Fabius Maximus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator (c.
260 BC -
203 BC) was a
Roman general, twice
consul, and twice
dictator. His nickname
Cunctator (akin to the
English noun cunctation) means "delayer" in
Latin, and refers to his
tactics in deploying the troops during the
Second Punic War. By keeping his soldiers close to Hannibal's
invading forces - while avoiding combat - he was able to harass the
Carthaginian foraging parties, limiting Hannibal's ability to wreak destruction while conserving his own military force.
The Romans at first gave him the nickname as an insult, but following the disaster of the Battle of Cannae, the wisdom of this tactic was understood, and Cunctator became an honorific title.
His cautiousness gives rise to the noun phrase "Fabian policy."
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