Battle of The Metaurus - Aftermath

Aftermath

Claudius Nero showed no respect for his fallen adversary. He had Hasdrubal's head severed from his body, taken south, and thrown into Hannibal's camp as a token of the brother's defeat.

Lord Byron wrote of the battle:

The consul Claudius Nero, who made the unequalled march which deceived Hannibal and deceived Hasdrubal, thereby accomplishing an achievement almost unrivaled in military annals. The first intelligence of his return, to Hannibal, was the sight of Hasdrubal's head thrown into his camp. When Hannibal saw this, he exclaimed, with a sigh, that 'Rome would now be the mistress of the world.' To this victory of Claudius Nero's it might be owing that his imperial namesake reigned at all. But the infamy of the one has eclipsed the glory of the other. When the name of Claudius Nero is heard, who thinks of the consul? But such are human things.

Though history may not well remember Nero the Consul, the consequences of the battle he won and the Empire which it safeguarded are certainly well-known. With his brother dead and his soldiers routed or killed, and no hope of help from Carthage — which was too preoccupied with its own political infighting to send him aid — Hannibal's hopes of mustering a force sufficient in size and strength for the achievement of his war aims were utterly dashed. He remained in Italy for several more years, unmolested by Rome, and attempted to maintain the loyalty of the Italian allies whom he had won early on in his campaign. It was not until Scipio Africanus led a campaign directly against Carthage that Hannibal left Italy. The two generals faced one another at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, where Hannibal faced a smaller Roman force and was nonetheless defeated.

Had Hasdrubal succeeded in linking up with his brother, the outcome of the Second Punic War might have been very different. The addition of Hasdrubal's men to his ranks would have swelled Hannibal's army to a number great enough for him to lead a direct advance on Rome itself, and in the event of such a siege, it is quite possible that Hannibal's forces would have succeeded in taking the city. Even if Rome did not fall to Hannibal, the presence of the brothers' combined armies in Italy would only add to the political strife that already existed there, not to mention the anxiety that lingered throughout Rome. History is too unpredictable to say what might have happened had the Battle of the Metaurus not occurred; however, the fact that it did was clearly in the best interests of Rome.

The significance of the Battle of the Metaurus is recognized amongst historians. It is included in Edward Creasy's The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (1851), the rationale being that it effectively removed the Carthaginian threat from Rome's ascendancy to global dominion by leaving Hannibal stranded in Italy. Paul K. Davis sees its importance as the "Carthaginian defeat ended the attempt to reinforce Hannibal, dooming his effort in Italy, and Rome was able to establish dominance over Spain." The Battle of the Metaurus is overshadowed by other battles of the Second Punic War, such as Hannibal's great victory at the Battle of Cannae or his ultimate defeat at the Battle of Zama. Nonetheless, the effects of Claudius Nero and Marcus Livius' victory at the Metaurus have earned it a significant standing amongst historians; not only of the history of Rome, but in that of the entire world.