The causes of the second Punic war have been an issue of great debate. The ancient Historians-Polybius and Livy-, provides the most insightful account of the reasons most likely to have been behind the war. The three major Punic wars, took place for about a century, pitting Carthage against Rome. This period of hostility between the two empires, begun in 264 B.C. and then came to a conclusion with the destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C, During the second Punic war, there was an invasion of Italy by the great Carthaginian general Hannibal. This led to, more or less, insignificant victories notably at Lake Cannae and also at Trasimene, before eventual defeat by Rome’s Scipio Africanus, who leaves Rome for successful conquest of the western Mediterranean and Spain in 202B.C. The cause of the second Punic war is inherent in the outcomes waging the war. This essay will focus on specifically addressing the causes and origins of the second Punic war as presented by two of the greatest ancient historians; Polybius and Livy.
Polybius believed there to be three major causes of the second Punic war, all of which he derives directly from the history of the period immediately preceding this particular war. First, Polybius fronts an argument that, the forces of Hamilcar Barca did not witness the defeat in Sicily over the first Punic War and could therefore, not possibly have had any discouragement-rooted in History-for their belligerence. He closely relates what he considers to have been the second cause of war, to the seizure of Sardinia by the Romans in 238 B.C. This deprives Carthage of its main source of income which at that point would have helped finance massive reparations, thus creating a necessity for war in the name of reclamation to be waged. These factors have a great impact on Hamilcar Barca’s mindset, and leading him to administer an oath of eternal enmity with the Romans, on even his son Hannibal. Polybius further believes that the short-sightedness shown by the Romans when it came to dealing with the expansion of Carthage in Spain was another major cause of this war. To deal with potential threat of attack from Celt tribes, Rome seeks an agreement for military alliance with Hasdrubal. The treaty that’s signed, even though it was specifically aimed at protecting Rome from potential attack by Carthage, gives the Carthaginians leeway to conquer Spain with little repercussion. Following this, Carthage makes full use of the mineral resources and highly productive agricultural land, now available to them, to strengthen its position. Livy contends that the oath administered to Hannibal bound him to show proof, soon as he came of age, of his hatred towards the entire Roman population. This in his opinion was the greatest factor contributing to the war.
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The other cause of the war relates to the involvement of the Romans in Saguntum affairs. The Saguntum civil contention forced the involvement of Rome in the affairs of Saguntum with the aim of mediating both sides. Polybius states that the Roman had executed what many believed to be a pro-Carthaginian move, even though it specifically was for the benefit only of pro-Roman factions. Therefore, based on this, it can be said that the Roman intrusion in the south of the Ebro and consequent interference with local affairs, ought to be considered the main point of contention, especially in relation to the Carthaginians. Polybius further states that Saguntum’s appeal for help with dealing with internal civil strife from Rome, with whom it enjoyed warm ties, had the unintended consequence of diplomatic tensions with Carthage.
Livy on his part, places a great deal of the blame on Hannibal as the major cause of the second pubic war. According to Livy, immediately after the fall of Saguntum, Hannibal collects several dispatches, which clearly indicates his intention to go to a war which he should therefore bear the greatest culpability for. Further, Livy blames Hannibal where he quotes him saying, “It was I who first began this war against the Roman people”. Livy firmly holds that, the cause of the second Punic war emerged from Hannibal's inherited hatred of Rome.
Further, the second Punic war was an end result of the involvement of the Romans in Saguntum. Feeling encouraged by availability of great support from Rome, Saguntum started to attack neighboring tribes. There was very little retaliation for this attacks, and Hannibal took it upon himself to discipline Saguntum by way of military action. This action was aimed at cementing the regional dominance of Carthage and further to discourage potential conflicts with any tribes in Spain. It is thus clear that Hannibal placed himself under avoidable pressure to besiege Saguntum and in so doing, stamp the authority of Carthage in the regions around Spain.
The other cause of the second Punic war as per Livy’s views has positive correlation to Hannibal’s reasons for the conflict. For instance, Livy states that immediately after the war of Cannae, Hannibal sent Mago, his brother, to Carthage to inform Carthagians that he had taken great victory and further, that he needed more reinforcements to accomplish his other plans. Hannibal intensifies his expansionist plans relative to those ones of most of his predecessors, hence sees a victory against the Carpetani, and this was argued to have a significant impact: first, based on the views of Polybius, the success of Hannibal in Spain highly compelled him to intensify conflict with Saguntum and Rome. Secondly, Saguntum was not under Carthage control, and Hannibal saw this as a potential area to complete the Carthage expansionist plans. Therefore, Livy believes the seizure of Saguntum by the Carthaginians as the main cause of the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome while on the other hand, Polybius views this as the origin of this war rather than the major underlying cause of the war.
In conclusion, it is evident that there were several major causes of second Punic War as outlined in the essay and all of which are highly sustainable. Polybius and Livy have been critical on potential causes that could have led to the emergence of second Punic war and most of the causes are closely associated with the first Punic war. However, there has been the objection that has been raised where these causes are considered to be too pro-Roman. On the other hand, the revenge factor is believed to reflect on the Romans poorly. Based on this analysis, it is evident that the second Punic war was highly unavoidable. More specifically, the actions of Saguntum were highly considered to be a cause of war hence a catalyst for war. Both Polybius and Livy came to an agreement on the possible causes including the Barcids’ wrath, revenge for the loss of Sardinia and Corsica, and the Carthaginians’ success in Spain.
Bibliography
Livy's History Of Rome Mcadams.Posc.Mu.Edu .1996. Retrieved from: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah../Livy/Livy21.html.
Polybius the Histories. Penelope.Uchicago.Edu . 1927. Retrieved from: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/3*.html.
