiet Sousse Tataouine Governorate Tataouine (seat) Bir Lahmar Dehiba Ghomrassen Remada Tozeur Governorate Tozeur (seat) Degache El Hamma du Jérid Nefta Tamerza Tunis Governorate Tunis (seat) Carthage La Goulette La Marsa Le Bardo Le Kram Sidi Bou Said Sidi Hassine Zaghouan Governorate Zaghouan (seat) El Fahs Djebel Oust Bir Mcherga Nadhour Zriba

The Mighty Hannibal
Hannibal at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival
Background information
Birth name	James Timothy Shaw[1]
Also known as	Hannibal, King Hannibal
Born	(1939-08-09) August 9, 1939 (age 72) Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, funk[2]
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1954–present
Labels	Various
Associated acts	Johnny "Guitar" Watson

The Mighty Hannibal (born James Timothy Shaw, August 9, 1939, Atlanta, Georgia, United States) is an American R&B, soul and funk singer, songwriter and record producer.^[2][3] Known for his showmanship, and outlandish costumes often incorporating a pink turban, several of his songs carried social or political themes.^[3] His biggest hit was "Hymn No.5," a banned from radio comment on the effects on servicemen participating in the Vietnam War.^[2]

Biography[link]

Shaw was born to parents Corrie Belle and James Henry Shaw, and raised in the Vine City neighborhood of Atlanta.^[3] He started singing doo-wop as a teenager, and in 1954 he joined his first group, The Overalls. The outfit contained Shaw and Robert Butts plus Edward Patten and Merald "Bubba" Knight. The latter two later tasted success as part of Gladys Knight's backing group, The Pips.^[2] From that time, Shaw credited Grover Mitchell as his singing voice mentor. In 1958 Shaw moved to Los Angeles where, under the name of Jimmy Shaw, he recorded his debut solo single, "Big Chief Hug-Um An' Kiss-Um," a novelty song issued on the Concept label.^[3] This was followed by further releases including "The Biggest Cry," and "I Need a Woman ('Cause I'm a Man)."^[2]

Subsequently working as a singer with Johnny Otis, Shaw went on to sing in another group featuring H. B. Barnum and Jimmy Norman. At this time he befriended both Johnny "Guitar" Watson and Larry Williams, before in 1959, and at the suggestion of Aki Aleong, adopting the name 'Hannibal'. He then released a small number of singles on the Pan World label. In 1962 he joined King Records, who released four further singles, the biggest seller being "Baby, Please Change Your Mind". Between 1962 and 1965 Hannibal also worked as a pimp in Los Angeles, a lifestyle that saw him dropped by King.^[3]

He returned to Atlanta, and was recruited as the frontman by Dennis St. John and the Cardinals, who supported Tommy Roe at one gig.^[4] They ultimately backed Hannibal on most of his subsequent recordings with the Shurfine label, and played live engagements with Hannibal around Atlanta. Hannibal's first release with Shurfine was "Jerkin' the Dog," (1965) a modest success for a basic teen dance record. The similarly framed "Fishin' Pole" followed in 1966.^[3] The same year Hannibal adopted a more socially conscious stance. He stated "Me and my wife were watching the news and Walter Cronkite was talking about how all the soldiers were coming back from Vietnam addicted to opium." The couple penned "Hymn No. 5" in a short time space, and it duly became his best known recording, reaching # 21 on the Billboard R&B chart.^[2][4][5] The success the track brought however fueled a growing heroin addiction, and Hannibal spent eighteen months in prison for failing to pay a tax bill. Released from jail and free of drugs, he restarted his recording career in the early 1970s now billed as King Hannibal. He issued a number of singles and an album, Truth, (1973) on the Aware label.^[3] His singles included "I'm Coming Home," another social comment on the ongoing Vietnam situation, and the anti-drug song, "The Truth Shall Make You Free (St. John 8:32)," a # 37 R&B hit in 1973.^[2][5]

Finding a new direction with gospel based recordings, his songwriting nevertheless suffered in the late 1970s. Hannibal was employed as a cameo role actor, and on the staff as a record producer at Venture Records, before working on the Atlanta Voice newspaper.^[2] Hannibal recalled his odd blend of country, gospel and disco finding some success in the Netherlands with "Hoedown Disco" in the mid 1970s, but worse fortunes followed as Hannibal remained in relative obscurity until 1998. A CD album release, titled Who Told You That, gave his career some momentum, and in 2001 Norton Records released Hannibalism, a compilation album of songs written between 1958 and 1973.^[4] The cult film, Velvet Goldmine, also included fragments of his work.^[2]

Hannibal lost his eyesight in 2002 because of glaucoma. He was the subject of a documentary film, Showtime! (2009) directed by Ezra Bookstein.^[4] In December 2005, Hannibal was the Master of Ceremonies at Norton Records' New Year's Eve Rock N' Roll Show & Dance at Union Pool in Brooklyn. He continues to perform live, and enjoyed a seventieth birthday celebration on stage in 2009. He contributed the following year to Elton John and Leon Russell's first album together, The Union.

Family life[link]