19. Fabius Was Appointed Dictator to Save Rome From Hannibal
At the start of the Second Punic War, Hannibal led an army into Italy, and won a series of crushing victories. That threatened Rome’s hold on Italy, as its allies joined Hannibal or declared neutrality. At the time, Fabius was a respected senior statesman. He had been elected Consul in 233 BC and 228 BC, as well as Censor – a highly prestigious position – in 230 BC.
Faced with the dire emergency posed by Hannibal, the Romans appointed Fabius dictator for six months. As seen below, he ended up saving his countrymen from disaster. Little thanks did he get, however: the Romans reviled and abused Fabius while he was saving them, because he did so in a manner that they considered timid and cowardly.