Scipio also was well aware of Hannibal's great ability in a defensive position, especially around Carthage. Despite all his victories, Rome could persevere. Opposition to his war from the Carthaginian Senate, mainly from Hanno, along with Roman superiority at sea, prevented Hannibal from ever securing the resources needed to complete his conquests. After the victory at the Ebro, the Roman senate sent Publius Scipio back to Spain with reinforcements of 8,000 men. The Romans were forced to withdraw to Placentia, under Manlius, to plan for another attack. An invasion by a Roman Consular army under Publius Cornelius Scipio was launched in 218 BC, but a revolt among the Celts in Cisalpine Gaul forced a change in the plans. The Punic Wars were an integral part of the chain of events that brought the Roman Empire to a place of dominance in the Western Mediterranean and reduced Carthage(which prior to the Wars enjoyed a leading position(to little more than During the protracted battle the Carthaginians, who had gone without breakfast were certainly hungry and exhausted throughout the day, succumbed to the Roman onslaught. Uncontested by Carthaginian resistance as he marched, he set to work subjugating local Iberian Celts. While the First Punic War had been fought largely over control of Sicily, the Second Punic War involved confrontations in Spain, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and North Africa. It was created to provide the people with a direct representative magistrate. Rome then attacks Carthage. Immediately thereafter, Marcellus crossed from Sicily and met Hannibal at the Battle of Numistro. As only a prelude of things to come, the most significant result was the wounding of Scipio and the opening of additional Gallic recruitment to Hannibal. While theoretically an excellent concept, it was this sort of continuing hope for open rebellion that played a major factor in his eventual undoing. He occupied high ground on a hill near Ilorca and immediately began fortifying, preparing for a siege. By 210 BC, Syracuse would fall through siege back into Roman control and any remnants of Carthaginian resistance were gone. Multiple pages on Roman Gods have been combined into one single page. Unable to continue the original break through against the Celts in the center of Hannibal's lines, the Romans were easy prey for the Carthaginians. Unaware of his brother's fate, Gnaeus would surely try to withdraw when he found out, so the Carthaginians moved fast to prevent any escape. In Italy, Carthage finally sent at least a small force of reinforcements that joined Hannibal at Lucri. Severely outnumbered, Marcellus' trick worked and with an inferior force, was able to fight Hannibal to a terribly bloody draw. Holdings that were a mix of ranching and farming grew to more than 300 acres, found mostly in southern and central Italy, the area most heavily devastated by the Second Punic War. Both he and Scipio spent the remainder of the year spreading Roman control while preparing for the final campaign to eliminate the Carthaginian presence in Hispania. Fabius Maximus, meanwhile, despite his efforts and success in keeping the economic and political stability of Rome at the status quo, was losing popularity among the Senate and the people. He was hoping that his feint on Rome would force the siege of Capua to be lifted, and draw the army out into the open where Hannibal could work his strategic magic. Much like the tactics of Hannibal in Italy, Scipio set up a cavalry ambush and lured Mago to attack. While some in the Senate, such as Lucius Caecilius Metellus were ready to abandon the Republic as a lost cause, others like Scipio propped up the flagging Roman spirit with encouragement and undying oaths of loyalty to Rome. Those in debt were released from their obligations, non-land owners were recruited and even slaves were freed to join the legions. Hannibal and Second Punic War General . Had Hasdrubal been victorious, a large enough force coming from north and south would have been able to move against the capital. Rome benefited greatly from the acquisition of Sicily. The pressures that Rome faced during the Second Punic War resulted in significant changes to the Roman political system. As they victoriously fought farther into the center of Hannibal's lines, they were actually walking themselves right into being completely encircled. By controlling Sicily, the Romans could use its array of natural resources and minerals to gain profits. After Carthago Nova was secure, Scipio moved his main force to Tarraco where he spent the remainder of the year training and drilling his men. Still believing he couldn't take Rome itself, he preferred his strategy of pursuing revolt among the Roman allies. Did the Emperors Bring About the Need for a Split Empire? For the winter of 204 to 203 BC, both armies waited in their own camps until the following spring. Despite the success of Hannibal at Tarentum and the resistance of a Roman at Herdonea, the tide was slowly beginning to turn in Rome's favor. Hannibal crossed the Apennines and spent the summer of 217 scouring southern Italy. Gnaeus had under his command an initial force numbering 22,000 infantry, 2,200 cavalry and a strong fleet of 60 quinqueremes. The following year, 208 BC, Hannibal continued to hold off the Romans. These five armies (3 Carthaginian, 2 Roman… As many as 20,000 men of his army were killed with an equal number taken as prisoners to be sold at slave auction. He was confidant in Hasdrubal's ability in Spain as his brother had campaigned with his father Hamilcar against the Iberian Celts since he was just a boy. The Carthaginians faced difficulties of their own in the form of revolts in Africa. In Sicily, Heiro II of Syracuse a longtime Roman ally, died and his pro-Carthaginian son Hieronymos succeeded him. At Venusia, Marcellus was killed in battle and the "Sword of Rome," the only Roman general to give Hannibal a challenge, would no longer be an obstacle. Met by a joint army of Carthaginians and Numidians, led y Syphax and Hasdrubal Gisgo, he was pinned along the shore of the African coast for a time and forced to lift the siege. While Hannibal managed to stave off his own defeat while being bottled up in Bruttium for 4 more years, Scipio was able to plan the invasion of Africa. The battle opened with the elephants charging the Roman lines. Victories over Syracuse in Sicily and at Capua in Italy allowed the Romans to send some reinforcements and plan for the next year's campaign. A famous line concerning Rome was that it would usually lose the first battle, but always win the last. Conversely, the Romans had nearly 50,000 mixed legionary and Celtic infantry with an additional 5,000 cavalry. He withdrew northward to rendezvous with Gnaeus Scipio's army, just as a third Carthaginian force commanded by Hasdrubal Gisgo, arrived from Africa. Forced to fight in the open without the tightly formed legionary tactics, the Romans were driven against the lake and completely surrounded. With the opening of the campaign season in 215 BC, Hasdrubal Barca led his army of 30,000 north to meet the Romans. With a small force already positioned to keep the Gauls in check, Scipio moved to intercept Hannibal. The Third Punic War was entirely avoidable was caused by Rome taking advantage of Carthage while they were weak. Gauls appeared on the opposite bank to disrupt the crossing, but Hannibal was ready. Sempronius Longus. Another impact to Rome was due to unfavorable conditions in Italy and Sicily and the loss of so many men from agricultural occupations, Rome experienced a period of inflation and the possibility of a grain famine. Hannibal brought his archers and slingers to bear and the result in the confines was devastating. The Iberian and Gallic Celts on the Carthaginian side, while fierce, were no match for Roman armament and close-quartered combat. Sempronius faced him with upwards of 40,000 men. The resulting plunder offered some relief in the form of food and supplies, but constant pressure from the Celts, landslides, continuing bad weather and poor supply made the success of the operation all the more memorable. Earlier, while Hamilcar was still establishing control of Spain, Rome was concerned over Carthaginian resurgence. Theoretically, the Roman tactic of crushing Hannibal between two large armies should have spelled his doom, but Hannibal's brilliance allowed him to turn the tables once the engagement got under way. Significantly, Syracuse was granted nominal independence as an ally and it was not incorporated into the Roman province of Sicily until the Second Punic War. As the two armies were drawn up in their lines, Hannibal requested a meeting directly with Scipio. The night before the battle commenced, Hannibal ordered his men to light camp fires on the hills of Tuoro, at a considerable distance, to give the impression that his army was much farther away. Isolated along the eastern Italian coast, the Roman's jumped at the chance to crush Hasdrubal before he could reinforce Hannibal. With his assumption of command, he immediately set out to subdue rebellious tribes in his rear with his eventual goal to invade Italy. By the following year, Samnium and Apulia would both be back under Roman control and the path was open for the Romans to besiege Capua, Hannibal's former winter base. The Romans seized several cities south of the Ebro and took control of territory belonging to the Carthaginian allied tribes, the Intibili and the Illiturgi. In exchange for helping secure his position, the tribal chief fed the Carthaginians and provided enough supplies to see them through the rest of the journey. In the aftermath of its loss to Rome, they had little choice but to keep focused on quelling local tribes before they defected to the enemy. The Barcid was the main driver of the conflict between Carthage and Rome. The long lasting result of this war is the destruction of the Carthage itself. The Second Punic War placed unprecedented strains on Roman manpower, not least on the equites and the first class of commoners which provided the cavalry. Hannibal's strategy of encouraging revolt among the Roman allies could have been devastating if Rome couldn't field any more legions. Sempronius' forces were already in Sicily preparing for the African invasion, and Scipio had to wait in Rome for another army to be raised before he could meet Hannibal marching east. While the year 207 BC was drawing to a close, both sides prepared for what would prove to be the final battle between the two forces in Hispania. Scipio, though later widely criticized, knew that pursuit into the interior of Spain would have been folly and let Hasdrubal go, choosing instead to focus on the remaining Carthaginian forces and strongholds. The general Hanno was left with 10,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry to keep the area between the Ebro and the Pyrenees under control. With the quick victory, Scipio resumed his siege of Utica, while the Carthaginians immediately began recruiting another army. At the end of 211 BC, the positions of both sides were exactly the same as when the war had started in 218. The first, commanded by Publius Cornelius Scipio the Elder, was set to depart for Spain. From Spain Rome gained great quantities of silver, copper and iron besides agricultural products and fish. The Roman victory assured that Hannibal would never be reinforced by a substantial force. Scipio then turned the tables and used much the same tactics at Zama as Hannibal had at Cannae. The Roman economy was stimulated by the increase in profits as a result of its new prosperous land. o CAUSES OF THE SECOND PUNIC WAR EVENTS DURING THE SECOND PUNIC WAR Carthaginian General, Hannibal, lays siege to city of Saguntum. The problem however, was that the Carthaginians were so evenly divided between 3 separate armies, that Roman advances against one force would leave their territory vulnerable to an unoccupied Carthaginian army. As a result Spanish forces were sent to Africa to help quell the rebellion, but rather than putting it to an end, Syphax was able to withdraw via Gibraltar and add his vaunted Numidian cavalry to the Roman cause. The key factor behind the political stability of the Republic up until the aftermath of the Punic Wars was that there had never been open fighting between elite Romans in the name of political power. A result of the first Punic War and the Romans was the decisive naval victory against the Carthaginians at the Aegate Islands. An attempt to bottle the Carthaginians up at Apulia, under Fabius, resulted in the escape of Hannibal's army using oxen with burning sticks tied to their horns. In 211 BC, Hannibal desperately tried to relieve Capua by feigning an attack on Rome itself. Fabius let the gathered folds fall, and cried: 'We give you war.'. ... Second Punic War - Iberia, Greece, and politics in Rome - 49 - Duration: 25:06. Hannibal refused to move on Rome. Publius Scipio, advancing on Mago near Castulo, had his own problems. We're here to answer any questions you have about our services. Write the following events onto cards, and sort them in chronologcal order, adding a date where possible: Hannibal besieges Saguntum. The main Roman army approached the Trebbia, pushing the Numidians back across, completely unaware of the trap set for them. With his victory, Hannibal released the bulk of any prisoners captured with the intention of securing favor among Rome's allies throughout Italy. While Marcellus moved to Sicily in 214 BC, the Carthaginian senate chose to make another grab for that island which was once theirs, rather than reinforce Hannibal. Because of the fragmentary condition of Polybius’ Histories, it is necessary to use Livy’s . The Scipios meanwhile, with a comparable force moved south to block Hasdrubal at the Ebro. Rome gained control over Sicily and Greece. The Carthaginian senate sanctioned an army of 25,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry and 12 elephants that landed in Sicily in support of Syracuse, but they were to prove to be no match for Marcellus. Romans wanted military success on the battlefield, not in a war of attrition. Hannibal, with complete fury, encouraged his own men, under fear of the lash, if they weren't zealous enough in the slaughter. Hasdrubal immediately withdrew to his camp and prepared for the defense when the Romans approached. The effect of the second Punic war was Rome's dominance of the Western Mediterranean. Rome thought it would be easy to defeat Hannibal, but Hannibal was full of surprises, including his manner of entering the Italic peninsula from Spain. In the campaign year of 208 BC, Scipio marched south to Baecula to meet the unsuspecting Hasdrubal. 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