Rome and Hannibal

Hannibal could have marched on rome, but decided not to because he was still playing by the rules of ancient warfare. The romans were able to contain him in southern italy while they launched wars in spain and eventually against carthage itself. And so hannibal finally gave up and sailed back to carthage to face a scipio and the romans on the plains of zama si. This is a story of failure as much as of triumph, isn't it? It's far removed from his triumphant advance towards Rome a few years earlier.