minor incident but Hannibal said that Carthage's mission was to aid the oppressed, and the Tartessians were being oppressed by Saguntum, a Roman city. Hannibal remembered the treaty made by Hasdrubal which stated that Rome had no authority south of the Ebro River. For eight months, Hannibal laid siege to Saguntum while it waited for Roman aid. He eventually broke through Saguntum's walls and ended any existing resistence. This had a very demoralizing effect on the Roman allies because it signified that none of them were safe from Hannibal. During this time, Hannibal had anticipated the declaration of war, and as the Romans eventually found out about his operations, they sent a delegation to Carthage and declared war with it.
During the winter of 219 - 218 B.C., Hannibal gave his homesick troops a much needed vacation to go back to their homes, and in the spring, after much deliberation, he set off to cross the Ebro River, the Pyrenees Mts., and eventually the Alps. It was hard for him to decide that they would cross the Alps because many of his advisors disagreed
