What is "battle of cannae"

Cannae \Cannae\ n. the name of a battle in which Hannibal defeated the Romans in 216 b. c. Called also battle of Cannae.

The Battle of Cannae ( or ) was a major battle of the Second Punic War that took place on 2 August 216 BC in Apulia, in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage, under Hannibal, decisively defeated a larger army of the Roman Republic under the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. It is regarded both as one of the greatest tactical feats in military history and as one of the worst defeats in Roman history.

Having recovered from their losses at Trebia (218 BC) and Lake Trasimene (217 BC), the Romans decided to engage Hannibal at Cannae, with roughly 86,000 Roman and allied troops. The Romans massed their heavy infantry in a deeper formation than usual, while Hannibal utilized the double-envelopment tactic. This was so successful that the Roman army was effectively destroyed as a fighting force. Following the defeat, Capua and several other Italian city-states defected from the Roman Republic to Carthage.

The Battle of Cannae was a battle that took place in 1018 between the Byzantines under the Catepan of Italy Basil Boioannes and the Lombards under Melus of Bari. The Lombards had also hired some Norman mercenaries under their leader Gilbert Buatère, while Boioannes had a detachment of elite Varangian Guard sent to him at his request to combat the Normans. The battle was fought on the same spot where Hannibal of Carthage had destroyed the Roman army in 216 BC.

The battle was disastrous for the Lombards, who were routed. Melus of Bari managed to escape to the Papal States and eventually to the court of Holy Roman Emperor Henry II at Bamberg. The Normans lost their leader, Gilbert Buatère, and most of their group. However, what remained of this group of Normans was the first of many to go to southern Italy. By the end of the 11th century, most of southern Italy was under Norman control.