where did hannibal cross the alps
Most historians agree that we cannot say with certainty exactly which Alpine pass Hannibal used, but the leading candidates are in modern France and Italy, not Switzerland.
The core answer
Ancient sources (especially Polybius and Livy) describe the journey but never name a specific pass, and their descriptions are vague enough that several routes fit. Modern scholars generally narrow it down to a few likely crossings:
- Col du Clapier (between modern France and Italy), a very popular candidate among historians.
- Col du Montgenèvre, another long‑standing suggestion.
- Col du Petit Saint‑Bernard and Col de la Traversette also have advocates, especially in recent research using landscape clues and environmental evidence.
Because the terrain has changed and the texts conflict in details like distances and landmarks, the exact spot remains debated.
What we do know about “where”
Even though the exact pass is disputed, historians broadly agree on the general path:
- Hannibal marched from Iberia (Spain), across the Pyrenees.
- He moved through southern Gaul (roughly modern southern France) and crossed the Rhône River, probably north of modern Arles/Avignon.
- From there, he turned inland up river valleys such as the Isère and Arc toward the high Alps near today’s Grenoble–Maurienne region.
- He then climbed a major Alpine pass into northern Italy and descended into the Po Valley with a badly reduced army but enough force to threaten Rome for years.
So: we can place his crossing somewhere in the western Alps between the Rhône valley in France and the Po valley in Italy, but not pin it to one universally accepted pass.
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