216 BC

Centuries:	4th century BC · 3rd century BC · 2nd century BC
Decades:	240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC
Years:	219 BC 218 BC 217 BC 216 BC 215 BC 214 BC 213 BC

[edit] Events

Second Punic War:
- August 2 - Hannibal crushes the Romans in the Battle of Cannae, one of the greatest tactical masterpiece in military history. As a result, a number of Italian cities allied to Rome desert to the Carthaginian side, especially cities in the Magna Graecia, and Capua. Again, the later Scipio Africanus fought in the battle as a tribune, and later prevented a mutiny among the survivors of Cannae.
- The historian Quintus Fabius Pictor is sent to Delphi to consult the oracle there for advice about what to do after Cannae.
- The Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus holds off an attack by Hannibal in the Battle of Nola.