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The first of these lasted from B.C. 264 to 241; the second, from
B.C. 218 to 201. In the interval between these two wars Rome acquired
the northern part of Italy, whence she sent victorious armies against
the barbarians in Gaul. Meanwhile, under Hamilcar Barcar, the
Carthaginians had effected the conquest of Southern Spain, which they
reduced to the condition of a dependency.
Hamilcar's greater son, Hannibal, was compelled by his father to swear
eternal enmity to Rome. Having established the Carthaginian empire in
Spain, at the age of twenty-six he took the Spanish city of Saguntum, an
ally of Rome, and this was the immediate cause of the Second Punic War,
which the Romans declared. The passage of the Alps by Hannibal is
regarded as one of the greatest military performances in history. He was
welcomed by the Gauls as a deliverer, and was soon operating in Northern
Italy, his appearance there being a complete surprise to the Romans. He
won victories over them at the rivers Ticinus and Trebia, B.


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