Battle of Cannae the grandfather of Scipio Aemilianus, the patron of Polybius (one of the main sources of this history). In the spring of 216 BC Hannibal took the initiative and seized the large supply depot at Cannae, in the Apulian plain, placing himself between the Romans and their crucial source of supply. As Polybius noted, the capture of Cannae "caused great commotion in the Roman army; for it was not only the loss of the place and the stores in it that distressed them, but the fact that it commanded the surrounding district". The consuls, resolving to confront Hannibal, marched southward in
Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul 219 BC) with Gaius Terentius Varro. He shared the command of the army with Varro at the Battle of Cannae. Varro led out the troops against the advice of Paullus and the battle became a crushing defeat for the Romans. Paullus died in the battle, while Varro managed to escape. Paullus was the father of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus and his daughter, Aemilia Tertia, married Scipio Africanus. Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul 219 BC) Lucius Aemilius Paullus (died August 2, 216 BC) was a Roman consul twice, in 219 and 216 BC. Paullus served his first consulship with Marcus Livius Salinator. During this