The Second Punic War only has the one name.
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 . They are called the `` Punic Wars '' because Rome 's name for Carthaginians was Poeni , derived from Poenici ( earlier form of Punici ) , a reference to the founding of Carthage by Phoenician settlers .