The defeat by the ancient Romans of Hannibal, despite the Carthaginian leader’s famous feat of marching his army – complete with war elephants – over the Pyrenees and Alps into Italy, also meant that the Romans captured the silver mines of the Iberian peninsula, bringing so much silver into the Roman empire that it can be traced through the coinage.

Scientists have for the first time analysed the silver content of a group of coins bracketing the Second Punic War from 218-201 BC, in which Hannibal initially inflicted humiliating defeats on the Romans, but was then forced by a counter-invasion to fall back to north Africa and ultimate defeat. The Carthaginians also lost control of the Iberian peninsula and the richest silver mines of the Mediterranean world.

The coins were minted between 225 and 201 BC. Before the war, the Roman coins were made of the same Aegean silver as Greek cities in Italy and Sicily – but as the course of the war turned in the Romans’ favour from around 209 BC, and silver as booty and reparation payments began to pour into Italy, the silver used was Iberian, meaning that the coins had a far higher silver content.

Dr Katrin Westner, of the Institute for Archaeological Sciences at Goethe University, Frankfurt, one of the leaders of a group of scientists in Germany and Denmark that carried out the research, said the effect on the Roman empire was profound.

“This massive influx of Iberian silver significantly changed Rome’s economy, allowing it to become the superpower of its day. We know this from the histories of Livy and Polybius and others, but our work gives contemporary scientific proof of the rise of Rome. What our work shows is that the defeat of Hannibal and the rise of Rome is written in the coins of the Roman Empire.”

The scientists will present their work for the first time in Paris on Monday, at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference.



Professor Kevin Butcher, of the department of classics and ancient history at the University of Warwick, said the project had confirmed what had previously only been speculation. “This research demonstrates how scientific analysis of ancient coins can make a significant contribution to historical research. It allows what was previously speculation about the importance of Spanish silver for the coinage of Rome to be placed on a firm foundation.”

The tests were done by drilling minute samples out of the 70 coins and analysing their isotopic signatures using mass spectrometry.

After his defeat by Scipio Africanus, Hannibal fled into exile, and died around 183 BC in Bithynia, modern-day Turkey. According to Plutarch, he drank poison as he feared extradition to Rome. Plutarch said that Hannibal’s last words were: “Let us put an end to this life which has caused so much dread to the Romans.”