Hasdrubal's sudden assassination catapulted Hamilcar's eldest son, the twenty-five-year-old Hannibal Barca, to power as Carthage's supreme general in Spain. Raised to be a soldier by his father and trained in both the theoretical and practical arts of warfare, Hannibal quickly subdued most Spanish tribes southeast of the Ebro. Only Saguntum, an ostensible Roman ally, doggedly resisted Carthaginian sway. Ignoring Roman warnings to leave Saguntum alone, Hannibal besieged the city in 219 BC, a choice which would put Rome and Carthage on a collision course culminating in the Second Punic War.

Recommended further reading:

A Companion to the Punic Wars (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) Edited by Dexter Hoyos

Carthage Must Be Destroyed by Richard Miles

Implacable Enemies: The Barcid Armies at War by Karwansary Publishers

Clash of the Colossi: The First Punic War by Karwansary Publishers

Link to the Episode 34 page on the Layman's Historian website

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