History of Rome

​On the following day he leads his troops to attack the citadel; which since he saw was enclosed both by very high cliffs from the sea, by which its greater part is washed around in the manner of a peninsula, and from the city itself by a wall and a huge ditch, and therefore could not be taken either by force or by siege-works, ​lest either the care of defending the Tarentines should delay himself from greater enterprises, or the Romans from the citadel should make an attack, whenever they wished, upon the Tarentines left without a strong garrison, he decided to shut off the city from the citadel with a rampart, not without that hope also, ​that, while the Romans were trying to prevent the work, battle could be joined, and, if they should sally forth too fiercely, the strength of the garrison would be so thinned by great slaughter that the Tarentines by themselves could easily defend the city against them.

​When the work was begun, a gate being suddenly opened, the Romans made an attack on those building the fortifications, and the guard post which was in front of the work allowed itself to be driven back, so that their confidence might grow with success, and they might pursue them in greater numbers and driven further.

​Then, upon a given signal, the Carthaginians, whom Hannibal had kept drawn up for this very purpose, arose from all sides. Nor did the Romans withstand their onset, but in their headlong flight they were delayed by the narrowness of the place, and obstructed partly by the work already begun, partly by the apparatus for the work.

​Very many threw themselves headlong into the ditch, and more were killed in flight than in battle.

​Thereupon the work began to be carried out with no one opposing: a huge ditch was dug, and a rampart was erected inside it; and a short interval after, he also prepares to add a wall in the same region, so that even without a garrison they might be able to defend themselves against the Romans.

​He nevertheless left a moderate garrison, at the same time to help in completing the wall. He himself, having set out with the rest of the forces to the river Galaesus — it is five miles from the city — pitched camp.

​Returning from this stationary camp to inspect the work, which had grown considerably faster than his expectation, he conceived hope that the citadel also could be taken. For indeed it was not protected by height, like other parts, but situated on a flat place and divided from the city only by a wall and a ditch. When now with every kind of engines ​and works it was being attacked, a garrison sent from Metapontum gave spirit to the Romans to attack the enemy’s works by night unexpectedly. Some they demolished, others they destroyed with fire. And that was the end for Hannibal of attacking the citadel on that side.

​The remaining hope lay in a blockade, and that was not very effective, because those holding the citadel, which, situated on a peninsula, overlooks the mouth of the harbor, had the sea open, while on the contrary the city was shut out from maritime provisions, and the besiegers were closer to want than the besieged.

​Hannibal, having called together the chief men of the Tarentines, explained all the present difficulties: that he saw no way of taking so fortified a citadel, nor had he any hope in a blockade, as long as the enemy were masters of the sea.

​But if there were ships, with which he might prevent provisions from being brought in, the enemy would immediately either withdraw from the citadel or surrender themselves.

​The Tarentines agreed; but they thought that to him who brought the counsel, help must also be brought for that matter.

​For Carthaginian ships summoned from Sicily could do this; as for their own, which were shut up inside in a small bay, since the enemy held the mouth of the harbor, how were they to escape from there into the open sea?

”They will escape,” said Hannibal; “many things which are obstructed by nature are cleared by counsel. You have a city situated on a plain. Flat and wide enough streets lie open in all directions.

​By the street which runs across from the harbor through the middle of the city to the sea, I will transport the ships on wagons with no great trouble. And the sea, which the enemy now possess, will be ours; and from that side by sea, from this by land, we will besiege the citadel; nay, shortly we shall capture it, either abandoned by the enemy or along with the enemy themselves.”

​This speech produced not only hope of success but also immense admiration for the general. Wagons were immediately collected from all sides and joined together, and machines were brought up to draw up the ships, and the road was paved, so that the wagons might pass more easily and there might be less trouble in transit.

​Beasts of burden and men were then collected, and the work was begun with energy; and a few days later, the fleet, equipped and ready, sails around the citadel and casts anchor before the very mouth of the harbor.

​This state of affairs Hannibal leaves at Tarentum, having himself returned to winter quarters. However, whether the defection of the Tarentines took place in the previous year or in this one, authors draw in different directions. The majority and those closer in age to the memory of these events report that it occurred in this year.