civil and military power.
The Saguntines did every thing they could to prevent these treasures
from falling into his hands. They fought desperately to the last,
refused all terms of surrender, and they became so insanely desperate
in the end, that, according to the narrative of Livy, when they found
that the walls and towers of the city were falling in, and that all
hope of further defense was gone, they built an enormous fire in the
public streets, and heaped upon it all the treasures which they had
time to collect that fire could destroy, and then that many of the
principal inhabitants leaped into the flames themselves, in order that
their hated conquerors might lose their prisoners as well as their
spoils.

Notwithstanding this, however, Hannibal obtained a vast amount of gold
and silver, both in the form of money and of plate, and also much
valuable merchandise, which the Saguntine merchants had accumulated in
their palaces and warehouses. He used all this property to strengthen
his own political and military position. He paid his soldiers all the
arrears due to them in full. He divided among them a large additional
amount as their share of the spoil. He sent rich trophies home to
Carthage, and presents, consisting of sums of money, and jewelry, and
gems, to his friends there, and to those whom he wished to make his
friends. The result of this munificence, and of the renown which his
victories in Spain had procured for him, was to raise him to the
highest pinnacle of influence and honor. The Carthaginians chose him
one of the _suffetes_.

The suffetes were the supreme executive officers of the Carthaginian
commonwealth. The government was, as has been remarked before, a sort
of aristocratic republic, and republics are always very cautious about
intrusting power, even executive power, to any one man. As Rome had
_two_ consuls, reigning jointly, and France, after her first
revolution, a Directory of _five_, so the Carthaginians chose annually
two _suffetes_, as they were called at Carthage, though the Roman
writers call them indiscriminately suffetes, consuls, and kings.
Hannibal was now advanced to this dignity; so that, in conjunction
with his colleague, he held the supreme civil authority at Carthage,
besides being invested with the command of the vast and victorious
army in Spain.

When news of these events--the siege and destruction of Saguntum, the
rejection of the demands of the Roman embassadors, and the v