Hannibal had four things working for him that enabled him to command his army. The first reason was biological; his father was Hamilcar Barca who was also a great general. Hannibal spent only four years of his life not on a battlefield, that being when he was five to nine years old. Thus he became very accustomed to battle and learned many important things. Since he was surrounded by a very diverse group all his life, he picked up many languages and later he would be able to speak to all of his troops in their native languages. This ablility became even more amazing when the number of men in his army was estimated.
Historians cannot seem to agree on how many men, and how many
animals, crossed the Alps with Hannibal. Most estimates say that there were 38,000 infantrymen, 8,000 calvary, about 2,000 camels, and 37 elephants that marched up the Rhone to cross the Alps.
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Still the ability of their commander compelled men so radically different to obey his single will
