Carthage

To understand the reasons for the outbreak of the Second Punic War first one must understand the time in between the First and Second Punic Wars and the mindset in which Carthage’s greatest military commander had towards his Roman enemy.  After the end of the First Punic War Carthage was in a dire position that most powers up until then had not yet had to deal with.  They had a huge standing army of mercenaries left mostly intact in Sicily that had to be abandoned because of treaties with Rome.  An army full of mercenaries that would be returning to Carthage expecting to be paid (Miles 200).

The war of attrition and brutality that resulted was one that the ancient world had never seen before.  Carthage’s strategy for avoiding conflict with the hired army was that of bringing them back in small groups with intervals in between so they could be paid off without incidence (Polybius 1.66.2-4).  An issue arose though when Carthage allowed all the soldiers to linger in and around its capital and the mercenaries began to cause trouble.  Finally they were requested with their families to go to Sicca and await payment.

In their waiting at Sicca the mercenary army made demands that were completely rejected by Carthage on the premise that there was no way Carthage could pay the demands.  In their second round of negotiations Carthage brought in Gesco to the negotiations because of their mistrust in Hanno the Great (Polybius, 1:68.4-68.13).  Finally the talks broke down and the mercenary force took Gresco hostage.  Along with this the Libyans who had been taxed harshly during the First Punic War by the Carthaginians and stripped of half of its crops sent 70,000 men against Carthage (Miles 202).

The conclusion of the mercenary war which lasted from 240 BC until around 237 BC resulted in a total Carthaginian victory over the mercenary army but not after new heights of brutality had been achieved in battles such as The Battle of “The Saw” in which Hamilcar Barca order the slaughter of the remaining 45,000 mercenaries (Polybius Book I, 84-85).  After the Mercenary Revolt was crushed Carthage let Rome know of its sovereignty over Sardinia (which Rome had taken during the Mercenary War) but Rome viewed this as an act of war and along with Sardinia Rome also took Corsica.  (Miles 203).

It was at the end of the war that we see the emergence of a new figure in Carthaginian history, that of Hannibal Barca.  Hannibal was the son of Hamilcar Barca (the most prolific Carthaginian general up until that time) and he had witnessed the end of the war with the mercenaries and the taking of Sardinia and Corsica by Rome.  At age nine Hannibal moved to Spain with Hamilcar and his army but not before taking an oath that sent Hannibal down a path against Rome the rest of his life.  That oath was that he would never be a friend of the Romans.  It was an oath that Hannibal felt binding for the rest of his life; he grew up in an atmosphere of stern and unbending hostility towards Rome and all her works (Baker 70).

In Spain Hannibal grew up fighting local tribes under his father and when he died under his brother-in-law Hasdrubal.  The Carthaginians had taken to Spain because of the vast wealth of its natural resources and its large number of men to oppose and resist Roman influence.  Carthage itself was in tatters after the First Punic War and Mercenary Revolt (Miles 205).

After fighting the locals and gathering up all the silver mines the Barcid clan (Hannibal Barca’s family) began to pay off Carthage’s debts and its own army along with producing coinage of high quality silver as opposed to bronze being used in Carthage herself (Miles 231).  It was at this time that Hannibal began moving north in search of more lands and the city of Saguntum which is believed to be south of the river Ebro (though historians argue which river was actually the Ebro) that Hannibal captured the city in violation of Roman authority because Saguntum was under Roman protection.  Years before Romans had an agreement with Hasdrubal that stated the northern limit of Carthage was that of the river Ebro.  And all that lay south was in Carthage’s dominion of control but even omitting this consideration, Rome’s protection of Saguntum was in violation of this treaty (Baker 76-77).

It was at this point that Rome sent advisers to Carthage in wanting them to arrest Hannibal for war crimes and to bring him about for Roman punishment.  Hannibal even had a few enemies in Carthage that went against what he had did for example Hanno the Great had spoken to the elders in Carthage and stated, “As long as any single representative of the blood and name Barca survives, our treaty with Rome will never remain unimperilled” (Miles 231).  But despite this the united front against Rome began to emerge on Hannibal’s side.  All of the loot had been raided from Saguntum had been split 3 ways:  The slaves that were captured went to the soldiers, the proceeds of the sale of land went to Carthage, and the gold and silver was set aside for what lay ahead… (Miles 232).  It was said of Hannibal’s conquest: “Timed to a nicety, the siege of Saguntum enabled Hannibal to create at Carthage the united front he wanted.  Saguntum was stormed, his personal prestige was established, Carthaginian power vindicated in the eyes of the world, and a vast treasure went to fill his war chest to line the purses of mercenaries and to stampede public opinion at home.” (Baker 77).

The capture of Saguntum was the beginning and the spark that started the Second Punic War but Hannibal’s first real operation against Rome that truly made it an all-out war.  From Spain Hannibal set out with anywhere between 50,000-90,000 infantryman (Miles 235) in a march against Rome.  The only thing that was in the way was the Alps, a huge mountain chain that no major army of Hannibal’s size had crossed before.

The crossing of the Alps would set the tone for the Second Punic War and what a tone it was.  Roman leaders including Scipio didn’t think it was possible for an army to make it across the shorter but higher route through the Alps.  Hannibal knew the journey would be difficult and despite losing 20,000 or more men in the Alps with only 26,000 remaining the men were in good spirits.  This is a testament to Hannibal’s outstanding leadership and his commitment to moral among the troops.  “Despite losing so many men and the remaining being bittered, bearded, and unwashed –But this is the remarkable park – their moral was unimpaired.  Hannibal knew how to maintain it.  His own philosophy of life he never expounded it to the world: but he provided his men with one which impressed them” (Baker 84).

 

Hannibal and His Men Crossing the Alps

Descending the mountain had taken a considerable toll upon the men.  Landslides and hostile tribes including the Allobroges had kept everyone on their toes and forced Hannibal to devote men and resources to fighting them off.  Knowing the strength of his men and the forces he brought with him he looked up Rome with the realistic realization: “The hope of conquering Rome with Hannibal’s available forces would have been a wild one… he never had any such hope…His aim was to disrupt and destroy the political union of Italy.” (Baker 85-86).  It was from here on that Hannibal struck fear in the hearts of the Romans during the Second Punic War.

The journey of the Carthaginians from the end of the first Punic War and near disaster to Hannibal taking their armies across the Alps in an invasion of Rome and the beginning of the Second Punic War is an incredible one.  The upbringing and hatred of Rome by Hannibal and his drive for success made it possible to take a country in near ruin and create one of the most powerful forces of the ancient world is a testament to the man and the country as a whole.  Though eventually it would lead to disaster (for the Carthaginians) the Outbreak of the Second Punic War is a great look into Roman diplomacy towards other powers in the ancient world.  The Romans took whatever they wanted regardless of it meaning war for them or breaking treaties formally made to keep peace.  This was on display in the taking of Sardinia and Corsica and finally on the powder keg that was Saguntum.  The outbreak of the Second Punic War was on the shoulders of the Romans though Hannibal’s outlook of the Romans helped it along.

 

Note: Polybius Citations were taken from: Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Mediterranean Civilization. Author had used citations in his book.


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