The correct answer is:
<em>(A) Rome had established firm control of the Italian peninsula prior to the second Punic War</em>.
The Roman controlled area in red on the map shows that they had occupied all of Italy if we look at the map of today's Italy.
The second Punic war was fought between Carthage and Rome between 218 to 201 BCE.While the first Punic war had been fought largely over control of Sicily,Second Punic War involved confrontations in Spain,Italy,Sicily, Sardinia and North Africa.
The final war between Scipio and Hannibal took place at Zama in Africa in 202 BC and resulted in Hannibal's defeat and imposition of harsh peace conditions on Carthage,which ceased to be a great power when Romans demolish Carthage after few years.Second Punic War left Romans in control of western Mediterranean and much of Spain.
