The+Second+Punic+War


 * [[image:second_punic_war.jpg align="right" link="http://money.quick.co.jp/column/siba/contents_309_files/14_img04.jpg"]]The Second Punic War (218-202 BCE):**

The Second Punic War was the bloodiest and hardest fought war that Rome had faced. After the loss of Sicily the Carthaginians took over Hispania in expansion of their empire. From here arose the wars catalyst, Hannibal Barca, the brilliant Carthaginian General, who attacked Saguntum, a Spanish city that Rome claimed as their ally [4. Rome declared war on Hannibal and Carthage in 218 BCE. Hannibal sent 60,000 troops and several African Elephants across the Alps into Italy [5]. Even though many in his force perished (including only one elephant), Hannibal used his quick thinking and amazing military strategy to defeat the Romans at some very key battles and almost won Carthage the war. In the Battle of Cannae, the first direct engagement between the Romans and Hannibal, he took his much smaller force of 56,000 Carthaginians and surrounded the 83,000 Romans [6]. His soldiers almost killed the entire Roman force. According to Polybius, 70,000 of the Romans and their allies were killed, 10,000 were captured, and only 3,000 survived [7]. Hannibal, on the other hand, lost about 8,000 of his fighters. This catastrophic defeat at the hands of Hannibal forced the Romans to find a general with the military skill and wit of Hannibal. They found it in Publius Cornelius Scipio, better known as Scipio Africanus for his defeat of the Carthaginians. Soon after this push back the Romans took out the Carthaginians supply in Hispania hoping for a change of power in the war. After many years in Italy, Hannibal was asked to return to his native Carthage, where he found Scipio attacking. In the Battle of Zama, Scipio and Hannibal finally fought, and Scipio got the best of him, defeating Hannibal's army. The war was ended by a treaty enacted by the Romans that forced Carthage to pay a war indemnity, disarm their forces, and leave Spain for Rome. Carthage still remained a very important city as they were an important trade route in the Mediterranean. This however was not the end of the wars soon to come was The Third Punic War.

Sources:(Jona Lendering, "Carthage", [])