III.

Second Punic War

Hamilcar Barca, who had led the defeated side in 241 bc, devoted the remainder of his life to building up Carthaginian power in Spain to compensate for the loss of Sicily. His son Hannibal became commander of the Carthaginian forces in this region in 221 bc, and in 219 bc attacked and captured Saguntum, a Spanish city allied to Rome. This act led to the Second Punic War (218-201 bc). In the spring of 218 bc Hannibal led a huge force including elephant squadrons through Spain and Gaul and across the Alps to attack the Romans in Italy before they could complete their preparations for war. He secured a firm position in the north of the country. By 216 bc had won two major victories, at Lake Trasimeno and the town of Cannae, and reached southern Italy. In spite of his requests Hannibal received insufficient reinforcements and siege weapons from Carthage until 207 bc, when his brother Hasdrubal left Spain with an army to join him. Hasdrubal crossed the Alps, but in a battle at the Metaurus River, in north Italy, he was killed and his troops defeated. Meanwhile, the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, known as Scipio Africanus the Elder, had totally defeated the Carthaginians in Spain, and in 204 bc he landed an army in North Africa. The Carthaginians recalled Hannibal to Africa to defend them against Scipio. Leading an army of untrained recruits, he was decisively defeated by Scipio at the Battle of Zama in 202 bc. This battle marked the end of Carthage as a great power and the close of the Second Punic War. The Carthaginians were compelled to cede Spain and the islands of the Mediterranean still in their possession, relinquish their navy, and pay an indemnity to Rome.