Hannibal had enemies.
Hannibal . One of his most famous achievements was at the outbreak of the Second Punic War , when he marched an army which included war elephants from Iberia over the Pyrenees and the Alps into Italy . In his first few years in Italy , he won three dramatic victories -- the Trebia , Lake Trasimene , and Cannae , in which he distinguished himself for his ability to determine his and his opponent 's strengths and weaknesses , and to play the battle to his strengths and the enemy 's weaknesses -- and won over many allies of Rome . An enemy counter-invasion of North Africa forced him to return to Carthage , where he was decisively defeated by Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama .