The Second Punic War

Image from OverSimplified's Instagram

**The Second Punic War** is an episode on the OverSimplified channel. Its existence was teased at the end of the First Punic Wars and was confirmed on January 19, 2024, by this YouTube video. Part 1 and part 2 have been released, and Part 3 will come later.

## Summary

### Part 1

This series is a direct continuation of The First Punic War. After Carthage's defeat, a mercenary reveals that he is unable to pay his army due to being in debt to Rome. The soldiers revolted, resulting in the Mercenary War (241 - 238 BC). Meanwhile, Rome took advantage of a collapsing Carthage. Sardinia asked Rome for help, which invaded the island. Carthage immediately surrendered and lost Sardinia and Corsica to Rome. The Carthaginians were humiliated for a second time, and even Rome could not justify this land grab. Finally, Rome added onto Carthage's debt, spicing up their resentment for Rome.

A hero from the First Punic Wars—Hamilcar Barca—helped ended the Mercenary War. He came up with a plan to pay off Carthage's debt: raid the Iberian peninsula's silver mines. While other people back, Hamilcar ominously "reassured" them that he just wanted to pay Rome's debt. Hamilcar was filled with vengeance and was fed up with Carthage's politicians. He took his 9-year-old son, Hannibal, with him on his journey to Iberia.

Along the way, Hamilcar taught his son to hate everything Roman and spread vengeance to him. At the temple of Baal, Hannibal swore to oath to never ally with Rome. Once in Iberia, the pair expanded their empire, ran silver mines, and sent the money to Carthage and Rome. Hannibal learned how to fight in a war; his father was proud of him. They even founded a new city: New Carthage. Hamilcar revealed to his son that he was actually planning on getting revenge on Rome but didn't want them to know.

Rome was surprised that Carthage was able to pay off its debt relatively quickly. Since Rome was busy with other wars, it signed a treaty with Carthage to keep it in check: territories north of the Ebro River would be under Roman influence, while everything south of it would be under Carthaginian influence. There was one exception: The city-state of \_\_\_ was to remain independent, despite being south of the river. Rome supported its independence, likely to anger Carthage.

In 228 BC, Hamilcar was killed in an ambush in a river.

### Part 3

Part 3 has not been released yet. Though Part 2 mentioned Scipio Africanus at the very end most likely part 3 will be focusing on him retaliating against Hannibal

## Trivia

* The gap between this episode and the previous was by far the longest at 505 days. This broke the previous record holder, held by the First Punic Wars, at nine months.
* This is the first video uploaded in 2024.
* This will be the first video to have three parts.
* The Second part is the second longest video in OverSimplified history, after the Pig War.
* Though Part 3 has not released yet, The Second Punic War's videos are the goriest on OverSimplified's channel, containing massive amounts of violence and gore, particularly in the Battle of Cannae.

## Videos

The Second Punic War - OverSimplified (Part 1)Part 1The Second Punic War - OverSimplified (Part 2)Part 2

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=805SIqgDZIE