In the darkest hours of the Roman Republic, an army was led against all odds to reign supreme over the Italian peninsula. Led by pure military genius, the Carthaginian army devastated everything that the power of Rome could muster. For years, Italy was home to the greatest military orchestra the world had ever seen, led by a master of strategy and war. Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca, besieges the very idea of ​​Rome's military prowess. Despite absolute domination of the Italian peninsula for several years, his success cannot be attributed to his genius and his mastery of strategy. Hannibal's success can be attributed primarily to Rome's failure to react at key moments in its advance into Italy. But before delving deeper into the many mistakes Rome made regarding the defense of Italy, it is necessary to determine Hannibal's motivations and clarify how he came to be in a position in which he could pursue them. With the signing of the Treaty of Lutatius in (241 BC, find correct date) (cite), the First Punic War was coming to an end. However, the resumption of war between Carthage and Rome was inevitable. (Quote) Much of Carthage wanted peace on their own terms, not peace dependent on the goodwill of the Romans. by his command of the Carthaginian forces during the First Punic War and the Libyan Wars (cite). Under this pretext, he was put in charge of the army of Carthage, which consisted of little more than Libyan-Phoenician cavalry. (*****This part needs to be shortened and cleaned up, until the next star game*****) Knowing that Carthage didn't have the resources to finance it, Hamilcar knew he would have to pay his men from here...... middle of paper...... al would never have been able to get out of this. Such a fantastic maneuver and such a brilliant strategy if the Romans had committed an army, even half this size, to prevent Hannibal from arriving on the Italian plains. Regardless, none of Hannibal's great successes would have even been possible if the Romans had stopped his advance toward Italy. Their mismanagement of their army and their lack of respect for the threat Hannibal posed cost them dearly. While Hannibal's military genius allowed for incredible tactical maneuvers and incredible victories, the Romans could have easily challenged him in situations that were largely in their favor. The mistake of not countering Hannibal, notably his arrival on the plains of Italy, is the main reason for his success in the Second Punic War (fix that, but I'll leave it for now, I need to go back and make an intro ;)).