The period between First and second Punic wars
After the utter defeat in the second Punic war, Carthage was in Dire Straits. In addition to the large tribute which Carthage was paying to Rome, they suffered from rebellions of mercenaries whom they used in their battles. To make matters worse, many cities in North Africa declared revolt against Carthage. To solves the problems, the Carthaginian senate call Hamilcar Barca in to crush the revolts. Hamilcar managed to pacify the region and subjugate all the cites which was in rebellion after three years of war which known as mercenaries’ war between [ 241-238 ]. Hamilcar Barca who hated Rome deeply, wanted to take revenge on Rome, but he realised he could not do that, unless, he fixes the Carthaginian economy. So, he thought to take control of Iberia - Spain and Portugal - which contains silver mines and fertile lands. In 237 B.C without Rome knowing, Hamilcar led an army to invade Iberia accompanying his tow sons Hannibal and Hasdrubal. Before departure to Iberia, Hamilcar and his son, Hannibal, went together to temple of Bale, Carthage’s God, saying to his son “ Hannibal my son, stand before the gods and swear, from this until your last you will always be an enemy of Rome”. From 237-228 B.C Hamilcar managed to conquer huge areas of Iberian Peninsula and take control of silver mines which made tribute paying to Rome much easier. After Hamilcar death in 228 B.C, he was succeed by his son in law Hasdrubal the Fair, which was known for his wisdom and preference of diplomacy over war. Hasdrubal the Fair started by handing the prisoners to their tribes as a goodwill gesture, then he built the city of New Carthage in southeast of Iberia. In addition to that, he signed a new treaty with Rome. They agreed that the areas north of Ebro River belong to Rome, while the areas south of it belong to Carthage. In 221 B.C, Hasdrubal the Fair was assassinated by a Celtic tribe. He was succeeded by 26 years Hannibal, the grandson of Hamilcar.
In the first year, Hannibal managed to subdued all the Iberian cities south of Ebro. After that, Hannibal headed toward the city of Saguntum east of Iberia. The Iberian city sent a delegation to Rome to help them against Hannibal. Rome agreed. Hearing this, Hannibal take this as a violation of the treaty, arguing that Saguntum lies to the south of Ebro River and so the city belongs to Carthage’s authority. In 219 B.C , Hannibal decided to march toward Saguntum to conquer it. After reaching the city, Hannibal began preparation for a siege. Saguntum in that time was heavily fortified making its storming very complicated. Although, Saguntum sent to Rome seeking help, but Rome couldn’t help them as they was busy fighting the Illyrians north of Italy. Despite the fierce resistance, Hannibal managed to storm the city after 8-month-brutal siege. By the end of the siege, all lands south of Ebro became under Carthage’s control. Rome responded by sending a delegation to Carthage demanding Hannibal handing over to Rome, but the Carthaginian senate refused. Outraged, Rome declared war on Carthage. So, the second Punic war had begun.
The second punic war
Hannibal decided to transfer war to the Roman soil, arguing that Rome has the advantage when they fight outside their lands. Acutely there are three ways to invade Rome, either through the Mediterranean or attacking it from Greece or through Massalia from the north. Invasion of Rome through the Mediterranean is next to impossible because Rome was in control of it. The attacking from Massalia to the North is very difficult because the city of Massalia was under Roman’s control. Lastly, invasion from Epirus in Greece is also so hard because the greek cites were tied with Rome by treaties and no one other than Rome has the access to Epirus. Although the situation was bleak to Hannibal, yet Hannibal did the unexpected, he decided to cross the Alps, a move which seems impossible, but the great risks taker, Hannibal, decided to do what would become a legend. Before departure of Spain, he assigned his brother, Hasdrubal, as commander of the Carthaginian troops in Spain. Then, he sent ambassadors to the Gallic tribes in Po valley to join him in his tremendous campaign on against Rome knowing that these tribes are in enmity with Rome. Then, recruited an army of 50000 infantry, 9000 cavalry and 37 elephants in a journey which would be immortalised in history books forever. Rome at that time divided its army into tow divisions, one division under the command of Publius Scipio to invade Iberia and the other, Tiberius Longus to invade Carthage itself. The Roman plan was as follows, Longus will marched toward Sicily and wait there, until he makes sure that Scipio managed to prevent Hannibal from crossing the Alps. But, a Gallic tribe in Po valley attacked a Roman corp in the north of Italy forcing Scipio to take 5000 troops to attack them causing a delay in marching toward Hannibal’s army. After reaching Massalia, Scipio sent scouts to determine the Hannibal’s location, yet the scouts found the remnants of Hannibal’s army camp west of the river Rhône. When the scouts returned to Scipio and told him what they saw, he realised that Hannibal and his army has begun their legendary journey across the Alps.
Realising his campaign to intercept Hannibal’s army had failed, Scipio returned to Rome. But before his departure, he ordered his brother Gnaius Scipio to invade Iberia. When Gnaius Scipio reached the city of Sisa in northern Spain, he was received warmly by the anti-Carthaginian tribes in Sisa. Learning of Roman invasion of Sisa, Hasdrubal Barca led an amphibious attack on the city to expel the Roman from Iberia, but the Roman troops were aware of the the Carthaginian attack, so they led a surprising attack on the Carthaginian fleet causing destruction and capturing most of the Carthaginian ships. Back to Hannibal, when Hannibal and his army reached the top of the Alps, he pointed to the the panorama of Italy below, there, he vows to his men : “ You will have the capital of Italy, the citadel of Rome, in the hollow of your Hands” then he begin descending towards the Po valley. After a 15-day-journey that took Hannibal and his army to cross the Alps, only 25,000 of the 60,000 who started the journey made it to other side.
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