- published: 26 Feb 2014
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Hannibal (247 – between 183 and 181 BC), fully Hannibal Barca, was a Punic Carthaginian military commander, generally considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. His father Hamilcar Barca was the leading Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War. His younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal, and he was brother-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair.
Hannibal lived during a period of great tension in the Mediterranean, when the Roman Republic established its supremacy over other great powers such as Carthage and the Hellenistic kingdoms of Macedon, Syracuse, and the Seleucid Empire. One of his most famous achievements was at the outbreak of the Second Punic War, when he marched an army which included elephants from Iberia over the Pyrenees and the Alps into Italy. In his first few years in Italy, he won three dramatic victories—Trebia, Trasimene, and Cannae, in which he distinguished himself for his ability to determine his and his opponent's strengths and weaknesses, and to play the battle to his strengths and the enemy's weaknesses—and won over many allies of Rome. Hannibal occupied much of Italy for 15 years, but a Roman counter-invasion of North Africa forced him to return to Carthage, where he was decisively defeated by Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama. Scipio had studied Hannibal's tactics and brilliantly devised some of his own, and finally defeated Rome's nemesis at Zama, having previously driven Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal out of the Iberian Peninsula.
Hannibal Buress (born February 4, 1983) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television writer. He lives in New York City. He is the host of Why? with Hannibal Buress, which premiered on Comedy Central on July 8, 2015. He also plays Lincoln Rice in the Comedy Central series Broad City and serves as a sidekick to Eric André on The Eric Andre Show.
A native of the Austin neighborhood of Chicago, Buress was named after the Carthaginian military commander Hannibal Barca. After attending Steinmetz High School, he briefly attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale where he became friends with Open Mike Eagle, his resident adviser at the time.
Buress has been featured in The Awkward Comedy Show special on Comedy Central, and alongside comics Baron Vaughn, Eric André, Marina Franklin, and Victor Varnado, and on the FX sitcom Louie. He currently co-stars with Eric André on The Eric André Show on Adult Swim. In July 2010, Buress made Variety magazine's "Ten Comics to Watch in 2010" list.