How Did The Second Punic War End11/6/2020
An Illyrian revoIt was put dówn with energy, ánd the Romans spéd up the cónstruction of a numbér of fortrésses in Cisalpine GauI.36 Demetrius of Pharos had abandoned his previous alliance with Rome and was now attacking Illyrian cities that had been incorporated into the Roman State.39Hannibal could not achieve the ends that he had hoped for, and in the end he sent news to Carthage (where the peace party, his political enemies, were in power)40 to the effect that the Saguntines were aggressively handling one of their subject tribes, the Torboletes,36 and encamped in front of Saguntum to besiege it without awaiting any reply from Carthage.Cartographer, Department óf History, United Statés Military Academy - Thé Department of Históry, United States MiIitary Academy 1Hannibals route of invasionHannibals crossing of the AlpsPart of the Second Punic WarHannibal route of invasion-en.svgHannibals route to ItalyDate218 BCLocationItalia, Hispania, Cisalpine Gaul, Transalpine Gaul,ResultHannibal arrives in Italy and establishes a base of operationsBelligerentsRoman RepublicCarthageCommanders and leadersPublius Cornelius ScipioTiberius Sempronius LongusHannibalHasdrubalMagoHasdrubal Gisco SyphaxHanno the ElderHasdrubal the BaldHampsicoraMaharbalStrength94,000Casualties and losses68,000 Background Hannibals crossing of the Alps in 218 BC was one of the major events of the Second Punic War, and one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare.1 Bypassing Roman and allied land garrisons and Roman naval dominance, Hannibal managed to lead his Carthaginian army over the Alps and into Italy to take the war directly to the Roman Republic.After the final Carthaginian naval defeat at the Aegates Islands,2 the Carthaginians surrendered and accepted defeat in the First Punic War.3 Hamilcar Barca (Barca meaning lightning),4 a leading member of the Patriotic party in Carthage and a general who operated with ability in the course of the First Punic War, sought to remedy the losses that Carthage had suffered in Sicily to the Romans.5 In addition to this, the Carthaginians (and Hamilcar personally)6 were embittered by the loss of Sardinia.After the Ioss of the wár to the Rómans, the Romans imposéd terms upon thé Carthaginians that wére designed to maké Carthage a tributé-paying city tó Rome and simuItaneously strip it óf its fleet.7 While the terms of the peace treaty were harsh, the Romans did not strip Carthage of her strength; Carthage was the most prosperous maritime trading port of its day, and the tribute that was imposed upon them by the Romans was easily paid off on a yearly basis while Carthage was simultaneously engaged by Carthaginian mercenaries who were in revolt.7The Carthaginian patriot party was interested in conquering Iberia, a land whose variety of natural resources would fill its coffers with sorely needed revenue8 and replace the riches of Sicily that, following the end of the First Punic War, were now flowing into Roman coffers.
In addition, it was the ambition of the Barcas, one of the leading noble families of the patriotic party, to some day employ the Iberian peninsula as a base of operations for waging a war of revenge against the Roman military alliance. Those two things went hand in hand, and in spite of conservative opposition to his expedition, Hamilcar set out in 238 BC8910 to begin his conquest of the Iberian peninsula with these objectives in mind. Marching west fróm Carthage11 towards the Pillars of Hercules,12 where his army crossed the strait and proceeded to subdue the peninsula, in the course of nine years91012 Hamilcar conquered the southeastern portion of the peninsula.9 His administration of the freshly conquered provinces led Cato the Elder to remark that there was no king equal to Hamilcar Barca.13In 228 BC,9 Hamilcar was killed, witnessed by Hannibal,14 during a campaign against the Celtic natives of the peninsula.10 The commanding naval officer, who was both his son in law10 and a member of the Patriotic party Hasdrubal The Handsome910 was awarded the chief command by the officers of the Carthiginian Iberian army.1015 There were a number of Grecian colonies along the eastern coast of the Iberian peninsula, the most notable being the trade emporium of Saguntum.15 These colonies expressed concern about the consolidation of Carthaginian power on the peninsula, which Hasdrubals deft military leadership and diplomatic skill12 procured. For protection, Ságuntum turned to Romé; Rome sent á garrison to thé city and á diplomatic mission tó Hasdrubals cámp in Cartagena,15 informing him that the Iberus river must be the limit of the Carthaginian advance in Spain.1216 The conclusion of the treaty and the embassy were sent to Hasdrubals camp in 226 BC.1617In 221 BC,14 Hasdrubal was killed by an assassin.181920 It was in that year that the officers of the Carthaginian army in Iberia expressed their high opinion of Hamilcars 29-year-old14 son, Hannibal,20 by electing him to the chief command of the army.1418 Having assumed the command (retroactively confirmed by the Carthaginian Senate18) of the army that his father had welded through nine years of hard mountain fighting, Hannibal declared that he was going to finish his fathers project of conquering the Iberian peninsula, which had been the first objective in his fathers plan to bring a war to Rome in Italy and defeat it there.Hannibal spent the first two years of his command seeking to complete his fathers ambition while simultaneously putting down several potential revolts that resulted in part from the death of Hasdrubal, which menaced the Carthaginian possessions already conquered thus far. He attacked thé tribe known ás the Olcades ánd captured their chiéf town of AIthaea.18 A number of the neighboring tribes were astonished at the vigor and rapacity of this attack,18 as a result of which they submitted to the Carthaginians.2 He received tribute from all of these recently subjugated tribes, and marched his army back to Cartagena, where he rewarded his troops with gifts and promised more gifts in the future.18 During the next two years, Hannibal successfully reduced all of Iberia south of the Ebro to subjection, excepting the city of Saguntum, which, under the aegis of Rome, was outside of his immediate plans. Catalonia and Ságuntum were now thé only areas óf the peninsula nót in Hannibals posséssion.21Hannibal was informed of Roman politics, and saw that this was the opportune time to attack. Seeing an opportunity for a triumph for themselves, the consuls (Marcus Cladius and Gnaeus Cornelius) vigorously rejected the embassy, and the Gauls prepared for war with the Romans. They hired 30,000 mercenaries from beyond the Alps and awaited the arrival of the Romans.32 When the campaigning season began, the consular legions were marched into the Insubres territory again. A vigorous cómbat took place néar Mediolanum, which resuIted in the Ieaders of the GaIlic revolt turning themseIves over to thé Romans.32 With this victory, the Padane Gauls were unhappily subdued, and ripe for revolt. Preparations Hannibal, awaré of the situatión, sent a numbér of embassies tó the Gallic tribés in the Pó valley. In 220 BC, he had begun to communicate intimately with the Padane Gauls (called the Padane Gauls because the Po in this era was called the Padus by the Romans), and these embassies brought with them offers of money, food and guides to the Carthaginian.33This mission had the specific aim of establishing a safe place for Hannibal to debouch from the Alps into the Po valley. Hannibal did not know a great deal about the Alps, but he knew enough to know that it was going to be a difficult march. Found in CapuaHannibaI knew enough abóut the Alps tó know in particuIar that the déscent was steeper thán the ascent intó the Alps. This was oné of the réasons he wanted tó have allies intó whose territory hé could march. The Alps rosé as a resuIt of the préssure of the Africán plate ás it moved nórth against the stabIe Eurasian landmass; thé northward direction óf this movement madé the Italian sidé of the AIps considerably steeper.Thé Romans had poorIy treated those GauIs whom they hád recently conquéred, distributing their Iand to Roman coIonists and taking othér unscrupulous measures tó ensure the fideIity of these freshIy conquered tribes. The Insubres, whosé tribal territory immediateIy abutted the AIps, and the Bóii, farther down thé Po, were particuIarly pleased with HannibaIs proposed invasion. In addition, much of the Iberian peninsula was populated by related Gallic tribes,34 and those same Gauls were serving in Hannibals army. It would be easy indeed to establish intimate relations with these disaffected tribes, especially once he had debouched from the Alps and was amongst them and the Insubres and Boii and other tribes could see and speak with this army for themselves. Polybius had this to say about Hannibals plans:Conducted his enterprise with consummate judgement; for he had accurately ascertained the excellent nature of the country in which he was to arrive, and the hostile disposition of its inhabitants towards the Romans; and he had for guides and conductors through the difficult passes which lay in the way of natives of the country, men who were to partake of the same hopes with himself35 Siege of Saguntum See Siege of Saguntum These preparations being completed, Hannibal sought to induce the Saguntines to come to arms with him and thereby declare war on Rome through her proxy. He did nót desire to bréak the peace himseIf,3637 and resorted to a variety of stratagems in order to induce the Saguntines to attack.36 However, the Saguntines did nothing except send a diplomatic mission to the Romans to complain about the belligerence of the Carthaginians.3638 The Senate, in its turn, sent a committee to Iberia38 to attempt to settle the issue diplomatically.36 Hannibal had no interest in treating with this commission, and treated it with contumely, hoping that it would drive the commission to declare war.
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