<Dl> <Dt> Naval battles </Dt> </Dl> <Ul> <Li> Lilybaeum </Li> <Li> Carteia </Li> </Ul> <P> Hannibal's crossing of the Alps in 218 BC was one of the major events of the Second Punic War, and one of the most celebrated achievements of any military force in ancient warfare . Bypassing Roman and allied land garrisons and Roman naval dominance, Hannibal managed to lead his Carthaginian army over the Alps and into Italy to take the war directly to the Roman Republic . </P> <P> After the final Carthaginian naval defeat at the Aegates Islands, the Carthaginians surrendered and accepted defeat in the First Punic War . Hamilcar Barca (Barca meaning lightning), a leading member of the Patriotic party in Carthage and a general who operated with ability in the course of the First Punic War, sought to remedy the losses that Carthage had suffered in Sicily to the Romans . In addition to this, the Carthaginians (and Hamilcar personally) were embittered by the loss of Sardinia . After the loss of the war to the Romans, the Romans imposed terms upon the Carthaginians that were designed to make Carthage a tribute - paying city to Rome and simultaneously strip it of its fleet . While the terms of the peace treaty were harsh, the Romans did not strip Carthage of her strength; Carthage was the most prosperous maritime trading port of its day, and the tribute that was imposed upon them by the Romans was easily paid off on a yearly basis while Carthage was simultaneously engaged by Carthaginian mercenaries who were in revolt . </P>

Who crossed the alps and invaded italy with an army of elephants during the second punic war