subjugation of Hamilcar for a moral conquest; he cultivated friendship. When Roman armies came to find out about Carthage's operations in Spain, Hasdrubal gave them his pledge that he wouldn't cross the Ebro River with weapons.
After eight years, Hasdrubal was assasinated and most of the officers assembled in New Carthage and elected Hannibal as their leader. Some people said that no one knew anything of Hannibal and that he should at least be observed in Carthage, to test his worth. But the Council in Carthage referred the question to the popular assembly of citizens who had always favored the Barcids. Hannibal was 26 when he was chosen in 221 B.C.
By the time that Hannibal came to power, he already knew that Spain was divided into three parts. The Tartessians and Iberians in the South and East coasts, the Celtiberians in the West who had blended their barbaric customs to that of the Iberians, and the Celts (Guals or Galatians by Roman observers) who were late arrivals to Spain, fifth