The Second Punic War, also recognized to be the 2nd Carthaginian War, was indeed
the second of many conflicts in between Roman Republic and the Carthaginian
(Punic) kingdom, which resulted to Roman conquest of the western Mediterranean.
It continued for 218 years, around 218 through 201 BCE. (The Editors of
Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.).
During the ensuing decades, Rome also seized control of Corsica and Sardinia, but
Carthage had the option of establishing a new base of influence in Spain, beginning
in 237 B.C., thanks to the brilliant general Hamilcar Barca and his son-in-law
Hasdrubal. According to Polybius and Livy's accounts of Rome, Hamilcar Barca, who
died in 229 B.C., forced his younger son Hannibal to swear a blood oath against
Rome while he was still an infant. Following Hasdrubal's death in 221 B.C., Hannibal
assumed command of Carthaginian forces in Spain. In about 2 years, he marched his
army across the Ebro River into Saguntum, an Iberian city under Roman control, and
declared war on the Romans. Hannibal and his cavalry, which included upwards of
90,000 soldiers, 12,000 mounted forces, and numerous elephants, marched from
Spain through the Alps and into Italy, where they defeated Roman troops at Ticinus,
Trebia, and Trasimene. Hannibal's daring assault on Rome reached its pinnacle at
Cannae in 216 B.C., when he used his superior mounted army to encircle a Roman
military force double his own and inflict massive defeats.
However, the Romans worked out how to bounce back from this humiliating defeat,
and the Carthaginians lost their grip on Italy when Rome triumphed in Spain and
North Africa under the emerging young general Publius Cornelius Scipio (later
known as Scipio Africanus). Hannibal's forces were forced to abandon the war in
Italy in order to protect North Africa in 203 B.C., and Scipio's troops steered the
Carthaginians at Zama the following year. Hannibal's misfortunes in the Second
Punic War effectively ended Carthage's domain in the western Mediterranean,
leaving Rome in charge of Spain and allowing Carthage to retain only its North
African territory. Carthage was therefore forced to sell its armada and pay a large
sum of money in silver to Rome.
Reference:
History.com Editors. (2019, September 13). Punic Wars. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/punic-wars
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Second Punic War | Carthage and Rome
[218 bce–201 bce]. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from
https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Punic-War
the second of many conflicts in between Roman Republic and the Carthaginian
(Punic) kingdom, which resulted to Roman conquest of the western Mediterranean.
It continued for 218 years, around 218 through 201 BCE. (The Editors of
Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.).
During the ensuing decades, Rome also seized control of Corsica and Sardinia, but
Carthage had the option of establishing a new base of influence in Spain, beginning
in 237 B.C., thanks to the brilliant general Hamilcar Barca and his son-in-law
Hasdrubal. According to Polybius and Livy's accounts of Rome, Hamilcar Barca, who
died in 229 B.C., forced his younger son Hannibal to swear a blood oath against
Rome while he was still an infant. Following Hasdrubal's death in 221 B.C., Hannibal
assumed command of Carthaginian forces in Spain. In about 2 years, he marched his
army across the Ebro River into Saguntum, an Iberian city under Roman control, and
declared war on the Romans. Hannibal and his cavalry, which included upwards of
90,000 soldiers, 12,000 mounted forces, and numerous elephants, marched from
Spain through the Alps and into Italy, where they defeated Roman troops at Ticinus,
Trebia, and Trasimene. Hannibal's daring assault on Rome reached its pinnacle at
Cannae in 216 B.C., when he used his superior mounted army to encircle a Roman
military force double his own and inflict massive defeats.
However, the Romans worked out how to bounce back from this humiliating defeat,
and the Carthaginians lost their grip on Italy when Rome triumphed in Spain and
North Africa under the emerging young general Publius Cornelius Scipio (later
known as Scipio Africanus). Hannibal's forces were forced to abandon the war in
Italy in order to protect North Africa in 203 B.C., and Scipio's troops steered the
Carthaginians at Zama the following year. Hannibal's misfortunes in the Second
Punic War effectively ended Carthage's domain in the western Mediterranean,
leaving Rome in charge of Spain and allowing Carthage to retain only its North
African territory. Carthage was therefore forced to sell its armada and pay a large
sum of money in silver to Rome.
Reference:
History.com Editors. (2019, September 13). Punic Wars. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/punic-wars
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Second Punic War | Carthage and Rome
[218 bce–201 bce]. Retrieved May 6, 2021, from
https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Punic-War
