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SPQR: The Men Who Made and Secured the Roman Republic

Khalid Elhassan January 3, 2025 13 min

Roman - The Oath of Junius Brutus, by Fragonard Alexander Evarist — The Oath of Junius Brutus, by Fragonard Alexander Evarist. University Online

6. The Man Who Saved the Republic From Hannibal

Roman - Quintus Fabius Maximus before Carthage's Senate, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo — Quintus Fabius Maximus before Carthage’s Senate, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Hermitage Museum

Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus (circa 280 – 203 BC) was a Roman statesman and general. His cautious delaying tactics and strategies against the Carthaginian general Hannibal earned Fabius the nickname Cunctator, or “the Delayer”. They also saved Rome when it was reeling from a string of humiliating defeats, and gave it time to recover its equilibrium and gird itself for a difficult war. Hannibal had led an army into Italy at the start of the Second Punic War (218 – 201 BC) and won a series of crushing victories against the Roman Republic. The defeats threatened Rome’s hold on Italy, as allies joined Hannibal or declared neutrality. Fabius by then was a respected senior statesman who had been elected Consul in 233 and 228 BC, as well as Censor – a highly prestigious position – in 230 BC. Faced with a dire emergency, the Romans appointed him dictator for six months.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.