Enlighten me

[Husker98]

And yeah, the Romans after losing 45,000 out of 80,000 raised another 80,000 men and divided them into four armies to deny Hannibal any more major pitched battles. They also invaded Iberia and Illyria during the same period.

exactly only those armies raised weren't roman more of their increasinly fewer local allies and remaining units. Scipio Africanus had been deployed with Roman Allies to Iberia to avenge Roman losses in the area. Illyria was a minor invasion to stop the Illyrian piracy that was raising heck.

And come to think of it... if they had to wait for the kids to grow up, Rome would have been defenseless and Hannibal would have taken it.

Hannibal, you know how to gain a victory; you do not know how to use it -- Maharbal


Hannibal didn't have a siege train or siege equipment with him and a siege of rome would have taken YEARS, this thought of mind prevented a march on Rome. oddly enough though if he had besieged Rome (he marched near to the city once) he might have forced their hand and thus a favourable truce. Hannibal had a chance and his indescisiveness saved rome and killed Carthage.

Hannibal had them on their knees thats why Rome was bent on destroying carthage once and for all in the third war.

Macedonia by Alexander's time was able to defeat the Achaemenid Empire

Yes it was a leaderless empire with alot of man power... Give those men at Gaugemala good General like Cyrus the Great and maybe Alexander doesn't conquer all of the Persian empire..... the persians problem is similar to the Macedonian one in the Roma vs Makedonian war, a powerful country with no leadership.