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A)The Second Punic War
1) Hannibal’s Journey
-Hannibal led his troops over the Alps while
riding elephants.
37 elephants , 40,000 infantry, and 6,000 cavalry
out of Spain before the Romans could trap him there.
-Most of Carthage’s army was made up of mercenaries
from Africa , Gaul , Spain , and Phoenicia
2) Why did Hannibal use elephants?
To terrify and intimidate the enemy.
3) To move an entire army over the Alps is difficult
-Rocks blocked Hannibal’s path and mountain
tribes ambushed the army.
- many times animals and men slipped
thousands of feet to their death .
- soldiers became frightened and pessimistic .
How did Hannibal lift his men’s spirits?
He would give inspiring and passionate
speeches.
An excerpt from Hannibal’s speech to his men...
“What toils and perils you went through for
eight months to capture Saguntum? And now
that Rome, the capital of the world, is your goal,
can you deem anything so difficult and arduous
that it should prevent you from reaching it?”
4) After 5 months, Hannibal’s army crossed the
Alps and entered the Po Valley in northern Italy .
-he had 26,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, and 20
elephants left.
- HOWEVER, two tribes from N. Italy who were
already at war with Rome eagerly joined Hannibal’s
army and made up for the men he had lost . After a
short rest , Hannibal quickly defeated a Roman army
and began an assault on the Italian peninsula .
III. The End of the Second Punic War
A) Hannibal spent several months
preparing for Scipios coming attack on the city
of Carthage.
1) Hannibal recruited about 40,000
soldiers and 80 elephants.
2) Hannibal sent three spies into the Roman
camp near Zama to spy on Scipio .
- the spies were captured but returned unharmed to
the Carthaginians
3) Hannibal then requested a meeting with
Scipio.
-Hannibal respected that Scipio would make
such a bold move to return the spies that had seen
the Roman camp without killing them.
- They met outside of Zama and came to a decision
Their decision is best summed up by the
following quote…
“ Keeping their armed men at the same
distance the generals…spoke at some
length…(and concluded) that arms must
decide the issue and (that) they must accept
whatever lot the Gods (gave) them.”
B) The battle of Zama !
1) Hannibal started by advancing hundreds of
elephants into Scipio’s military lines . Due to
Scipio’s research , Hannibal’s plan failed.
From the History of Western Civilization, Boise
State University:
These were war elephants, specially trained, and
Hannibal staked the battle on them. He ranged his
elephants, perhaps a hundred or so, in front of his
infantry. When the battle began, he sent them en
masse against the Roman lines, like a cavalry
charge.
It must have been terrifying to the Romans, but
Scipio had prepared them. He knew of Hannibal's
plans and had his own plan in place. He had his troops
spread in normal battle formation. When the elephants
charged, the men re-formed into columns, leaving
wide alleys between.
To aid the elephants, the men were instructed to shout,
bang metal on metal, and in general make as much
noise as possible, causing the beasts to shy away from
the noise and into the alley ways.
And as they went past, archers shot at their
riders. With great faith in their commander, the Roman
troops executed the plan perfectly. The elephants
passed right through the Roman lines.
While the beasts eventually got turned back
around, the massed charge on which Hannibal had
depended, was utterly ineffective.
2) The battle lasted all day long with both sides
fighting hard.
3) Scipio launched a counter attack and used his
cavalry to attack Hannibal’s troops from the rear.
- This caused major damage to Hannibal’s
troops and cost him the battle. Hannibal managed to
escape but the slaughter was horrific .
It was said that at the Battle of Zama…
“ The Romans were hindered by the quantity
of slippery corpses which were still soaked
in blood and had fallen in heaps and the
number of arms thrown away haphazard.”
C) Following Carthage ’s defeat at Zama ,
Hannibal himself advised Carthage to establish a
peace treatywith Rome.
- in 201 B.C.E. Roman ambassadors arrived on the
shores of Carthage and presented very harsh terms
for the new peace treaty ( similar to the peace treaty
after the 1st Punic War).
D) The terms of the Peace Treaty
1) Carthage had to give up Spain and the
Mediterranean islands.
2) Surrender all elephants.
3) Burn all but 10 of their warships
4) Pay a huge indemnity(fine) for 50 years
5)Never declare war without first consulting Rome
- Much to the ambassador’s surprise,
Hannibal urged his country to accept the terms
because he said they were not too harsh
E) What happens to Hannibal ?
1) The Romans did not require the Carthaginians
to turn Hannibal over to them.
- over time the Romans came to fear Hannibal
because he led raids around Rome for many years
later.
2) The Romans invented a charge that he was
conspiring with Rome’s enemies .
- To appease the Romans, Carthage declared
Hannibal an outlaw and he fled to the Middle East
3) Hannibal was pursued by Roman agents and
was cornered near the Black Sea.
- finding no way out, he committed suicide.
The destruction and humiliation of Carthage
Rome decides to…
1) Send 80,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry to
North Africa to intimidate the Carthaginians into
meeting their demands.
2) The cruel demands…
a) The Carthaginians had to turn over 300 children
from noble families to be held as hostages during
Rome’s and Carthage’s negotiations.
b) All weapons and machines of war were to be
turned over to them.
c) All citizens of Carthage would have to leave the
city and rebuild 10 mile inland.
This was the straw that broke the camels back!
G) The Refusal that lead to War
- Carthage put up a valiant but unsuccessful
effort to defend their homes.
How?
1) They freed all slaves and made them citizens
so they could fight in the war
2) Rich citizens gave up all their wealth so that
the government could purchase materials to
make weapons.
3) Every open space was turned into a factory to
produce weapons.
- Men and women worked all day and night to
produce 100 shields, 300 swords, and 1,000
missiles for catapults, and 500 darts and spears.
4) Women cut off their hair to make it into rope.
H) Carthage held off the Romans for three
years until after a bloody battle the city fell
in 146 B.C.E. The Carthaginians lost.
I) What did the Romans do to Carthage?
1) The Roman army torched the city
and it burned for 17 days.
This quote describes the torching of Carthage…
“The fire spread and carried everything
down…many fell dead under the collapsing
stones. Still others…were torn asunder into all
kind of horrible shapes, crushed and mangled.”
2) After the fire went out, the Romans tore down all
remaining buildings.
3) Sowed salt into the ground so nothing would ever
grow again.
4) Sold the 50,000 Carthaginian survivors into
slavery.
J) Archaeology Today
- Carthage was so destroyed that even
today few artifacts exist.
Thus the Punic Wars
ended forever.