Western Civilization - Ancient History

Scipio Africanus

Scipio Africanus

The deadlock was broken by another figure from the Spanish theatre of the war: Scipio. Like Hasdrubal, and indeed like Hannibal himself, Scipio had learned generalship in the difficult campaigning in Spain. Like them, he had built up an army that was both battle-tested and fiercely loyal to their commander.

In 205, Scipio ran for consul on the platform that he could defeat Carthage and bring the long war to a close. His success in Spain helped, and he won. He gathered a large army of volunteers and landed in Africa in 204.

From the time he landed, Carthage began appealing to Hannibal to return to Africa. This was no small trick, for the Romans were waiting for Hannibal to do just that. Hannibal had to find a way to get his 20,000 men to a seaport undetected by Roman armies. At the same time, a Carthaginian transport fleet had to make its way to the port undetected by Roman navies.

It took two years of maneuvering before he was able to accomplish the fleet. Much to the dismay of Rome, in 202 Hannibal escaped from Italy with his army intact. He returned to Carthage and raised more troops locally, then turned to meet Scipio.