Question: How Did Hannibal Die?
Answer: Hannibal Barca, the leader of the Carthaginian forces whose name had once struck terror in the Romans survived the Carthaginian surrender at the end of the 2nd Punic War, in 202 B.C. Following a civil career in Carthage, the Romans had asked for his surrender. Instead, Hannibal chose exile. Hannibal lived long enough to help other enemies of Rome, in fulfillment of which lifelong pursuit he was at Bithynia when danger of being extradited to Rome became imminent. Hannibal committed suicide by ingesting poison, in about 183 B.C., at an age not exactly known but approaching 70.
[39.51]"....Finally [Hannibal] called for the poison which he had long kept in readiness for such an emergency. 'Let us,' he said, 'relieve the Romans from the anxiety they have so long experienced, since they think it tries their patience too much to wait for an old man's death....'"Hannibal was buried in Libyssa, in Bithynia, according to Eutropius, the De Viris Illustribus (which mentions that Hannibal had kept his poison hidden under a gem on a ring), and Pliny. [Source: "The 'De viris illustribus': Authorship and Date," by Michael M. Sage; Hermes Vol. 108, No. 1 (1980), pp. 83-100.]
Livy
