A quiz question · medium
In what year did the Battle of Zama end the Second Punic War?
Zama was fought on 19 October 202 BCE. Scipio's parallel-lane infantry formation funnelled Hannibal's elephants harmlessly through the Roman line; trumpet noise drove half the elephants back to trample their own cavalry.
Read the full story →From the story
The Carthaginian Elephants That Crossed the Alps Did Not Win the War, and the Carthaginian Elephants That Stayed Home Lost It Hannibal Barca crossed the Alps in October 218 BCE with 37 war elephants. All but one were dead within four months. At the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE, Hannibal's 80 fresh African elephants panicked at Roman trumpet signals, turned, and trampled their own infantry. The defeat ended the Second Punic War and Carthaginian power.
Related questions
- Hannibal Barca crossed the Alps with an army in autumn 218 BC, intending to invade Roman Italy. How many war elephants started the crossing — and how many made it to Italy?
- In the Emu War of 1932, what weapons did the Australian military deploy against the emus of Western Australia?
- Roughly how long did the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 27 August 1896 — the shortest war in history — last?
- What did the Manila galleons carry west across the Pacific for 250 years?