Hannibal's Crossing of the Alps

Hannibal's passage across the Alps into Italy in 218 BCE brought a Carthaginian army into Roman territory during the Second Punic War.

Alpine passes: Mountain routes that cross the Alps between valleys and regions. Hannibal's route depended on finding a pass suitable for an army and its elephants.
Second Punic War: The war between Rome and Carthage from 218 to 201 BCE. Hannibal crossed the Alps to carry this war onto Roman soil.
Hannibal: A Carthaginian general who led the invasion of Italy during the Second Punic War. He planned and commanded the Alpine march.
Rhône crossing: Hannibal's passage of the Rhône River during his 218 BCE march toward Italy. It was a major engineering and logistical obstacle before the army reached the Alps.
Hannibal's Alpine route debate: The scholarly dispute over which Alpine pass Hannibal used in 218 BCE. Ancient descriptions do not identify the route precisely enough to settle its location.
Carthaginian army: The military forces raised and commanded by Carthage in antiquity. Its infantry, cavalry, and elephants formed the force that crossed the mountains.
First Punic War: The war between Rome and Carthage from 264 to 241 BCE, fought chiefly over Sicily. Its outcome left Carthage seeking power and resources beyond Sicily.
Livy: A Roman historian who wrote an extensive history of Rome from its origins to his own era. His account is a major surviving narrative of the crossing, though written centuries later.
Battle of the Trebia: A 218 BCE battle in which Hannibal defeated a Roman army near the Trebia River. It was one of the first major victories following the Alpine crossing.
Col de la Traversette: A high Alpine pass between modern France and Italy, proposed as Hannibal's crossing point. Geological and archaeological claims have made it one prominent route hypothesis.

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