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glossary of proper names Hispania in 236 bc and became virtual dictator of Carthage before being killed in battle. Father of Hannibal. hannibal (247–182 bc) Son of Hamilcar. Commander of Carthaginian forces from 221 bc, he took an army, which in- cluded war elephants, across the Iberian peninsula, over the Pyrenees and Alps and down into northern Italy in what became known as the Second Punic War. Despite impressive victories he was forced to return home when the Romans attacked Carthage, and was defeated at the Battle of Zama (201 bc) by Scipio Afri- canus. He then served for many years as chief magistrate of Carthage, introducing all kinds of reforms, before the Romans forced him into exile. Eventually, to avoid falling into Roman hands, he killed himself by poisoning. heliogabalus (c.203–222) Roman emperor (218–22). Grand- son of the aunt of murdered emperor Caracalla, and priest in the cult of the sun deity El Gabal, Heliogabalus was proclaimed the true successor to Caracalla, with some people claiming he was Caracalla’s illegitimate son by a union between first cousins. Installed as emperor after the emperor Macrinus had been defeated and executed, he attempted to revolutionize Roman religious traditions and flouted sexual taboos, marrying five times before, aged eighteen, he was murdered and replaced by his cousin Severus Alexander. hiero of syracuse Hiero II, King of Syracuse (270–215 bc). Illegitimate son of a nobleman and one-time general with Pyrrhus, Hiero became commander of Syracusan forces on the departure of Pyrrhus in 275 bc and was elected ruler of the town after defeating the Mamertines (Mamertina was present-day Messina). After fighting and losing a war with Roman forces, he made a pact with Rome in 263 bc, which assured his kingdom’s security in return for support for the Romans in their war with Carthage. Hiero was a relative of Archimedes, whose inventions, particu- larly in the military field, he supported. joanna, queen (1373–1435) Joanna II ruled Naples from 1414 to 1435. Childless herself, she allowed her court to be run by her favourites and lovers, playing off the Anjou and Aragon families by offering prominent members of each succession to her throne. Conflict between the royal lines saw the two most