Questions about Second Punic War
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What were the causes of the Second Punic War?
The Second Punic War was triggered when Hannibal besieged and sacked the pro-Roman city of Saguntum in 219 BC. Rome sent an embassy led by Quintus Fabius Maximus demanding satisfaction; when Carthage rejected these demands, Rome declared war in the spring of 218 BC. Deeper causes included Carthage's territorial expansion in Iberia under Hamilcar Barca from 237 BC onward and long-standing resentment over Rome's annexation of Sardinia and Corsica after the First Punic War.
How did Hannibal cross the Alps during the Second Punic War?
Hannibal crossed the Alps in autumn 218 BC, completing the passage in fifteen days. He faced severe cold, difficult mountain terrain, and guerrilla attacks by Ligurian tribespeople. He arrived in Cisalpine Gaul with 20,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry, having set out from Iberia with 37 elephants, though the exact number that survived is not recorded.
How many Romans died at the Battle of Cannae?
At least 67,500 Romans were killed or captured at Cannae in 216 BC. The Roman Senate had assembled an army of 86,000 men, the largest in Roman history to that point, under the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. The historian Miles describes Cannae as Rome's greatest military disaster.
Who was Scipio Africanus and what was his role in the Second Punic War?
Publius Cornelius Scipio was the Roman general who captured Carthago Nova in 209 BC, defeated Hasdrubal Barca at the battle of Baecula in 208 BC, and crushed the remaining Carthaginian forces in Iberia at the battle of Ilipa in 206 BC with 48,000 troops against 54,500. He then invaded North Africa in 204 BC and defeated Hannibal at the battle of Zama in October 202 BC. After the victory he was awarded a triumph and given the agnomen Africanus.
What were the peace terms Rome imposed on Carthage after the Second Punic War?
Rome stripped Carthage of all overseas territories and some of its African ones. Carthage was required to pay an indemnity of 10,000 silver talents over fifty years, reduce its fleet to ten warships, give up war elephants, and wage no war outside Africa without Roman permission. Hannibal argued in favor of accepting the terms, and Carthage ratified the treaty in spring 201 BC.
What primary sources exist for the Second Punic War?
The most reliable source is Polybius, a Greek historian sent to Rome as a hostage in 167 BC, who interviewed participants from both sides; his account survives largely intact only through 216 BC. For the later years of the war, scholars rely mainly on the Roman historian Livy, whose military accounts are considered suspect by modern classicists including Adrian Goldsworthy. Diodorus Siculus, Cassius Dio, and Plutarch provide additional but fragmentary information.