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Before
the Second Punic War, 241--218 B.C.E.
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| 241-238:
Rome seizes Corsica, Sardinia from Carthage (limited resources, limited
strategic value) |
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| 236: Rome
pacifies Cisalpine Gaul (Gallia Cisalpina) |
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| Architecture:Temple
of Janus in Roman Forum |
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237:
Hamilcar Barca, general at end of 1st Punic War, arrives in Gades (Cadiz)
with 9-year-old Hannibal
Livy 21.1
(L&R 59): "Hannibal's Oath"
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| Geography:
Ebro River |
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| 231:
Massilia (Marseilles) appeals to Rome |
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| 229:
Hasdrubal drowns, succeeded by son-in-law Hasdrubal, founder of Carthago
Nova |
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| 226:
Treaty of Ebro River |
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225-221:
2nd front for Rome: 130,000 infantry vs. 70,000 Gauls
Epic battle at
Telamon (coastal Etruscan city) resulting in Gallic slaughter |
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220:
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Rome conquers Gallia
Cispadana and Gallia Transpadana (Padanus = "region of the Padana
(Po) River")
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Colonies at Placentia,
Cremona (middle Po River valley)
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Gaius Flamininus constructs
Via Flaminia (east coast), Via Aurelia (west coast)
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| 221:
Hasdrubal murdered in 221; succeeded by brother-in-law Hannibal |
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| 221:
Rome interferes in Saguntum, siding vs. Carthage |
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| 219:
Saguntum falls to Carthage after eight-month siege. War looms |
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The
Second Punic War, 218-202 B.C.E.
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Comparison
of Rome and Carthage on Eve of War:
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L&R 60 (Polyb.
Hist.
6.51-52):
Political:
"The multitude
of Carthage had already acquired the chief voice in deliberations; while
at Rome the Senate still retained this; and hence, as in one case the masses
deliberated and in the other the most eminent men, the Roman decisions
on public affairs were superior ...."
Moral:
"Now not only
do Italians in general naturally excel Phoenicians and Africans in bodily
strength and personal courage, but by their institutions also they do much
to foster a spirit of bravery in the young men."
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L&R 61, 62 (Polyb.
Hist.
2.24, 3.33.5-18):
Military:
Carthaginian naval
superiority (57 ships, including 32 manned
quinqueremes)
Roman infantry
superiority (700,000 infantry, 70,000 cavalry
vs. 20-25,000 infantry, boosted by 25,000 in Spain)
Principal players:
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P. Cornelius Scipio
(consul --> Spain) and Ti. Sempronius Longus (consul --> Sicily & Africa),
the Aemilius ("the Aemilii") and Scipio ("the Scipiones") families vs.
the Fabius ("the Fabii") family
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Hannibal Barca (foreign
conquest: pro-war) and Hanno (African expansion: anti-war))
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| March 218:
Rome chooses war. Causes? |
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| Fall 218: Hasdrubal
(brother) remains in Spain, Hannibal crosses the Ebro, the Pyrenees, the
Rhone and Alps (Polyb. Hist. 3.50; Livy a.u.c. 31.30-38)
(formal violation of 226:
Treaty of Ebro River) |
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| 218: Battle
of Ticinus in Gallia Transpadana. Skirmish |
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| 218: Battle
of Trebia River: Roman consul Publius
Cornelius Scipio + 40,000 men vs. Hannibal + 26,000 men. Disastrous
defeat |
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217:
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Battle of Lake Trasimene
in central Etruria:
Roman consul Gaius
Flaminius + 25,000 men vs. Hannibal + 50,000 men (Italian and Gallic recruits).
Disastrous defeat
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Hannibal avoids Rome,
takes Samnium, Campania
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Panicked Senate switches
to the Fabius family ("Fabii") & appoints Quintus Fabius Maximus
Verrucosus as dictator (later known as Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator,
"the Delayer," for dogging Hannibals heels in Campania and Apulia; policy
of attrition)
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216:
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Battle of Cannae:
Roman consules L. Aemilius Paullus, G. Terentius Varro (both inexperienced)
+ 50,000 men vs. Hannibal + 40,000 men. Disastrous
defeat: armies destroyed; one of greatest
military losses in history
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Southern Italian allies
revolt & defect (L&R 64)
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Hannibal seizes all
of s. Italy except colonies, coastal cities
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Capua (industrial:
promised primacy by Hannibal), Syracuse (economic), Philip V of Macedon
(2nd front) ally with Hannibal (L&R 66: Rome allies with Aetolians
vs. Macedon)
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| 213:
Rome amasses army of 125,000 men (25 legions) from the poor and disaffected
(L&R 65), doubles property tax, enlists slaves, strengthens fleet,
borrows from patres |
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| 213-211:
Marcus Claudius Marcellus ("Sword of Rome," consul 222, 215, 214, 210,
208); sacks Syracuse, which becomes tribute-paying ally |
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| 211: Hannibal
takes Greek coastal cities (including Tarentum, Heraclea), threatens Rome
but fails. Capua falls to Rome: slaughter, loss of autonomy |
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| 211: Gnaeus
Cornelius Scipio and Publius Cornelius Scipio cross the Ebro, defeated
& killed by Hasdrubal |
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| 210: P.
Cornelius Scipio the younger (son), 25 years old & ineligible for command,
dispatched by comitia centuriata to Spain as proconsul with
imperium; seizes Nova Carthago (primary base) in 209 |
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| 207:
Hasdrubal (brother of Hannibal) killed in northern Italy |
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| 206:
Scipio conquers Spain |
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| 205: Rome-Macedon
treaty. Scipio consul & plans invasion of north Africa |
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| 204:
Rome defeats Carthage and Numidia; Masinissa as Roman puppet. Carthage
sues for peace; armistice by 203 |
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| 202: Hannibal
returns with army, rallies Carthage. Battle of Zama. Disastrous
defeat |
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Aftermath:
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Peace between Rome
and Carthage (Polyb. Hist. 15.18):
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Carthage surrenders
all territory except city, previous possessions in n. Africa
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Carthage surrenders
elephants, fleet (except 10 ships), flocks, herds, slaves
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Carthage surrenders
prisoners of war
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Carthage fined 10,000
Talents of silver (200 T./year x 50 years)
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Carthage allowed autonomy
but can't wage war without Roman consent
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Carthage supports
Masinissa, feeds Roman troops, hands over 100 hostages
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| Dignitas:
P.
Cornelius Scipio Africanus Triumphator |
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Skidmore
Classics Homepage HI
202 Roman History: October
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