Hannibal and predicament suicide

Objective: We learnt Hannibal, the famous military commander, died by suicide, and set out to examine his life and the circumstances of his death, with a view to better understanding this event and determining whether it fitted a particular category of suicidal behaviour.

Conclusion: Hannibal is ranked with Napoleon and Alexander the Great in military skill and achievement. After his formal military service he served as the Chief Magistrate of Carthage. In the last years of his life, he was three times betrayed to his enemies (Romans) and on the last occasion, escape was impossible. There is no evidence Hannibal suffered a mental disorder. His death fits the category of ‘predicament suicide’ – suicide arising in the absence of mental disorder from set of distressing circumstances, from which escape is otherwise impossible.