The Battle of the river Ticinus, November 218 BC

Cornelius Mattens - The Battle of Ticino

After Hannibal crossed the Alps he recruited amongst the Gauls in north Italy and soon advanced south, towards the waiting Roman army led by Scipio (the father of Africanus)and Lucius Manlius.

Hannibal arrives in Italy (218 BC)

Hannibal caught the Romans on the wrong foot by eluding their forces in France and by emerging  so quickly from the Alps, in about October 218 BC.

Hannibal Crosses the Alps (218 BC)

The Crossing of the Alps
A. Charpentier, 1905

Some details of Hannibal's famous crossing of the Alps have been preserved, although the actual route is not entirely clear.

Hannibal's Crossing of the Rhône and March into Gaul (218 BC)



Crossing the Rhône

After marching across northern Spain, Hannibal then crossed the Pyrenees into Transalpine Gaul, where his army met with stiff resistance from the Pyrennean tribes. This opposition and the desertion of some of his Spanish troops greatly diminished his numbers, but he reached the Rhône River with but little resistance from the tribes of southern Gaul.
Along the way, Hannibal recruited reinforcements from the warlike Celtic tribes who hated Rome. (see Gaul before the Romans)

The Romans, shortly before they heard of this, had decided on war. Hannibal's offensive move meant that they had to mobilise quickly to meet the threat.

Hannibal Crosses the Ebro (218 BC)

The first stage of the invasion of Italy was to cross the Ebro river, leaving Carthaginian territory in Spain.

This was the last time Hannibal would see Spain, the country where he grew up.

Hannibal's Brother Mago (243 - 203 BC)

Mago (probably)

The Barca brothers were a formidable team. Mago (also written as Magon) was the younger brother, the third son of Hamilcar. He  played a major part in the Second Punic War in Italy and Spain and took the war to the Balearic Islands.

Rome Wins at Sea - Gaius Duilius and the 'Crow'

The 'corvus' or crow

Before the First Punic War Rome was a land power only. The expansion of Rome's ambitions to Sicily revealed to them the importance of sea power in building up an overseas empire.

Gaius Duilius was the first of all Roman leaders to receive a triumph for a naval victory, won over the Carthaginians during the First Punic War (264–241).