The subterfuge constantly boiling away under the surface of the Second Punic War had many dramatic consequences. Whilst huge armies marched across the plains of the Iberian and Italian peninsulas, even larger amounts of money were circulating. Bribes and guarantees were forcing hands and making bargains, which led to some of the most important reversals of fortune in the conflict. The fall of Syracuse to Rome, for example, was hastened through acts of treachery in the ranks of mercenaries. Conversely, the second city of Rome, Capua, defected after the Battle of Cannae, partly through subversive means.
