In the Second Punic War, Hannibal Barca led the Carthaginian army through Spain, southern Gaul, and across the Alps, into Italy in 218 BC. There he clashed with the Roman Republic in 3 major battles: the battle of the River Trebia, the battle of lake Trasmine, and The battle of Cannae. Hannibal defeated the Romans in stunning victories in each of these battles. He failed, however, to take Rome, and eventually had to retreat back to Carthage, where he was defeated by Scipio Africanis in the battle of Zama. The Romans destroyed Carthage in 146 BC, in the third Punic war. The Carthaginians who survived, numbering about 50,000, were sold into slavery.