second punic war

After the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War and the subsequent Mercenary War, the Barcid family decided to expand their holdings in Iberia, and according to legend, Hannibal's oath happened around this time. It took decades, but many of the Iberian tribes were eventually subdued and...

As we all know, Hannibal Barca was one of the most successful generals of the Second Punic War. I probably don't need to rehash his career, so I will get to the point. What if Hannibal either never existed or never rose to prominence, being killed early in Iberia? How does this affect the Second...

In 216 BC, the Romans suffered their worst disaster in the history of their republic at the Battle of Cannae. 80,000 Roman troops were lost, slaughtered by the ingenious strategy of Hannibal, who baited the Roman center while he sent his cavalry forward, drawing them in, while the flanks...

IIRC, Hannibal Monomachus,staff officer and friend of the great Hannibal, during the march from Spain to Italy, proposed cannibalism in order to supply the army, if Polybius is to be believed. Hannibal was unable to follow up on Monomachus' advice. What if Hannibal had adopted the practice...

Before the Second Punic War the eastern and southern coasts of what is now Spain were occupied by independent tribes referred to by Classical authors as the Iberians. Speakers of a non-Indo-European language (or languages), they had centuries of contact with Phoenician and Greek colonies. They...

Could Carthage have won the Second Punic War? What would have to be changed from our timeline? What would have been the impact on the world back then, and today?

After Hannibal's victory at the Battle of Cannae, the Sicilian city of Syracuse allied with Carthage. In response, the Romans sent an army led by Marcus Claudius Marcellus to besiege the city in 213 BCE. Among Sicily's defenders was the great inventor and polymath Archimedes. Marcellus gave...

What if Syracuse remained strong in the roman siege of the city in 213-212 A.C? From what i've seen, the romans were capable of win the siege after an nightsneak in the annual festival to Artemis, so i'll suppose this, what if the romans didn't received the information of the festival and...

So in 218 BC, the Second Punic War started after Rome allied with Saguntum, in violation of the treaty with Carthage that Rome was to remain north of the Ebro river, and Hannibal besieged and took the city. He continued, eventually crossing the Alps, where he lost much of his army and his...

In 218 BC, after the Second Punic War had started, Hannibal had successfully besieged Saguntum and was about to cross the Alps into Italy, sparking an invasion which would change the face of the Mediterranean world and the fate of Rome. But while he was crossing the Alps, he suffered heavy...

In 207 BCE, Hannibal Barca's younger brother Hasdrubal was leading a force to assist in the Italian campaign. This army contained much-needed reinforcements and siege equipment, and the Romans were terrified of what might happen if he managed to link up with his brothers Hannibal and Mago. So...

After Scipio Africanus scored decisive victories against Carthage at the battles of Utica and the Great Plains, he imposed peace terms on the Carthaginians, who had no choice to accept them. But they recalled Hannibal from Italy and broke the armistice. Then Scipio defeated Hannibal at the...

What if the famous Carthaginian general, Hannibal Barca, had not lived long enough to see the outbreak of the Second Punic War? What would be the effects on this conflict, especially if we assume that the Romans end up winning at Cannae?

One of the striking things about the Second Punic War is the repeated failure of most Carthaginian generals besides Hannibal to win battles, even in quite even contests and ones where they actually had numerical superiority. The main exception is Hasdrubal's victories over the Scipio brothers...

What if the Romans had either a) Broken through the weak infantry in the center and killed/imprisoned Hannibal? b) The Roman generals realized Hannibal's pincer tactic and had made precautions to prevent it from working?

So those with even a basic familiarity with Ancient Phoenecian History will have heard of this Italian city -- about 23 centuries ago, they managed to unite most of the peninsula, and subsequently even managed to defeat Carthage in a massive war (or fight them to a draw, depending on who you...