Event Second Punic War

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Was the second of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean. It ended with a Roman victory and the territories of Carthage were reduced to its core territory in modern-day Tunisia.

Chronology

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1. Spanish Front (Second Punic War)

Was the Carthaginian military campaign in the Iberian Peninsula during the Second Punic War.

  • January 218 BC: Hannibal, with the taking of Sagunto and with the subsequent crossing, in arms, of the river Ebro, broke the treaties of 241 BC and 226 BC, creating the conditions for the outbreak of the Second Punic War.
  • January 211 BC: Scipio resumed the Roman offensive in Spain in 212 BC managing to reconquer Sagunto.
  • June 209 BC: Siege of Cartagena.
  • January 217 BC: Hanno was heavily defeated at Cissa, where he suffered heavy losses and was captured.
  • January 211 BC: Scipio resumed the Roman offensive in Spain in 212 BC managing to reconquer Sagunto.
  • June 217 BC: Battle of the Ebro River.
  • April 215 BC: Battle of Dertosa.
  • January 205 BC: Battle of Ilipa.
  • June 218 BC: After crossing the Ebro, in about two months he defeated, however losing as many as 22,000 men in deaths and defections, the populations that stood between the Carthaginian territory and the Pyrenees (including the Volci), where he left a contingent of over 10,000 infantry to protect them and 1,000 cavalry under the command of Hanno.
  • January 216 BC: Expansion of the Roman Republic in the Iberian Peninsula by 215 BC.
  • January 207 BC: Battle of Baecula. Roman victory.
  • January 217 BC: During the Second Punic War, Empúries openly sided with Rome. In 218 BC a Roman army landed in its port and the city became one of the most solid support points of the city in Hispania.
  • January 208 BC: Expansion of the Roman Republic in the Iberian Peninsula by 209 BC.

2. Italian Front (Second Punic War)

Was the Carthaginian military campaign in the Italian Peninsula led by General Hannibal during the Second Punic War.

  • September 216 BC: The Carthaginian army left the area of Cannae after the battle.
  • January 204 BC: Scipio Africanus, a Roman general, successfully recaptured the port of Locri from Hannibal, the Carthaginian military commander, in -205. This victory was a significant blow to Hannibal's forces during the Second Punic War.
  • January 208 BC: The siege of Taranto in 209 BC led to the reconquest of the city, and its port, by the Romans.
  • January 202 BC: After the Roman victories at the Campi Magni, the Carthaginian Senate, seeing that the city was practically defenseless, ordered the remnants of the two armies operating outside Africa, that of Hannibal and that of Mago, to return to defend their homeland. The two generals thus left the territories occupied in Liguria and Calabria.
  • January 209 BC: Magone landed and conquered Genoa.
  • August 216 BC: In the Battle of Cannae on August 2, 216 BCE, Hannibal Barca’s Carthaginians destroyed two Roman armies in perhaps the most famous double envelopment in history.
  • December 218 BC: Battle of the Ticino.
  • January 202 BC: After the Roman victories at the Campi Magni, the Carthaginian Senate, seeing that the city was practically defenseless, ordered the remnants of the two armies operating outside Africa, that of Hannibal and that of Mago, to return to defend their homeland. The two generals thus left the territories occupied in Liguria and Calabria.
  • September 216 BC: Hannibal lost between 3,000 and 6,000 men at Canne but achieved, after the crushing victory, the first important political-strategic results. Some centers began to abandon the Romans. Hannibal sent his brother Magone south to Bruttium with part of his forces, while he and the bulk of the army headed to Campania where he managed to obtain the defection of Capua after a series of negotiations.
  • January 217 BC: Siege of Modena.
  • January 217 BC: The Romans dedicated themselves to the fortification of the cities of Cisalpine Gaul and ordered the colonists, 6,000 for each new city to be founded, to be in the established place within thirty days. The first of the colonies was founded on the Po river and was called Placentia, the other was located north of the river and called Cremona.
  • January 217 BC: The Romans dedicated themselves to the fortification of the cities of Cisalpine Gaul and ordered the colonists, 6,000 for each new city to be founded, to be in the established place within thirty days. The first of the colonies was founded on the Po river and was called Placentia, the other was located north of the river and called Cremona.
  • September 216 BC: In -216, after the Battle of Cannae, Hannibal sent his lieutenant Annone to Bruzio in Calabria to secure the territory for Carthage. The Bruttians, a local tribe, supported the Carthaginians in their uprising against Roman control.
  • June 217 BC: Battle of Lake Trasimeno. Victory of Carthage.
  • February 217 BC: Battle of Piacenza.
  • January 202 BC: After the Roman victories at the Campi Magni, the Carthaginian Senate, seeing that the city was practically defenseless, ordered the remnants of the two armies operating outside Africa, that of Hannibal and that of Mago, to return to defend their homeland. The two generals thus left the territories occupied in Liguria and Calabria.
  • April 212 BC: Battle of Tarentum. Carthaginian General Hannibal conquers Tarentum.
  • January 202 BC: After the Roman victories at the Campi Magni, the Carthaginian Senate, seeing that the city was practically defenseless, ordered the remnants of the two armies operating outside Africa, that of Hannibal and that of Mago, to return to defend their homeland. The two generals thus left the territories occupied in Liguria and Calabria.
  • January 202 BC: After the Roman victories at the Campi Magni, the Carthaginian Senate, seeing that the city was practically defenseless, ordered the remnants of the two armies operating outside Africa, that of Hannibal and that of Mago, to return to defend their homeland. The two generals thus left the territories occupied in Liguria and Calabria.
  • April 212 BC: Battle of Tarentum. Carthaginian General Hannibal conquers Tarentum.
  • January 209 BC: Siege of Agrigento.
  • January 202 BC: After the Roman victories at the Campi Magni, the Carthaginian Senate, seeing that the city was practically defenseless, ordered the remnants of the two armies operating outside Africa, that of Hannibal and that of Mago, to return to defend their homeland. The two generals thus left the territories occupied in Liguria and Calabria.
  • April 215 BC: During the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian general Hannibal besieged and captured the important center of Casilinum in -215. This victory was part of Hannibal's campaign to conquer Roman territory in Italy.
  • July 217 BC: Battle of Lake Trasimeno.
  • January 202 BC: After the Roman victories at the Campi Magni, the Carthaginian Senate, seeing that the city was practically defenseless, ordered the remnants of the two armies operating outside Africa, that of Hannibal and that of Mago, to return to defend their homeland. The two generals thus left the territories occupied in Liguria and Calabria.
  • June 217 BC: In -217, Hannibal, a Carthaginian military commander, continued his march through Italy and reached the territories of Luceria and Argos Hippium. These areas were plundered by his soldiers as part of his campaign during the Second Punic War against Rome.
  • August 216 BC: In the Battle of Cannae on August 2, 216 BCE, Hannibal Barca’s Carthaginians destroyed two Roman armies in perhaps the most famous double envelopment in history.
  • November 216 BC: Siege of Nuceria Alfaterna.
  • July 217 BC: In -217, Hannibal, a Carthaginian military commander, led his troops to plunder the territories of Luceria and Argos Hippium in Apulia. This marked a significant advance in his campaign against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.
  • January 201 BC: During the Second Punic War, Ankon sided with the Romans against the Carthaginians, sending numerous soldiers.
  • January 217 BC: In the year 217 BC the new consuls, Gneo Servilio Gemino and Gaio Flaminio with the four consular legions and allies, around 50,000 men in all, marched towards Rome. The remains of the two legions of Sempronio Longo, strengthened by new elements and by allies of Syracuse, stopped to garrison Etruria under the leadership of Flaminio and two other legions under the command of Servilius Gemino stood at Rimini, the northern border of the peninsula. Rome was abandoning Cisalpine Gaul where it had just begun to enter.
  • September 216 BC: The Piganiol in fact writes that Hannibal, after having obtained the alliance of Daunia, excluding Lucera, and of the Samnites of the most impervious regions, also secured that of Capua, to which the Carthaginian promised the autonomy of the city and to place it at the head of the Italian confederation, replacing it in Rome.
  • June 207 BC: The battle of the Metauro ended with the complete victory of Rome; the Carthaginian army was destroyed and Hasdrubal fell fighting in the field. Hannibal learned of his brother's tragic fate only when Hasdrubal's head was thrown into his camp by the Romans. He decided to abandon Apulia and Lucania again and return to Bruzio. The battle confirmed Roman supremacy over Italy. Without Hasdrubal's army to support him, Hannibal was forced to evacuate pro-Carthaginian cities across much of southern Italy and retreat to Bruttium.
  • May 215 BC: During the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian general Hannibal besieged Casilinum, a strategic center in Italy. The Roman Republic eventually lost control of the territory to Hannibal after a prolonged siege lasting from late 216 to early 215 BC.
  • January 215 BC: Battle of the Selva Litana.
  • January 202 BC: After the Roman victories at the Campi Magni, the Carthaginian Senate, seeing that the city was practically defenseless, ordered the remnants of the two armies operating outside Africa, that of Hannibal and that of Mago, to return to defend their homeland. The two generals thus left the territories occupied in Liguria and Calabria.
  • March 217 BC: Battle of Piacenza.
  • December 218 BC: Battle of Trebbia.
  • January 217 BC: Battle of Trebbia.
  • January 216 BC: Returning to Italy, Servilius contented himself with reoccupying Pantelleria which had fallen into Carthaginian hands.
  • September 216 BC: In -216, after the Battle of Cannae, Hannibal sent his lieutenant Annone to Bruzio in Calabria to secure the territory for Carthage. The Bruttians, a local tribe, supported the Carthaginians in their uprising against Roman control.
  • December 212 BC: The support of Syracuse for Carthage provokes the Roman siege of the city. Rome conquers Syracuse and its territories.
  • January 217 BC: The first military action consisted in conquering the Punic stronghold of Melita, which immediately surrendered without a fight.
  • January 208 BC: The siege of Taranto in 209 BC led to the reconquest of the city, and its port, by the Romans.
  • January 204 BC: Scipio Africanus, a Roman general, successfully recaptured the port of Locri from Hannibal, the Carthaginian military commander, in -205. This victory was a significant blow to Hannibal's forces during the Second Punic War.
  • September 216 BC: Hannibal lost between 3,000 and 6,000 men at Canne but achieved, after the crushing victory, the first important political-strategic results. Some centers began to abandon the Romans. Hannibal sent his brother Magone south to Bruttium with part of his forces, while he and the bulk of the army headed to Campania where he managed to obtain the defection of Capua after a series of negotiations.
  • January 211 BC: The first battle of Herdonia was fought in 212 BC, during the Second Punic War, between the Carthaginian army of Hannibal and the Roman army. The Carthaginians defeated the Romans and occupid Apulia.
  • November 218 BC: Battle of the Ticino.
  • January 202 BC: After the Roman victories at the Campi Magni, the Carthaginian Senate, seeing that the city was practically defenseless, ordered the remnants of the two armies operating outside Africa, that of Hannibal and that of Mago, to return to defend their homeland. The two generals thus left the territories occupied in Liguria and Calabria.
  • December 217 BC: The Carthaginians eventually settled in the territory of Geronio where an entrenched camp was built.
  • January 217 BC: Hannibal's diplomacy in Cisalpine Gaul pushed the Gauls Boi and Insubri to revolt. These drove the settlers from Piacenza.
  • September 216 BC: In -216, after the Battle of Cannae, Hannibal sent his lieutenant Annone to Bruzio in Calabria to secure the territory for Carthage. The Bruttians, a local tribe, supported the Carthaginians in their uprising against Roman control.
  • January 202 BC: After the Roman victories at the Campi Magni, the Carthaginian Senate, seeing that the city was practically defenseless, ordered the remnants of the two armies operating outside Africa, that of Hannibal and that of Mago, to return to defend their homeland. The two generals thus left the territories occupied in Liguria and Calabria.
  • September 216 BC: The Carthaginian army left the area of Cannae after the battle.

3. African front (Second Punic War)

Was the African theatre of the Second Punic War that included the Roman invasion of Tunisia led by General Scipio Africanus.

  • June 204 BC: Scipio left Sicily to ferry his forces to Africa. Rough seas and fog forced his fleet to land near Utica.
  • January 203 BC: In -204, the Roman general Scipio Africanus conquered the city of Selica, located in modern-day Tunisia. This victory was a significant part of the Roman Republic's campaign against Carthage during the Second Punic War.
  • January 202 BC: Battle of the Campi Magni.
  • January 201 BC: The Romans and their Mauretanian allies arrive at Naraggara (Sidi Youssef).
  • October 202 BC: The battle of Zama took place between the Roman Republic, led by Scipio Africanus, and Carthage, led by Hannibal Barca. The defeat of Carthage marked the end of the Second Punic War and solidified Roman dominance in the Mediterranean.
  • January 201 BC: The Romans and their Mauretanian allies arrive at Naraggara (Sidi Youssef).
  • October 202 BC: The battle of Zama was the last battle of the Second Punic War and determined the definitive downsizing of Carthage as a military and political power in the Mediterranean Sea.
  • January 203 BC: In -204, the Roman general Scipio Africanus conquered the city of Selica, located in modern-day Tunisia. This victory was a significant part of the Roman Republic's campaign against Carthage during the Second Punic War.
  • January 202 BC: Battle of the Campi Magni.

4. End of the Second Punic War

Was the peace treaty between Rome and Carthage after the Second Punic War that reduced the Carthaginian territory to Tunisia.

  • February 201 BC: At the conclusion of the Second Punic War, Carthage was compelled to accept peace terms that marked the end of its status as a Mediterranean power. Carthage was prohibited from taking up arms without Rome's permission and had to evacuate territories west of the "Punic trenches," which separated Carthaginian lands from Numidian ones. This evacuation favored Massinissa, who seized the opportunity to annex large parts of Carthaginian territory. Additionally, Carthage lost all its territories in the Iberian Peninsula.
  • February 201 BC: At the conclusion of the Second Punic War, Carthage was compelled to accept peace terms that marked the end of its status as a Mediterranean power. Carthage was prohibited from taking up arms without Rome's permission and had to evacuate territories west of the "Punic trenches," which separated Carthaginian lands from Numidian ones. This evacuation favored Massinissa, who seized the opportunity to annex large parts of Carthaginian territory. Additionally, Carthage lost all its territories in the Iberian Peninsula.
  • February 201 BC: At the conclusion of the Second Punic War, Carthage was compelled to accept peace terms that marked the end of its status as a Mediterranean power. Carthage was prohibited from taking up arms without Rome's permission and had to evacuate territories west of the "Punic trenches," which separated Carthaginian lands from Numidian ones. This evacuation favored Massinissa, who seized the opportunity to annex large parts of Carthaginian territory. Additionally, Carthage lost all its territories in the Iberian Peninsula.
  • January 200 BC: At the end of the Second Punic War, the Romans granted control of Numidia to Masinissa, the king of the Massylii tribe. This decision solidified Masinissa's power in the region and marked the beginning of the Kingdom of Numidia under his rule.
  • January 200 BC: At the end of the Second Punic War, the Romans granted control of Numidia to Masinissa, the king of the Massylii tribe. This decision solidified Masinissa's power in the region and marked the beginning of the Kingdom of Numidia under his rule.
  • February 201 BC: At the conclusion of the Second Punic War, Carthage was compelled to accept peace terms that marked the end of its status as a Mediterranean power. Carthage was prohibited from taking up arms without Rome's permission and had to evacuate territories west of the "Punic trenches," which separated Carthaginian lands from Numidian ones. This evacuation favored Massinissa, who seized the opportunity to annex large parts of Carthaginian territory. Additionally, Carthage lost all its territories in the Iberian Peninsula.
  • February 201 BC: At the conclusion of the Second Punic War, Carthage was compelled to accept peace terms that marked the end of its status as a Mediterranean power. Carthage was prohibited from taking up arms without Rome's permission and had to evacuate territories west of the "Punic trenches," which separated Carthaginian lands from Numidian ones. This evacuation favored Massinissa, who seized the opportunity to annex large parts of Carthaginian territory. Additionally, Carthage lost all its territories in the Iberian Peninsula.
  • February 201 BC: At the conclusion of the Second Punic War, Carthage was compelled to accept peace terms that marked the end of its status as a Mediterranean power. Carthage was prohibited from taking up arms without Rome's permission and had to evacuate territories west of the "Punic trenches," which separated Carthaginian lands from Numidian ones. This evacuation favored Massinissa, who seized the opportunity to annex large parts of Carthaginian territory. Additionally, Carthage lost all its territories in the Iberian Peninsula.

Selected Sources

  • Eutropio, Breviarium ab Urbe condita, III, 8-9
  • Appiano, Guerra annibalica, VII, 1, 3
  • Conquista Hispania. Wikipedia. Retrieved on 7 April 2024 on https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Conquista_Hispania.svg
  • Eutropio, Breviarium ab Urbe condita, III, 13-14
  • Eutropio, Breviarium ab Urbe condita, III, 14
  • Eutropio, Breviarium ab Urbe condita, III, 14, 16
  • Eutropio, Breviarium ab Urbe condita, III, 15 - 18
  • Eutropio, Breviarium ab Urbe condita, III, 18
  • Eutropio, Breviarium ab Urbe condita, III, 7
  • Livio, Ab Urbe condita libri, XXVI, 47
  • Polibio, III, 74, 79
  • Polibio, III, 9-33
  • Strabone, Geografia, V, 2,9
  • Tucker, S.C. (2011) Battles that changed History - An Encyclopedia of World Conflict, ABC-CLIO, p.49
  • Tucker, S.C. (2011) Battles that changed History - An Encyclopedia of World Conflict, ABC-CLIO, p.52
  • Tucker, S.C. (2011) Battles that changed History - An Encyclopedia of World Conflict, ABC-CLIO, p.55
  • Tucker, S.C. (2011) Battles that changed History - An Encyclopedia of World Conflict, ABC-CLIO, p.58