Hannibal's crossing of the Alps
218 BC Carthaginian attack against the Roman Republic through the Alps / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hannibal's crossing of the Alps in 218 BC was one of the major events of the Second Punic War, and one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare.[2]
Hannibal's crossing of the Alps | |||||||
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Part of the Second Punic War | |||||||
Hannibal's route to Italy | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Carthage | Roman Republic | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Hannibal Hasdrubal Mago Hasdrubal Gisco Syphax Hanno Hasdrubal the Bald Hampsicora Maharbal |
Publius Cornelius Scipio Tiberius S. Longus | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
94,000+ (Polybius) 36,000 (Delbrück)[1] | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
68,000+ (Polybius) 2,000 (Delbrück) | Unknown |
Hannibal led his Carthaginian army over the Alps and into Italy to take the war directly to the Roman Republic, bypassing Roman and allied land garrisons, and Roman naval dominance.
The two primary sources for the event are Polybius and Livy, who were born c.20 years and c.160 years after the event, respectively.[3] The Alps were not well-documented at the time, and no archaeological evidence is available, so all modern theories depend on interpreting the three place names used by Polybius (Island, Skaras, and Allobroges) and Livy's wider range of tribe and place names, and comparing them with modern geographical knowledge.[3]