Thus ends the first period of the war, in which Hannibal had met with uninterrupted success. Three great victories in three years, followed by the revolt of a city scarcely inferior to Rome itself in importance, seemed to promise a speedy termination of the war. [Illustration: Route of Hannibal. (See p. 90.) (After footnote 32--Transcriber)] [Footnote 31: The pass of the Alps which Hannibal crossed was probably the Graian Alps, or _Little St. Bernard_. See note "On the Passage of Hannibal across the Alps" at the end of this chapter.] [Footnote 32: At this time the Consuls entered upon their office on the Ides of March. It was not till B.C. 153 that the consulship commenced on the Kalends of January.] NOTE ON HANNIBAL'S PASSAGE ACROSS THE ALPS. (See p. 84.)(Fourth paragraph of Chapter XII.--Transcriber) The narrative in the text is taken from that of the Greek historian Polybius, which is certainly by far the most trustworthy that has descended to us; but that author has nowhere clearly stated by which of the passes across the Alps Hannibal effected his march; and this question has given rise to much controversy both in ancient and modern times. Into this discussion our limits will not allow us to enter, but the following may be briefly stated as the general results: 1. That after a careful examination of the text of Polybius, and comparison of the different localities, his narrative will be found, on the whole, to agree best with the supposition that Hannibal crossed the Graian Alps, or _Little St. Bernard_; though it can not be denied that there are some difficulties attending this line, especially in regard to the descent into Italy. 2. That Caelius Antipater certainly represented him as taking this route (Liv., xxi., 38); and as he is known to have followed the Greek history of Silenus, who is said to have accompanied Hannibal in many of his campaigns, his authority is of the greatest weight. 3. That Livy and Strabo, on the contrary, both suppose him to have crossed the Cottian Alps, or _Mont Genevre_. But the main argument that appears to have weighed with Livy, as it has done with several modern writers on the subject, is the assumption that Hannibal descended in the first instance into the country of the Taurinians, which is opposed to the direct testimony of Polybius, who says expressly that he descended among the Insubrians, and _subsequently_ mentions his attack on the Taurinians. 4. That, as according to Livy himself (xxi., 29), the Gaulish emissaries who acted as Hannibal's guides were Boians, it was natural that these should conduct him by the passage that led directly into the territory of their allies and brothers-in-arms, the Insubrians, rather than into that of the Taurinians, a Ligurian tribe, who were at this very time in a state of hostility with the Insubrians. And this remark will serve to explain why Hannibal chose apparently a longer route, instead of the more direct one of Mont Genevre. Lastly, it is