Introduction

This week, we return to the Second Punic War in its two foreign theaters. We also take a detour into the third major theater of the war: Spain and Sicily. By the end of today, Scipio Afrikanis's ascendancy will intersect with Hannibal's slow decline. The stage will be set for the final act of the Second PunIC War, played out not in Italy as Hannibal planned, but in North Africa.