Battle of Cannae the grandfather of Scipio Aemilianus, the patron of Polybius (one of the main sources of this history). In the spring of 216 BC Hannibal took the initiative and seized the large supply depot at Cannae, in the Apulian plain, placing himself between the Romans and their crucial source of supply. As Polybius noted, the capture of Cannae "caused great commotion in the Roman army; for it was not only the loss of the place and the stores in it that distressed them, but the fact that it commanded the surrounding district". The consuls, resolving to confront Hannibal, marched southward in
Ordona economic decline began during the 4th Century BC. The construction of defensive walls during this period suggests a period of battles with other centres in the region, probably comprising clashes with the Greek Hegemonic Cities in the territory, among them neighbouring Taranto. It passed over to the Romans, with the rest of Apulia, after the wars of the Greek-Messapian League, commanded by King Pirro of Epiro (280-275 BC). Herdonia was a protagonist during the Second Punic War (219-202 BC) and in particular, during the events linked to the war's most famous battle at Cannae on 2 August 216 BC. According