Hannibal forms that the complicated machinery of government continued to function even amidst disaster—there are few states in the ancient world in which a general who had lost a battle like Cannae would have dared to remain, let alone would have continued to be treated respectfully as head of state. According to the historian Livy, the Romans feared Hannibal's military genius, and during Hannibal's march against Rome in 211 BC "a messenger who had travelled from Fregellae for a day and a night without stopping created great alarm in Rome, and the excitement was increased by people running about the City
Gaius Octavius (tribune 216 BC) disastrous battle of Cannae, being one of few survivors. When the Carthaginians marched into the Roman camp, Octavius and his colleague, tribune P. Sempronius Tuditanus, managed to cut their way through the enemy and arrived safely in Canusium. He served in Sicilia (modern Sicily) under the praetor Lucius Aemilius Papus in 205 BC, but it is unknown whether he took part in some other expedition. Gaius Octavius (tribune 216 BC) Gaius Octavius (fl. 216 BC) was a Roman army officer who was active during the third century BC. He was the son of the equestrian Gaius Octavius and grandson of