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The Second Punic War (218–201 BCE) was the decisive conflict between the Roman Republic and Carthage for dominance in the western Mediterranean. It grew out of Carthage’s recovery after the First Punic War (264–241 BCE), especially the Barcid expansion in Iberia under Hamilcar Barca, Hasdrubal the Fair, and Hannibal. The immediate crisis came after Hannibal’s siege of Saguntum (219 BCE), a Roman ally south of the Ebro Agreement line (226 BCE), followed by his crossing of the Ebro and march through Gaul and the Alps into Italy in 218 BCE.
The war was fought across several connected theatres: Iberia, Italy, Sicily, North Africa, the Adriatic, and the Greek world after Philip V of Macedon (reign 221–179 BCE) allied with Hannibal. Hannibal’s victories at Trebia (218 BCE), Lake Trasimene (217 BCE), and Cannae (216 BCE) brought Rome close to collapse, but the republic preserved its core alliance system, avoided another decisive defeat, and gradually retook lost ground. The Roman counteroffensive under Publius Cornelius Scipio, later Scipio Africanus, broke Carthaginian power in Iberia (210–206 BCE), carried the war to Africa (204 BCE), and defeated Hannibal at Zama (202 BCE). The peace of 201 BCE ended Carthage’s status as a great imperial power and established Rome as the dominant force in the western Mediterranean.
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Related Images
Map of the Mediterranean 218 BCE
Campaigns of the Second Punic War
Territories During the Second Punic War
Carthage during the Punic Wars
Map of the Peloponnesian Wars (431-404 BCE)
Map of the Greek City-states c. 500 BCE
Cite This Work
APA Style
Netchev, S. (2026, June 13). Map of the Second Punic War (218 - 201 BCE): Hannibal, Scipio, Rome, and the fall of Carthaginian power. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15973/map-of-the-second-punic-war-218---201-bce/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the Second Punic War (218 - 201 BCE): Hannibal, Scipio, Rome, and the fall of Carthaginian power." World History Encyclopedia, June 13, 2026. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15973/map-of-the-second-punic-war-218---201-bce/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the Second Punic War (218 - 201 BCE): Hannibal, Scipio, Rome, and the fall of Carthaginian power." World History Encyclopedia, 13 Jun 2026, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15973/map-of-the-second-punic-war-218---201-bce/.
