The Second Punic War (218–201 BC) was the second of three wars fought
between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western
Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states
struggled for supremacy. After immense materiel and human losses on both
sides the Carthaginians were defeated. Macedonia, Syracuse and several
Numidian kingdoms were drawn into the fighting, and Iberian and Gallic
forces fought on both sides. There were three main military theatres
during the war: Italy, where Hannibal defeated the Roman legions
repeatedly, with occasional subsidiary campaigns on the islands of
Sicily and Sardinia and in Greece; Iberia, where Hasdrubal, a younger
brother of Hannibal, defended the Carthaginian colonial cities with
mixed success before moving into Italy; and North Africa, where Rome
finally won the war. A peace treaty stripped the Carthaginians of all
overseas territories, and prohibited them from waging war outside
Africa. (This article is part of a featured topic: Punic Wars.).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Punic_Wars>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1932:
Air India, the flag carrier airline of India, began operations
under the name Tata Airlines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India>
1954:
Hurricane Hazel (flooding pictured) made landfall in the
Carolinas in the United States before moving north to Toronto in Canada
later the same day, killing 176 people in the two countries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Hazel>
2007:
New Zealand Police conducted several anti-terrorism raids in
relation to the discovery of an alleged paramilitary training camp in
the Urewera mountain ranges, arresting 17 people and seizing four guns
and 230 rounds of ammunition.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_New_Zealand_police_raids>
2013:
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Bohol in the Philippines,
resulting in 222 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Bohol_earthquake>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
hundreds and thousands:
1. An indefinite but emphatically large number.
2. (Australia, Britain, New Zealand) Tiny balls or strands of
multicoloured sugar, sprinkled over ice cream, desserts or party foods.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hundreds_and_thousands>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
People are the common denominator of progress … no improvement
is possible with unimproved people, and advance is certain when people
are liberated and educated.
--John Kenneth Galbraith
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Kenneth_Galbraith>