Introduction

Hi Again! I see you've come for another history lesson. If you need detailed info on the Punic wars, go to www.barca.fsnet.co.uk and remember, no plagiarism!

The Second Punic War was Carthage's attempt at revenge because they lost the First Punic War to Rome. Hey, you'd be mad too! The result was yet another loss for Carthage in the big game of 'conquer or be conquered'.

Since the end of First Punic War, Carthage had built up its army and money, and was ready to take on Rome once more. Carthage was also working on the latest addition to their empire: Spain. The treaty that halted the First Punic War included an agreement that the Carthaginians would not extend their empire past the Ebro River in Spain. Carthage enlarged its empire all the way to the southern side of the Ebro River. Rome warned them to stay away from Saguntum, a city that had recently become friendly with Rome.

Saguntum started playing politics with Carthage. Not a good idea. Rome tried to prevent Saguntum's capture by making friends with Carthaginian General Hasdrubal to guarantee the city's independence, but to no avail. Hasdrubal's fellow general (and brother) Hannibal crossed the Ebro river and captured Saguntum in 219 BC. Rome could not defeat Hannibal, so they went to Carthage and demanded Hannibal surrender the city. Carthage refused, thus lighting the fire that fueled the Second Punic War.

The Carthaginians obviously had a game plan before the war broke out because Hannibal immediately set out for the Italian peninsula once war was declared. He and his army traveled from Spain, across the Italian Alps, and then Southeast into Rome itself.

Even though it looked like a a suicide mission, it was actually a well thought-out plan. Going into enemy territory meant they couldn't get food, weapons, or men. Fortunately Hannibal brought a fully equipped army complete with war elephants. He also picked up a lot of people along the way who either hated the Romans or were Roman allies who didn't think Rome stood a chance. Still others just wanted a piece of the pie --- preferably a big piece.

Do you know what happened? The Romans got creamed with a capital C and a cherry on top. Hannibal terrorized the place. The Romans were cornered, and would take some fancy footwork to get out it. They appointed Fabius Maximus dictator-for-life. He was known as "The Delayer" because Maximus' strategy was not to engage Hannibal directly but to poke and prod his army. The people thought he was a procrastinator, and he was later impeached because he merely harassed Hannibal's troops instead of taking them out in one clean sweep.

Then the people of Rome had their troops completely massacred by Hannibal's 'pincer movement'. Not one person who entered that battle for the Roman side returned alive. So they went back to Maximus' strategy. This plan eventually worked, in a way. Hannibal did not have the military strength to siege cities or villages, only to harass innocent people until the end of the war.

Publis Cornelious Scipio 'Africanus'

The Second Punic War ended at the battle of Zama in 202 BC. when Cornelious Scipio borrowed a move from Hannibal's play book and invaded Carthage. Carthage surrendered under Scipio's terms. Unfortunately for Carthage, they had to do more than community service:

1. Carthage had to hand over all their war elephants (at least they didn't have to worry about sweeping up) and war ships (except for ten), plus prisoners of war and one hundred hostages.

2. Carthage also had to pay a huge war indemnity of 10,000 talents in fifty yearly installments of two hundred talents.

3. They also had to confine their reign to Africa (no more vacations in Spain).

4. The Cathagians had to return some of the surrounding land to the neighboring Numidian king Masinissa, who was an ally to Rome. This would help the Romans because Masinissa could keep an eye on Carthage for them.

5. Finally, Carthage couldn't go to war with anybody outside Africa at all. All their wars inside Africa had to be approved by none other than Rome.

Carthage had flipped its last pancake. With almost no war ships, Carthage couldn't protect their merchant navy. Ten thousand talents was a huge sum to pay. The loss of their elephants was a great strength lost, not to mention losing land! Carthage saw this as a record low for Rome.

For the victory over Carthage at Zama, Scipio demanded that he receive the title Scipio Africanus - Conqueror of Africa. He got it, of course. Having failed to win the Second Punic War, Carthage was majorly ticked off. However, the phrase "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" obviously hadn't been invented yet, because Carthage completely forgot they were at the mercy of  Rome and waged yet another all-out war against Rome, despite the fact that Carthage was no longer a threat to Rome - but that's another story ...