Cannae, in Ancient Geography, a town of Apulia on the Adriatic, at the mouth of the river Aufidus, rendered famous by a terrible overthrow which the Romans here received from the Carthaginians under Hannibal. The Roman consuls Æmilius Paulus and Terentius Varro, being authorized by the senate to quit the defensive plan, and stake the fortunes of the republic on the chance of a battle, marched from Canium, and encamped a few miles east, in two unequal divisions, with the Aufidus between them. In this position they meant to wait for an opportunity of engaging to advantage; but Hannibal, whose critical situation in a desolated country, without refuge or allies, could admit of no delay, found means to inflame the vanity of Varro by some trivial advantages in skirmishes between the light horse. The Roman, elated with this success, determined to bring matters to a speedy conclusion; but, finding the ground on the south side too confined for the operations of so large an army, crossed the river; and Varro, raising his right wing upon the Aufidus, drew out his forces in the plain. Hannibal, whose head quarters were at Cannæ, no sooner perceived the enemy in motion, than he forded the water below, and marshalled his troops in a line opposite to that of his adversaries.

The Romans were vastly superior in number to the Carthaginians; but the latter were superior in cavalry. The army of the former, consisting of 87,000 men, was drawn up in the usual manner; the hastati in the first line, the principes in the second, and the triarii in the third. The cavalry were posted on the wings. On the right, the Roman knights flanked the legionaries; on the left, the cavalry of the allies covered their own infantry. The two consuls commanded the two wings, Æmilius the right, and Terentius the left; and the two proconsuls, Servilius and Attilius, the main body. On the other hand, Hannibal, whose army consisted of 40,000 foot and 10,000 horse, placed his Gaulish and Spanish cavalry in his left wing, to face the Roman knights; and the Numidian horse in his right, over against the cavalry of the allies of Rome. As to his infantry, he divided the African battalions into two bodies; one of which he posted near the Gaulish and Spanish horse, the other near the Numidian. Between these two bodies were placed on one side the Gaulish, on the other the Spanish infantry, drawn up in such a manner as to form an obtuse angle projecting a considerable way beyond the two wings. Behind this line he drew up a second which had no projection. Adrûbal commanded the left wing; Maharbal the right; and Hannibal himself, with his brother Mago, Mago, the main body. He had also taken care to post himself in such a manner, that the wind Vulturum, which rises at certain stated times, should blow directly in the faces of the Romans during the fight, and cover them with dust. The onset was begun by the light-armed infantry; the Romans discharging their javelins, and the balistes their stones, with pretty equal success; nevertheless, the consul Æmilius was wounded.

—Then the Roman cavalry in the right wing advanced against the Gaulish and Spanish in Hannibal's left. As they were thus in by the river Ausidus on one side, and by their infantry on the other, they did not fight, as usual, by charging and wheeling off, and then returning to the charge; but continued fighting each man against his adversary, till one of them was killed or retired. After they had made prodigious efforts on both sides to overbear each other, they all on a sudden dismounted, and fought on foot with great fury. In this attack the Gauls and Spaniards soon prevailed; put the Romans to the rout; and, pursuing them along the river, strewed the ground with their dead bodies, Afdubal giving no quarter. This action was scarce over, when the infantry on both sides advanced. The Romans first fell upon the Spaniards and Gauls, who, as already observed, formed a kind of triangle projecting beyond the two wings. These gave ground, and, pursuant to Hannibal's directions, sunk into the void space in their rear; by which means they infensibly brought the Romans into the centre of the African infantry, and then the fugitives rallying, attacked them in front, while the Africans charged them in both flanks. The Romans being, by this artful retreat drawn into the snare and surrounded, no longer kept their ranks, but formed several platoons in order to face every way. Æmilius, who was on the right wing, seeing the danger of the main body, at the head of his legionaries acted the part both of a folder and general, penetrating into the heart of the enemy's battalions, and cutting great numbers of them in pieces. All the Roman cavalry that were left, attended the brave consul on foot; and, encouraged by his example, fought like men in despair. But, in the mean time, Afdubal, at the head of a detachment of Gaulish and Spanish infantry brought from the centre, attacked Æmilius's legionaries with such fury, that they were forced to give ground and fly: the consul being all covered with wounds, was at last killed by some of the enemy who did not know him. In the main body, the Romans, though invested on all sides, continued to fall their lives dear; fighting in platoons, and making a great slaughter of the enemy. But being at length overpowered, and disheartened by the death of the two proconsuls, Servilius and Attilius, who headed them, they dispersed and fled, some to the right, and others to the left, as they could find opportunity; but the Numidian horse cut most of them in pieces: the whole plain was covered with heaps of dead bodies, in such manner that Hannibal himself, thinking the butchery too terrible, ordered his men to put a stop to it.—There is a great disagreement among authors as to the number of Romans killed and taken at the battle of Cannæ. According to Livy, the republic lost 50,000 men, including the auxiliaries. According to Polybius, of 6000 Roman horse, only 70 escaped to Venaufa with Terentius Varro, and 300 of the auxiliary horse. As to the infantry, that writer tells us, that 70,000 of the Roman foot died on the field of battle fighting like brave men; and that 13,000 were made prisoners. According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, of 6000 horse, only 370 escaped the general slaughter, and of 82,000 foot, 3000 only were left. The most moderate computation makes the number of Romans killed to amount to 45,000. The scene of action is marked out to posterity, by the name of Pezzo di Sangue, "Field of Blood."

These plains have more than once, since the Punic war, afforded room for men to accomplish their mutual destruction. Melo of Bari, after raising the standard of revolt against the Greek emperors, and defeating their generals in several engagements, was at last routed here in 1019, by the Catapan Bolanus. Out of 250 Norman adventurers, the flower of Melo's army, only ten escaped the slaughter of the day. In 1201, the archbishop of Palermo and his rebellious associates, who had taken advantage of the nonage of Frederick of Swabia, were cut to pieces at Cannæ by Walter de Brienne, sent by the Pope to defend the young king's dominions.

The traces of the town of Cannæ are very faint, consisting of fragments of altars, cornices, gates, walls, vaults, and under-ground granaries. It was destroyed the year before the battle: but being rebuilt, became an episcopal see in the infancy of Christianity. It was again ruined in the fifth century, but seems to have subsisted in a humble state many ages later; for we read of its contending with Barletta for the territory, which till then had been enjoyed in common by them; and in 1284, Charles I. issued an edict for dividing the lands, to prevent all future litigation. The prosperity of the towns along the coast, which increased in wealth and population by embarkations for the crusades and by traffic, proved the annihilation of the great inland cities; and Cannæ was probably abandoned entirely before the end of the thirteenth century.