I'm arguing with a guy online now who says that "Because Hannibal was from Africa, he had to be black" but I thought he was of Phonecian decent. And most people in that area today aren't black.
Is there any source that describes Hannibal as black?
I understand that the idea of "black" might not have existed for the Romans but I want to know if he would be black if he lived in the 21st century US/europe.
Black, as in the skin color of modern people from Nigeria? Hannibal was Carthaginian, and neither the settlers (the Phonecians) nor the natives (ancestors of modern Berbers) had that skin color.
Carthaginians were of Phoenician descent, and they came from more towards the Levant.
That would make him look like those in most northern part of Africa do today, and they are not what contemporary America would call "black".
hi! this question has come up before; check out this earlier response from /u/scipioasina