| “ | How mighty and strong the great Surus must have been. A beast from tropical Mesopotamia crossed the Alps alive while others perished. | „ |
| — Oracle | ||
Surus, also known as The Syrian was an Asian Elephant that belonged to Hannibal Barca of Carthage. It was said that he carried Hannibal and that he was the only elephant to survive the Second Punic War.
Early Life[]
Surus was born in Mesopotamia, in what is now Iraq and Syria. Surus belonged to the now-extinct Syrian Elephant, a subspecies of Asian Elephant. It is unknown whether he was born in the wild and then captured, or if he was born in captivity to a recently captured mother.
Capture by Ptolemies and Departure to Carthage[]
Surus was captured by the Ptolemies during the Syrian Wars while he was younger. He was owned by the Selucids prior to this. The Carthagians and Ptolemies were good trading partners, and Surus came to Carthage, his new home.