Second Punic War: Encyclopedia II - Second Punic War - Results

Second Punic War - Results

Hispania was lost to Carthage forever, and she was reduced to a client state. A war indemnity of 10,000 talents was imposed, her navy was limited to 10 ships to ward off pirates, and she was forbidden from raising an army without Rome's permission. Numidia took the opportunity to capture and plunder Carthaginian territory. Half a century later, when Carthage raised an army to defend itself from these incursions, it was destroyed by Rome in the Third Punic War. Rome on the other hand, by her victory, had taken a key step towards domination of West Eurasia.

Hannibal survived the battle of Zama and continued to enjoy a leadership role in Carthage even after the end of the war. In 195 BC, after he was denounced to the Romans for plotting an attack with the help of the Seleucid king, Antiochus III, Hannibal fled to Antiochus's court in Syria. When Scipio was sent to meet with Antiochus in Ephesus, he talked to Hannibal, asking him to name the greatest general of all time. Hannibal said, "Alexander the Great". Scipio then asked him who was the second. "Pyrrhus of Epirus", said Hannibal. Perhaps annoyed that Hannibal had not mentioned Scipio's name yet, Scipio pressed on and asked Hannibal who was the third. Hannibal said, "Myself". Scipio finally asked what would have happened if Hannibal had beaten him at the battle of Zama, and Hannibal said, "Then I would be the greatest general of all time". Rome feared Hannibal until the day he died, and even long after. Mothers would tell their children, "Hannibal ad portas", meaning "Hannibal to the gates [of Rome]" in order to scare them into being good. However, together with Philip of Macedon's attack on Italia, Hannibal's presence in the East contributed to Roman suspicion of the Hellenistic kingdoms.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Results", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki