Second Punic War

Timeline

1. -219–-218Saguntum · SpainCarthaginian general Hannibal besieged and captured Saguntum, an ally of Rome, prompting Rome to declare war on Carthage. Hannibal then set out from Spain, planning to strike Italy by land and opening the Second Punic War.
2. -218–-217Italian Peninsula · ItalyHannibal crossed the Alps into Italy, winning successive victories on the Ticinus and at Lake Trasimene, inflicting heavy losses on the Roman legions. Many city-states in southern Italy defected to Carthage, and Rome fell into an unprecedented crisis.
3. -216–-207Cannae · ApuliaHannibal annihilated the main Roman force at Cannae with a double envelopment, one of the worst defeats in Roman history. Thereafter Rome adopted Fabius's delaying strategy; Hannibal campaigned in Italy for years but could not take the city of Rome, and the war fell into stalemate.
4. -204–-201North Africa · TunisiaPublius Cornelius Scipio (Africanus) landed in North Africa after campaigning in Spain and defeated Hannibal at Zama. Carthage sued for peace, abandoning its overseas possessions and paying a far larger indemnity, ending the Second Punic War.