Zama
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Zama
Zama (zāˈmə), ancient town near the northern coast of Africa, in present Tunisia. Although there was more than one town named Zama, tradition says that in 202 B.C. Scipio Africanus Major defeated Hannibal there in the decisive and final battle of the Second Punic War (see Punic Wars). There is good reason for believing the actual battle was fought at some nearby place.
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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Zama
an ancient city in North Africa (120 km southwest of Carthage in the region of modern El Kef), near which the Roman army of Scipio Africanus destroyed the Carthaginian army led by Hannibal on Oct. 19, 202 B.C. Both armies numbered 35,000–40,000 men. The defection of the eastern Numidian King Masinissa to the Roman side before the battle played a decisive role in the victory: this gave the Romans an overwhelming superiority in cavalry forces, which after destroying the Carthaginian cavalry struck a blow in the rear of the Carthaginian main forces. The battle of Zama decided the Second Punic War in Rome’s favor.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Zama
the name of several ancient cities in N Africa, including the one near the site of Scipio's decisive defeat of Hannibal (202 bc)
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005