Hannibal wasn't alive in 218 BC.
The Battle of the Trebia ( or Trebbia ) was the first major battle of the Second Punic War , fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and the Roman Republic in December of 218 BC , on or around the winter solstice . Hannibal Barca ( Punic language : ð $ ð $ ð $ ð $ ð $ ð $ ð $ `` ð $ ' , Q-R-B L-A - ' - A-B-N-Ḥ ; 247 -- between 183 and 181 BC ) , was a Carthaginian general , considered one of the greatest military commanders in history . The Second Punic War , also referred to as The Hannibalic War and ( by the Romans ) the War Against Hannibal , lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean .