Claim: The Second Punic War ended before 1 BC.

The Second Punic War , also referred to as The Hannibalic War and -LRB- by the Romans -RRB- the War Against Hannibal , lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean . This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic and its allied Italic socii , with the crucial participation of Numidian-Berber armies and tribes on both sides . The two states fought three major wars with each other over the course of their existence . They are called the `` Punic Wars '' because Rome 's name for Carthaginians was Poeni , derived from Poenici -LRB- earlier form of Punici -RRB- , a reference to the founding of Carthage by Phoenician settlers .   The war was to a considerable extent initiated by Carthage at Saguntum in Spain and is marked by Hannibal 's surprising overland journey and his costly crossing of the Alps , followed by his reinforcement by Gallic allies and crushing victories over Roman armies in the Battle of the Trebia and the ambush at Trasimene . In the following year -LRB- 216 -RRB- , Hannibal 's army defeated the Romans again , this time in southern Italy at Cannae . In consequence of these defeats , many Roman allies went over to Carthage , prolonging the war in Italy for over a decade . Against Hannibal 's skill on the battlefield , the Romans deployed the Fabian strategy . Roman forces were more capable in siege warfare than the Carthaginians and recaptured all of the major cities that had joined the enemy , as well as defeating a Carthaginian attempt to reinforce Hannibal at the Battle of the Metaurus . In the meantime , in Iberia , which served as the main source of manpower for the Carthaginian army , a second Roman expedition under Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major took Carthago Nova by assault and ended Carthaginian rule over Iberia in the Battle of Ilipa . The final engagement was the Battle of Zama in Africa between Scipio Africanus and Hannibal , resulting in the latter 's defeat and the imposition of harsh peace conditions on Carthage -LRB- Carthaginian peace -RRB- , which ceased to be a major power and became a Roman client-state .   A sideshow of this war was the indecisive First Macedonian War in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Ionian Sea .   All battles mentioned in the introduction are ranked among the most costly traditional battles of human history ; in addition , there were a few successful ambushes of armies that also ended in their annihilation .