Carthage And The Punic Wars

Rome and Carthage shared many aspects when the two first clash. Carthage had two chief magistrates referred to as Suffetes, which compared to the political power of the Roman consuls, a council of elders named the “hundred,” which was similar to the Roman senate, and there was a Carthaginian assembly, the consistency resembled the Roman comitia (Morey, 1901). This is where the similarities end for Carthaginian, ruled by a few wealthy families, the Carthaginians did not integrate their subjects into the state, and they did not have the great loyalty of its citizens that Rome enjoyed. By placing its army under the command of a single permanent leader, Carthage created an overwhelming advantage to Rome, which had its armies controlled by the ever-changing civil magistrates and consuls (Morey, 1901).

The three Punic Wars demonstrated the Roman emperors’ power over Rome with laws over land, environment, and conflicts. In The three Punic Wars Carthage and Rome fought for power over Mediterranean Sea. Carthage was lead by hannibal. The first Punic War was in 264 BC when Rome and Carthage wanted power to rule Sicily. The wars started when when Mercenary soldiers surrounded the city of Messena which is now Messina in Sicily and requested aid from Rome and Carthage against Hiero II, the king of Syracuse. Carthage and Rome hadn't always been enemies, they were on friendly terms before the greek king Pyrrhus had entered Italy.

This exhausting conflict was, according to Caven, a ‘contest in three rounds’ in which the Romans fought first for control of Sicily, then for the leadership of the western Mediterranean and finally to determine the survival or extinction of Carthage.

Fought between Carthage and Rome, the punic wars may have been the worst wars in Roman history. The first punic war probably would have been lost by Rome but they had an adaptive Navy. The Carthaginian Navy was very dangerous and have strong ships. The Roman navy invented devices to attach their ships to the Carthaginian ships and steal their ships with Rome's strong army. This advantage helped Rome to win the first punic war. The second punic war was fought in the western and eastern mediterranean. Hannibal's army defeated Rome multiple times but the Roman general Scipio finally assinates Hannibal and Rome crushes their most hated enemy. The third punic war was the last of the punic. In the third punic war the Roman army made it inside Carthage City and raided their valuables killed their people and salted their land to prevent agriculture. The Third Punic war ended wars for a while in Rome and made the imperial era possible. After the punic wars Rome's power economy and morals were higher than ever and their amount of conquered land was higher than ever as

Morey, C., W. (1901). The second Punic war (B.C. 218-201). Outlines of Roman History. Retrieved from http://www.forumromanum.org/history/index.html

Rome and Carthage were bitter rivals. The strife and the inevitable war between these two states were growing stronger due to them both wanting control over the Mediterranean Sea. For instance, after Rome had won the victory over Sicily, Carthage had deemed vengeance against Rome. The primary conflicts between these two states regarded the Roman victories over Carthage. Rome was known for its preeminent status, and was mostly involved with the military domain while Carthage was elaborated in the trading empire, they grew to be envious and had declared war against Rome.”The Romans were furious with indignation because the vanquished had dared to take the offensive against their conquerors; the Carthaginians bitterly resented what they regarded as the tyrannical and rapacious conduct of Rome.” Hamilcar was one of the generals who had led the first Punic war in 264 to 241 BC. The Punic wars were essential because Carthage was Rome’s prominent rival, which led to the establishment of wealth, and territory that authorized Rome to expand into a

This investigation aims to explore to what extent the most significant outcome of the Second Punic War was the changes in social hierarchy within the Roman army. In order to examine whether the impact on the Roman army following the Second Punic War was the most significant outcome, other key outcomes must also be assessed, such as peace treaties, territorial gains and the destruction of Rome’s greatest enemy: Carthage.

The Second Punic War took place from 218-201 B.C. The war was the second of three wars that centered on the power struggle between the powers of Carthage and Rome throughout the eastern and western Mediterranean. Carthage’s goal was to regain status lost during the First Punic War and replace Rome as the power in western Mediterranean (Cartwright). While Hannibal’s forces strategically defeated the Romans in several battles, the war ultimately concluded with a Roman victory and absolute control of the western Mediterranean. By studying the operational environment, the battle can be analyzed using PMESII-PT variables in order to better understand the outcome of the Second Punic War.

The tradition tells us that Carthage was founded around 813 BC by Queen Dido, also known as Ellisa; doughter of the king of Tyre, who had fled from the city to escape her murderous brother Pygmalion. Her settlement was called Kart-Hadasht; the New City, Greeks used to call it Karchedon, and Romans changed it into Carthago. (Durant 1972)

The research question of this extended essay is, “To what extent did the Roman military adapt and change as a product of warfare and contact with other cultures, from the tribal days of Rome to the end of the Republic?” Though her

During the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., three wars were fought between Rome and Carthage. The name given to describe the wars Punic, is a divided word from the Latin and Greek words for Phoenician. The city of Carthage, situated in what is now Tunisia in North Africa, was founded in 814 B.C. by the Phoenicians. The first two wars were the longest 23 years and 17 years, separated by an interval of 23 years. The last and third war lasted only three years. It started 52 years after the end of the second Punic War. All three wars were won by Rome, which automatically emerged as the greatest military power in the Mediterranean Sea. The hostility of Carthage impelled Rome to build up its large army and create a strong navy just like the one Carthage had. Strong military leaders of the war for Carthage and his sons Hasdrubal and Hannibal. Rome’s outstanding leaders were Scipio Africanus. Belief holds that Phoenician settlers from the Mediterranean port of Tyre discovered the city-state of Carthage on the northern coast of Africa. By 265 B.C., Carthage was the richest and the most advanced city in the region, as well as its prominent naval power. Through Carthage had clashed forcefully with several other powers in the region, notably Greece, its relations with Rome were historically friendly, and its cities had signed several treaties defining trading rights over the years.

The two biggest powers of the Mediterranean where always destined to come head to head once again after the First Punic War (264 to 241 BC). There was no clear victor and the terms set by the Romans were extremely harsh. Even though the main cause of the second war was the war on Saguntum you must go back all the way to the ending of the First War. The war on Saguntum was seen by Polybius to be just the first incident in the war. In this essay I will look into the causes of the Second Punic War with the intention of backing up Polybius argument that the war on Saguntum was just the first incident and not a cause as Livy views it. I will be doing this with close analysis of our ancient sources. Three main causes will be

The Punic Wars were some of the most important wars throughout all of history. The most significant and decisive of the three was the second Punic War, where Hannibal nearly succeeded in conquering the Roman world. This war had the potential to completely alter the course of history. If Carthage had defeated Rome, the world would have been much different and very likely it would have been a much darker place after significant Carthage influence.

Carthage and the Roman Republic fought the second Punic War for control of the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea, considered the entire civilized world at the time. The battles of the second Punic War show Hannibal Barca to be not only the greatest military leader of his age, but perhaps one of the greatest generals of all time. By examining one of Hannibal’s most spectacular victories, the paradigm for a battle of annihilation, military professionals can learn how the Roman commanders might have defeated Carthage’s General. In conducting an analysis of the Battle of Cannae, I will postulate an alternate outcome by introducing intelligence utilization that would have turned this battle into a victory for Rome.

The second Púnic war (herein after referred to as, “the War”) came to a close in 201 BCE, following Scípio’s victory over Hánnibal at the battle of Záma. After seventeen years of warfare, and at a great loss of life on both sides, Rome defeated Cárthage and came out on top as the new superpower in the Mediterránean region. The outcome of this war brought consequences to Cárthage and created opportunities for Rome (Morey, 1901).