Hannibal Crossing the Alps

This fresco by Italian Renaissance painter Jacopo Ripanda shows Hannibal, the commander of the Carthaginian army, crossing the Alps during the Second Punic War. The Punic Wars were the result of rivalry between Rome and Carthage for control of Sicily in the 3rd century bc. During the Second Punic War Hannibal marched a large army on the backs of elephants across the Rhône and over the Alps to attack the Romans in Italy.

Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York

Appears in these articles

Roman Republic; Hannibal; Punic Wars

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