<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Hannibal </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> A marble bust, reputedly of Hannibal . Found in Capua </Td> </Tr> <P> Hannibal knew enough about the Alps to know in particular that the descent was steeper than the ascent into the Alps . This was one of the reasons he wanted to have allies into whose territory he could march . </P> <P> The Romans had poorly treated those Gauls whom they had recently conquered, distributing their land to Roman colonists and taking other unscrupulous measures to ensure the fidelity of these freshly conquered tribes . The Insubres, whose tribal territory immediately abutted the Alps, and the Boii, farther down the Po, were particularly pleased with Hannibal's proposed invasion . In addition, much of the Iberian peninsula was populated by related Gallic tribes, and those same Gauls were serving in Hannibal's army . It would be easy indeed to establish intimate relations with these disaffected tribes, especially once he had debouched from the Alps and was amongst them and the Insubres and Boii and other tribes could see and speak with this army for themselves . Polybius had this to say about Hannibal's plans: </P>

What mountain region made communications with the rest of europe difficult for the iberian peninsula