Roman army of the mid-Republic placed unprecedented strains on Roman manpower, not least on the Order of Knights and the First Class of commoners which provided the cavalry. During Hannibal's apocalyptic march through Italy (218–216 BC), thousands of Roman cavalrymen were killed in the field. The losses were especially serious for the equestrian order, which also provided the army's senior officers. Livy relates how, after Cannae, gold rings (a badge of knightly rank), recovered from the corpses of Roman knights formed a pile one "modius" (about 9 litres) large. In the succeeding years 214–203 BC, the Romans kept at least 21 legions in the field
Quintus Fabius Maximus (consul 213 BC) Quintus Fabius Maximus (consul 213 BC) Quintus Fabius Maximus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 213 BC. He was the son of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, the famous "dictator" who invented Fabian strategy, and served with his father during the Second Punic War. The younger Fabius was a military tribune in 216 BC, and was among the survivors of the Battle of Cannae who ended up at Canusium. In 215, he was curule aedile. As praetor in 214, he commanded two legions with which he captured Acuca in Luceria as well as a fortified camp near Ardoneae. As