Young Scipio Jr now
returned to Rome after successfully defeating and conquering Barcid Spain.
Unsurprisingly he was met with great celebration for his victory. However the
war wasn’t over. Hannibal was still in Italy and Carthage still had forces
within Africa. So Scipio decided that he
was going to lead an invasion into Africa to defeat the Carthaginians on their
own lands. So after a year of training and recruitment, Scipio led his land
invasion of Africa. Surprisingly Scipio’s invasion was unmolested by the
Carthaginian navy.[1]
Scipio also found
an unlikely ally when he landed. The Numidians were made up of several tribes
and one of the tribal leaders, Masinissa, had pledged to join the Romans.
Masinissa saw that the Romans were winning and Scipio supported his claim as a
Numidian king. So those Numidian cavalry
that the Carthaginians used to mop up the Romans? Rome now had those. However the Numidians weren’t united under
Masinissa as another tribal leader, Syphax, was with the Carthaginians. The
Numidian camp was made from flammable material and the Romans sent a force to
burn the Numidian camp. It was very successful and the Numidians were either
burned to death or killed by the raiders.[2] Immediately after that
Scipio did the same thing to the Carthaginian camp and it was pretty much a
repeat of the previous raid. Adding insult to injury, the Roman forces of
Scipio completely routed forces of Syphax and Hasdrubal Gisco in a later battle. The Africa campaign was going very well for
the Romans. 
Numidian Horseman.
The Carthaginian senate was panicking now. Their armies
were destroyed, Syphax was captured, and more Numidians came over to Scipio’s
side. This was basically the equivalent of what happened to the Romans near the
beginning of the war. So they had no choice left, they had to recall Hannibal.[3] It must have be
devastating for Hannibal. He had been fighting in Rome for 10 years now and for
nothing. Hannibal then returns to Africa and during the journey his brother
Mago dies.
So here comes the dramatic conclusion of the war. The
meeting of the two great generals, Scipio and Hannibal. The two met for a peace discussion which the
treaty was not that bad for the Carthaginians. The two had mutual admiration of
each other but the treaty fell through. So the Second Punic War’s final chapter
would end like the first, with bloodshed.[4]
Carthage still believed that Hannibal was invincible so
they were hopeful. The Carthaginians gathered citizens, mercenaries, and most
importantly Hannibal’s veterans of Italy. The Battle of Zama began with 80
elephants charging the Roman lines which the Romans opened their lines to let
them pass. This was effective and the
elephants were killed. The main battle began and at one point it looked like
Hannibal would win the day but then the Roman cavalry defeated his own and
attacked his rear. Ultimately the Romans defeated the Carthaginian army and
with that the war was over. Hannibal had finally lost a battle and also the
war.[5] The Second Punic War ended
much like the first with Rome defeating Carthage after initial successes on
Carthage’s part. So what happened after the war? Find out in the next blog.
Well that would be terrifying to see charge at you.
546 words
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