Of all the many wars, the Second Punic War was one of the great military conflicts of the ancient world. This war was fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic from 218-202 B.C. It marked the end of major Carthaginian military opposition to Rome. The term "punic" comes form the Latin "poeni" which means "Phoenician" and refers to the Carthaginians (Verhage 1). The Second Punic War was lead by Hannibal, one of the great military geniuses of all time. It was the most important of the three wars, and also the most fascinating. The Carthaginians bitter attitudes over both the agreement from the first war and the Roman expansion following the next year's is what brought on the second war.
The results of the First Punic War is the reason the Second Punic War came about. A few years after the first war Carthage figured out that Rome wanted to control the Mediterranean. Instead of being defeated completely, Hamilcar Barca, the Carthaginian general, took an army to Spain in 237. Their plan was to open new markets and to create a new base of operations. Later this was continued by his son Hannibal and his son-in-law Hasdrubal. The Romans had been worried by Hannibal's successes in Spain, and they sent an embassy to Carthage to demand the surrender of Hannibal. While they were there, the leader of the Roman embassy offered them peace or war, and they cried that they would take whichever he offered. He gave them war (Haywood 132). Hannibal was determined to fight Rome. His plan was both desperate and brilliant. He decided to invade Italy itself. Although his army by itself would be to small to achieve victory, he believed the Italian allies would not be af!.
fected at all. So therefore, he would only need to win a few early victories and proclaim the liberty of the Italian allies, and they would desert Rome. It would be impossible for Rome's armies to stand against Hannibals" superior generalship without her allied reserves.
