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The Punic Wars
Results of the Second Punic War
The Second Punic War was a turning point in Roman history, with profound implications for the Republic. The most immediate and obvious effect was the acquisition of empire: in the space of fifty years Rome had acquired most of the western Mediterranean. The Republic now had to adjust its finances, administration, foreign policy and alliance system to rule these new territories.
It seems self-evident, but it is worth stressing that these territories were indeed conquered lands, and Rome had to keep large numbers of men in the army in order to secure them. The army therefore continued to play a crucial role in every aspect of Roman society, for it was the keystone of the empire.
The only power left in the Mediterranean was Greece, and it was only a matter of time before these two clashed. Indeed, even as Rome fought with Hannibal she found time to quarrel with Macedonia and to fight a few skirmishes known as the First Macedonian War. As the name implies, there would be more.
The war with Hannibal, and Hannibal himself, was viewed by the Romans themselves in nearly mythic terms. Later Romans saw this as Rome's heroic age, a time when the villains were most villainous and the heroes most heroic. It was an age when all Romans were virtuous and everything worked.
Although Hannibal never again actually threatened Rome, his memory did constantly. He became a monster, a cruel and crafty invader who was stopped only by epic courage and perseverance. It is a measure of the fear his name inspired that long after he was dead and gone, parents would scold naughty children with the warning that if they weren't good, Hannibal would come to get them in the night.
Italy itself suffered cruelly in the war. Hannibal spent fourteen years there, mostly in southern Italy. During much of this time, both sides ruthlessly burned fields and orchards, slaughtered livestock, and destroyed villages. As the years went by, the steep hillsides began to lose their topsoil. By war's end, southern Italy was permanently impoverished. In fact, in our own century, in the 1960s, the Italian government began to attempt to recover and reclaim the land from Hannibal, an effort that still goes on fitfully. Hannibal's legacy outlived Rome itself.