The capture of New Carthage: 209 B. C. Seeing that the armies of his opponents were divided and engaged in reconquering the Spanish tribes, Scipio resumed the offensive, crossed the Ebro, and by a daring stroke seized the chief Carthaginian base—New Carthage. Here he found vast stores of supplies and, more important still, the hostages from the Spanish peoples subject to Carthage. His liberation of these, and his generous treatment of the Spaniards in general was in such striking contrast with the oppressive measures of the Carthaginians, that he rapidly won over to his support both the enemies and the adherents of the former.
Hasdrubal’s march to Italy: 208 B. C. Meanwhile in Italy the Romans proceeded steadily with the reduction of the strongholds in the hands of Hannibal. Tarentum was recovered in 210, and although Hannibal defeated and slew the consuls Gnaeus Fulvius (210) and Marcus Marcellus (208), his forces were so diminished that his maintaining himself in Italy depended upon the arrival of strong reinforcements. Since his arrival he had received but insignificant additions to his army from Carthage, whose energies had been directed to the other theatres of war. Up to this time also the Roman activities in Spain had prevented any Carthaginian troops leaving that country. But after the fall of New Carthage and the subsequent successes of Scipio, Hasdrubal, despairing of the situation there, determined to march to the support of his brother by the same route which the latter had taken. Scipio endeavored to bar his path, but although Hasdrubal was defeated in battle he and 10,000 of his men cut their way through the Romans and crossed the Pyrenees (208 B. C.).
The Metaurus: 207 B. C. The next spring he arrived among the Gauls to the south of the Alps. Reinforced by them he marched into the peninsula to join forces with Hannibal. For the Romans it was of supreme importance to prevent this. They therefore divided their forces; the consul Gaius Claudius faced Hannibal in Apulia, while Marcus Livius went to intercept Hasdrubal. Through the capture of messengers sent by the latter Claudius learned of his position and, leaving part of his army to detain Hannibal, he withdrew the rest without his enemy’s knowledge and joined his colleague Livius. Together they attacked Hasdrubal at the Metaurus; his army was cut to pieces and he himself was slain. With the battle the doom of Hannibal’s plans was sealed, and with them the doom of Carthage. Hannibal himself recognized that all was lost and withdrew into the mountains of Bruttium.
The conquest of Carthaginian Spain, and peace with Philip. For the first time in the war the Romans could breathe freely and look forward with confidence to the issue. In the two years (207–206 B. C.) following the departure of Hasdrubal Scipio completed the conquest of what remained to Carthage in Spain. In 205 he returned to Rome to enter upon the consulship, and thereupon went to Sicily to make preparations for the invasion of Africa, since the Romans were now able to carry out their plan of 218 B. C. which Hannibal had then interrupted. At this moment, too, the Romans found themselves free from any embarrassment from the side of Macedonia. In Greece the war had dragged on without any decided advantage for either side until 207, when the temporary withdrawal of the Roman fleet enabled Philip and the Achaean Confederacy to win such successes that their opponents listened to the intervention of the neutral states and made peace (206 B. C.). In the next year the Romans also came to terms with Philip.
The invasion of Africa: 204 B. C. In 204 B. C. Scipio transported his army to Africa. At first, however, he was able to do nothing before the combined forces of the Carthaginians and the Numidian chief, Syphax, who had renewed his alliance with them. But in the following year he routed both armies so decisively that he was able to capture and depose Syphax, and to set up in his place a rival chieftain, Masinissa, whose adherence to the Romans brought them a welcome superiority in cavalry. The Carthaginians now sought to make peace. An armistice was granted them; Hannibal [pg 86]and all Carthaginian forces were recalled from Italy, and the preliminary terms of peace drawn up (203 B. C.). Hannibal left Italy with the remnant of his veterans after a campaign which had established his reputation as one of the world’s greatest masters of the art of war. For nearly fifteen years he had maintained himself in the enemy’s country with greatly inferior forces, and now after inflicting many severe defeats and never losing a battle he was forced to withdraw because of lack of resources, not because of the superior generalship of his foes. Before leaving Italian soil he set up a record of his exploits in the temple of Hera Lacinia in Bruttium.
Zama: 202 B. C. An almost incredible feeling of over-confidence seems to have been aroused in Carthage by the arrival of Hannibal. The Carthaginians broke the armistice by attacking some Roman transports and refused to meet Scipio’s demand for an explanation. Hostilities were therefore resumed. At Zama the two greatest generals the war had developed met in its final battle. Hannibal’s tactics were worthy of his reputation but his army was crushed by the flight of the Carthaginian mercenaries at a critical moment, and by the Roman superiority in cavalry[8].
Peace: 201 B. C. For Carthage all hope of resistance was over and she had to accept the Roman terms. These were: the surrender of all territory except the city of Carthage and the surrounding country in Africa, an indemnity of 10,000 talents ($12,000,000), the surrender of all vessels of war except ten triremes, and of all war elephants, and the obligation to refrain from carrying on war outside of Africa, or even in Africa unless with Rome’s consent. The Numidians were united in a strong state on the Carthaginian borders, under the Roman ally Masinissa. Scipio returned to Rome to triumph “over the Carthaginians and Hannibal,” and to receive, from the scene of his victory, the name of Africanus.
V. The Effect of the Second Punic War upon Italy
The destruction of the Carthaginian empire left Rome mistress of the western Mediterranean and by far the greatest power of the time. But this victory had only been attained after a tremendous struggle, the greatest probably that the ancient world ever witnessed, a struggle [pg 87]which called forth in Rome the patriotic virtues of courage, devotion, and self-sacrifice to a degree that aroused the admiration of subsequent generations, which drained her resources of men and treasure and which left ineffaceable scars upon the soil of Italy.