Before the Second Punic War, Rome had limited, yet successful, relations with some of the civilisations and tribes on the Iberian peninsula. For instance, the settlement of Saguntum, whose assault was Hannibal's opening move of the war, had previously been pro-Roman, having aided the Republic in Rome's first war against Carthage. In an effort to halt Hannibal's advance, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio and his brother, Publius, were sent to the region in order to rekindle relations and foster anti-Carthaginian sentiment amongst the Iberians. If Iberia was wrested from Barcid hands, supplies intended for Hannibal could be rerouted to Rome instead.
