Hannibal marched an army across mountains.
The Alps ( [ ælps ] Alpes [ alp ] Alpen [ ˈalpən ] Alpi [ ˈalpi ] Alps Alpe [ ˈáːlpɛ ] ) are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe , The Caucasus Mountains are higher , and the Urals longer , but both lie partly in Asia . 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 . The Pyrenees ( [ ˈpɪrᵻniːz ] Pirineos [ piɾiˈneos ] , Pyrénées [ piʁene ] , Pirineus , Pirineus [ piɾiˈnɛus ] , Pirenèus , Pirinioak [ piˈɾinioˌak ] or Auñamendiak [ auˈɲamendiˌak ] ) is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain .