CLAS-2160-A01 – Oct.

2, 2024
Second Punic War
 According to Polybius’ Histories, book 3, sections 5 to 33, it
discusses the preluding events to the outbreak of another
armed conflict between Rome and Carthage
 At the conclusion of the First Punic War, Rome and
Carthage had created treaties to maintain a semblance
of new peace, albeit skewed to favor the Romans
 The causes of the Second Punic War are shown in the
aftermath of the first conflict, but also outlines
differences between the actual start of the second
conflict and its potential root causes
 In 219 BCE, Carthaginian general Hannibal captured the
city of Saguntum, a year after the declaration of war by
Carthage onto Rome in 218 BCE
 Hannibal mustered his forces within the Carthaginian
Spanish territories for the upcoming war, before
assigning his brother Hasdrubal to lead the forces in
his stead
 Hannibal had arrived in Spain from Carthago Nova
(English: “New Carthage”) before campaigning from
Saguntum (219 BCE) into the European interior past
the Pyrenees and Alpine mountains, entering Italy
through the Liguria valley towards Trebia (218 BCE),
remaining on the eastern fringes of the Italian
peninsula along the Apennines mountains
 He continued to launch an Italian campaign back
to Carthage proper to fight off the Roman assault
from Cannae (216 BCE) to the port town of
Croton, crossing the Mediterranean to the
Carthaginian port of Hadrumetum and returning
to Zama (202 BCE)
 During the crossing of the Alpine mountains into Italy,
Hannibal’s forces numbered 40000 infantrymen, 9000
cavalry, and 37 elephant units
  However, he had chosen to cross them in the later
part of the year and decided upon traversing
through a land route, albeit archeological and
classicist evidence disagree on the exact route
taken
 Polybius discusses Hannibal’s Alpine journey in
Histories, book 3, section 50
 Hannibal would lose almost half of his forces,
arriving in Italy proper with only 20000
infantrymen, 6000 cavalry, and a few remaining
elephant units
 At the Battle of the Trebbia River in late December
of 218 BCE, even with a significantly reduced force,
Hannibal struck a decisive blow against the Romans
and pried his way into the Republic’s territories
 At the Battle of Lake Trasimene in 217 BCE, the
Carthaginians were seeking passage along the edge of
the lake whilst Roman forces gathered atop the hills
and charged the Carthaginian envoy
 Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator was appointed as
the dictator of Rome, as defined by Polybius in Histories,
book 3, section 87, to deal with the crisis Hannibal was
responsible for wreaking upon the Roman territories
 He had ruled to no longer rely upon pitched battle
tactics, which have proven little effectiveness against
Hannibal’s troops, and instead opted to engage him in
delaying battles to force him into attrition
 However, Hannibal would make it toward southern
Italy before he had been caught within Cunctator’s
trap
 In 216 BCE, the consuls of Caius Terentius Varro and
Lucius Aemilius Paullus wished to engage Hannibal
directly and mustered themselves 8 legions to meet him
 They met Hannibal’s army at the Battle of Cannae,
yet met significant resistance and were handedly
 defeated by the superior Carthaginian force under
Hannibal’s leadership
 This disastrous military operation for Rome was
described by Polybius in Histories, book 3, sections
107 to 118
 After Varro’s and Paullus’ defeat by Hannibal, he
continued to contest Roman authority across southern
Italy between 216 BCE to 203 BCE, with most of his
allies remaining at his side with the exceptions of
Capua and Tarentum
 The treachery of Capua and Tarentum manifested
itself during Hannibal’s unsuccessful siege against
Rome itself in 211 BCE
 Concurrent to the second Punic conflict, the First
Macedonian War in the lands of Greece occurred between
215 BCE to 205 BCE, which had begun between the
Macedonian king Philip V allying himself with the other
members of the Hellenic League in 217 BCE
 Having signed a treaty with Hannibal, Philip V
mustered a stiff resistance against the Roman
authorities in the Aetolian theater and aided in
sprawling their forces throughout the Mediterranean
region
 Rome began to suffer severe losses and difficulties through
its multiple fronts across the Mediterranean, splitting its
forces between Spain against the Carthaginian colonies and
Hasdrubal, Macedon against the Hellenic League, Sicily and
Sardinia against the Carthaginian naval occupations, and in
the homefront of Italy against the Carthaginian assault led
by Hannibal
 Rome had come to raise 25 legions throughout the
conflict, often employing tributum to fund for the war
effort
 However, many of the Roman allies could not afford to
contribute to the Roman war machine and began to
experience declines within
  Eventually, the Romans had proclaimed the cessation
and prohibition of public mourning for the fallen in
battle due to the high volumes of Roman loss
 On the Spanish front, the Romans were led by Publius
Cornelius Scipio, who eventually came to see some fruits
of victory against the Carthaginians
 In 209 BCE, Scipio would lead a successful siege and
capture of Carthago Nova
 To double the Carthaginian efforts against Rome,
Hasdrubal headed east toward Italy but met his defeat
in 207 BCE at Metaurus
 In 208 BCE, the Battle of the Baecula occurred
within the upper Guadalquivir Valley, which saw the
major defeat levied by Scipio onto Hasdrubal prior to
his retreat to reinforce Hannibal in Italy
 The El Cerro de las Albahacas is an archeological work
site by the University of Jaén, who participate in aerial
photography, metal detecting and mapping excavation sites,
field surveys, and selecting excavations
 They had uncovered 3 camps, 2 of which hosted
Roman troops during subsequent battles
 Many uncovered fragments of the period are of
weapons from Roman, Carthaginian, and Iberian
horsemen fighters, including arrowheads, sling bullets,
spearheads, armor bits and equipment remnants
 They mapped out that the Romans had made camp in
the southeastern plain prior to the battle, and after
their victory, they had occupied the Carthaginian
camp, indicated by tent pegs found in each site
 On the battlegrounds, arrows were found east and
west of the flanks, and indications of concentrations of
weapons reflect implored tactics by either side
 This had also aided in framing the data that could
reconstruct what a typical Carthaginian infantryman
could appear as
 Found within the ruins as well are various fragments of
ceramics made in Iberian patterns, most likely
destroyed by the Romans upon their raid on the
Carthaginian camp