Before 264; preparations for war?; the Mamertine appeal; debating the appeal; the Punic-Syracusean alliance; an unwanted war; escalation; from enmity to goodwill; the rape of Sardinia; imaginary confrontations in the 230s; Hasdrubal's accord; Saguntum; Hannibal and the ambassadors; Saguntum besieged; war to save face.
