The Battle of Lake Trasimene was a Roman defeat in the Second Punic War, won by the Carthaginian general Hannibal in 217 BC. In the book’s concise reference to the battle, it serves as a concrete marker of Hannibal’s success against Rome, rather than as a narrated scene with a described course or aftermath.

Historical Setting

The battle belongs to the Second Punic War, the conflict in which Hannibal fought against the Romans. The account places the engagement at Lake Trasimene and dates it to 217 BC, identifying it as one of Hannibal’s victories in the war.

Hannibal’s Campaign

The battle is presented as part of a broader pattern of Carthaginian military success. Hannibal defeated Roman forces at Lake Trasimene and elsewhere, and conquered Campania, a province in southern Italy. These references establish the scale of his campaign without specifying how the battle unfolded or connecting it to a particular later consequence.

Significance in the Account

The battle’s importance here is contextual: it anchors Hannibal’s opposition to Rome in a named place and date, alongside his other victories and territorial conquest. The entry offers no account of tactics, casualties, participants beyond Hannibal and the Romans, or the battle’s immediate aftermath; its focus is the historical identification of the event.