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
Ancient Celtic music The recital of "barbaric songs" is reported for a member of the Celtiberian infantry during the battle of Cannae in 216 BC, as he was attacked by the Roman consul. National songs are already attested by Tacitus for the Caledonians. Livius reports Gallic war songs that were heard at the river Allia. After the Gallic victory (ca. 387 BC) the city's inhabitants had to endure the dissonant battle chants. A sole Gallic warrior is reported to have gone into a fight singing. Livius on the other hand only describes the Roman Titus Manlius, who would defeat him in 361 BC,