The outbreak of the Second Punic War in 218 B.C. between Rome and Carthage was triggered by the destruction of Sagunto (near Valencia) at the hands of the Carthaginian general Hannibal. This same fact was responsible for the arrival of the Romans in the Iberian Peninsula, where they would remain for a further six centuries. Transformed into one of its most vigorous provinces, the Roman civilisation flourished in all its splendour in Hispania, as can be seen by the monumental and archaeological remains - specifically, the public works - of cities such as Itálica (near Seville), Emerita Augusta (today’s Mérida) and Tarraco (Tarragona), among many others.