After the First Punic War, Hamilcar Barca and Hasdrubal expanded Carthaginian power in Iberia. Their aims were to exploit mineral resources and mobilize Spanish manpower for a renewed contest with Rome. Hannibal succeeded Hasdrubal in command in 221 BCE, and by 220 BCE Roman concern over Carthaginian recovery had intensified. Hannibal and his government rejected Roman pressure and judged that war could no longer be avoided.

In 218 BCE Hannibal crossed the Ebro and continued toward the Alps and Italy. The strategy sought to defeat Rome in Italy itself and to prevent a Roman invasion of Africa, especially because Rome now controlled the sea. Hannibal assembled a powerful force composed largely of Spaniards, with Gallic and African contingents, and won major victories at Lake Trasimene in 217 BCE and Cannae in 216 BCE.

Despite these successes, Hannibal could not break the resolve of the Roman Senate and people or the loyalty of Rome’s Italian alliance. Fabius Maximus pursued a defensive strategy that denied Hannibal repeated opportunities for decisive battle, while Rome’s manpower reserves remained greater than Carthage’s. Scipio Africanus conquered Spain for Rome in 206 BCE, then prepared the invasion of Africa that forced Hannibal’s recall from Italy.

The final battle was fought at Zama in 202 BCE. Masinissa, who had aligned himself with Rome and had displaced Syphax from his territory, contributed 4,000 cavalry to the Roman victory. Carthage surrendered its fleet, accepted restricted African boundaries, and was forbidden to wage war without Roman permission, leaving Rome dominant in the western Mediterranean.