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law Asti rubai, ai*d bis son Annibal; first in chastising theirown rebellious slaves, afterward in subduing the revoltednations of Africa , and lastly, in conquering thegreat kingdomof Spain . The army which Annibal led from Spain into Italy must necessarily, in those different wars, have been gradu-ally formed to the exact discipline of a standing army. TheRomans, in the mean time, though they had not been alto-gether at peace, yet they had not, during this period, beenengaged in any war of very great consequence; and theirmilitary discipline, it is generally said, was a good deal re-laxed. The Roman armies which Annibal encountered atTrebia , Thrasymenus, and Cannae , were militia opposed to astanding arnly. This circumstance, it is probable, contri-buted more than any other to determine the fate of thosebattles.
The standing army which Annibal left behind him inSpain had the like superiority over the militia which the Ro-mans sent to oppose it, and in a few years, under the com-mand of his brother, the younger Asdrubal , expelled themalmost entirely from that country.
Annibal was ill supplied from home. The Roman militiabeing continually in the held, became in the progress of thewar a well-disciplined and well-exercised standing army;and the superiority of Annibal grew every day less and less.Asdrubal judged it necessary to lead the whole, or almost thewhole of the standing army which he commanded in Spain ,to the assistance of his brother in Italy . In this march heis said to have been misled by his guides ; and in a countrywhich he did not know, was surprised and attacked by an-other standing army, in every respect equal or superior tohis own, and was entirely defeated.
When Asdrubal had left Spain , the great Scipio foundnothing to oppose him but a militia inferior to his own. Heconquered, and subdued that militia, and, in course of thewar, his own militia necessarily became a well-disciplinedand well-exercised standing army. That standing army wasafterward carried to Africa , were it found nothing but a mi-litia to oppose it. In order to defend Carthage it becamenecessary to recall the standing army of Annibal. The dis-heartened and frequently defeated African militia joined itand at the battle of Zama composed the greater part of theh'oops of Annibal. The event of that day determined thefate of t,he two rival republics.