III.

Roman Victory

In 202 bc, after 15 years, and with the military fortunes of Carthage rapidly declining, Hannibal was recalled to Africa to direct the defense of his country against a Roman invasion under Scipio Africanus the Elder. When he met Scipio at Zama, North Africa, his raw troops fled, many deserting to the Romans, and his veterans were cut down. Carthage capitulated to Rome, and the Second Punic War came to an end.

After a peace had been concluded with the Romans in 201 bc, Hannibal immediately set about making preparations for a resumption of the struggle. He amended the Carthaginian constitution, reduced corruption in the government, and placed the finances of the city on a sounder basis. The Romans, however, charged him with working to break the peace, and he was obliged to flee Carthage, taking refuge at the court of Antiochus III, king of Syria. With Antiochus he fought against the Romans, but when the Syrian monarch was defeated at Magnesia (Manisa) in 190 bc and signed a treaty with Rome pledging to surrender Hannibal, the latter escaped to Prusias II, king of Bithynia (reigned 192-148 bc), in northern Asia Minor. When Rome once more demanded the surrender of Hannibal, he committed suicide by taking poison.

See Carthage; Ancient Rome: Second Punic War (218-201 BC).