Carthage Vs Rome Essay

In the 3rd century B.C.E. there were two great powers in the area surrounding the Western part of the Mediterranean Sea, The African/Spanish Empire of Carthage and the Italian Empire of Rome. Both empires were rapidly expanding their territory while ultimately avoiding each other. Carthage had conquests in South-West Europe in modern day Spain, while the Romans were working their way East into Macedonia. Rome and Carthage were both major powers controlling what to them was the entire world. These two powers are very similar and very different, but after a conflict between them started only one would make it out alive.

Carthage had a lot of similarities to Rome, from their government to their economy and even their military might. What probably brought them so close to becoming equals was likely Carthage's economy, allowing it to compete with Rome in terms of quantity over quality in my opinion. Carthage had established an impressive economy, buying and selling things from the west and east, these things were purple, frankincense, linen, gold, silver, tin and iron. Buying and selling all these things not only gave Carthage access to wealth but a very diverse amount of resources as well. This is what I believed allowed it to compete with Rome on equal ground. While it did have a stronger Navy, it wasn't as much as the strength but the quality of their fleets

     As the story goes, Rome was founded by a pair of feuding brothers who were allegedly raised by wolves. Romulus and Remus. From that point on, the Roman Empire would play a pivotal role in the development of both Eastern and Western society alike. Its influence can still be noticed. The Empire bought us such inventions as aqueducts, elevators, and innovations like urban planning. This essay will discuss the evolution of the Roman Empire and its impact on the Western World.

How did the ancient city of Carthage almost become Rome’s equal? Also, how was this state of the city at this time come about in the ancient world? Carthage being a port city and Rome also being so close to the Mediterranean, gave both cities great business and imperial opportunities. In fact, both cities flourished because of their geographical locations to a certain extent. These opportunities and the desire to obtain them would eventually lead the two cities into war and conflict.

going to state how Rome and Carthage became rivals and were almost equal in terms of their

The two cities were fairly matched, Carthage possessed the power and strength of ruling the sea with her long established navy and fleet of 300 -350 warships. The navy was largely made up of her Phoenician citizenry and was the finest of that era. The army wasn’t as large as Rome’s, however, still well equipped and highly skilled, many of Carthage’s foreign mercenaries fought in her army as well. One unique aspect was that specially trained warfare Indian Elephants were used in their attacks, it took a while for Scipio of Rome to strategise how to get around these gigantic weapons, in which he eventually did in his final victory over Carthage in the Battle of Zama (202 BCE). ("Carthage - Wikipedia, the free

This paper will explain how Carthage came to rival Rome during the Punic Wars. It will discuss their strengths and weaknesses in detail, leading to reasons as to why the Romans felt they needed to assemble their own navy.

Throughout ancient history, both the Roman Empire and the Carthage Empire were rivals in many battles and wars. Both Rome and Carthage were prestigious empires with economic and political growth mainly through trade and the conquest of land, but during the Punic Wars, they were both tested against each other that lead to 100’s of years of war to determine which empire was the supreme power of the Mediterranean.

One could say that the two cities of Carthage and Rome “grew up” at the same time, from the 7th Century BCE on. By the time Rome began expanding its borders through trade and alliances, one of the first established super-powers it met was Carthage; already a well developed power in its own right. As Morey states, the two cities were fairly equally matched; Carthage was wealthier, but Rome was better organized. Carthage had a better navy and Rome a better Army. Carthage had better leaders, but Rome had more dependable and loyal citizens.

Rome incorporated the citizens into the state, where Carthage did not understand this concept. Carthage did not have the loyalty of citizens that Rome did. They did however have the permanent leaders of the army. Carthage was the supremacy in naval power. The costal cities of Carthage were overtaken by Rome on foot.

I do not believe that the Romans viewed the Carthaginians as most similar to themselves. Rome and Carthage differed in many ways including socially, politically, religiously, and militarily, both however were powers to be reckoned with leading up to the Punic Wars. The government of Carthage was nearly identical being composed of a King (Oligarchy), Senate, and power of the people, the one major difference I believe is the fact that Rome was on the rise while Carthage was in some ways an old, or falling apart country. As Polybius stated in a prior reading, the nature of every government goes through three successive periods, one of growth, one of perfection, and one of decay. Carthage was founded nearly 250 years before Rome and had expanded

Carthage was once almost the equal of Rome. What happened? How did it fall? How was it almost the equal in power to Rome? What happened to it? Where did its power come from? I will attempt to answer all these questions.

In ancient history when empires were emerging, it seemed like if a nation wanted to become the world's superpower, they would have to have knowledge of who else was rivalling their strength. Rome had done a good job conquering and colonizing areas that are now known as southern Italy but began to want power outside the country (Morey, 1901). Carthage, which is modern day Tunisia, also started amassing power and expanding and was considered the prominent force on the western Mediterranean (Carthage, n.d.). Carthage and Rome were seen as nearly equal forces but their strengths were very different from one another (Morey, 1901). It was the power struggle between these two nations that led to the development of Rome's navy.

Carthage on the other hand had greater wealth, but Rome had a better organization well noted in the way it govern its people and colonies. Carthage had a more powerful navy, but Rome had a more efficient army that never give up no matter what was thrown at them. Carthage had more brilliant leaders, in the likes of Hasdrubal, Hannibal while Rome had a more steadfast body of citizens. The main strength of Carthage rested in her wealth and commercial resources, while that of Rome depended upon the character of her people and her well-organized political system. The greatness of the Carthaginians was shown in their successes, while the greatness of the Romans was most fully revealed in the dark hours of disaster and trial as can be seen in the first and second Punic War.

Possibly Carthage’s greatest advantage over Rome was the fact that Carthage had one permanent leader of their army. Rome had civil magistrates who changed over time. That lack of consistent leadership of the army was a great disadvantage to Rome’s ability to wage war and defend itself. (Morey, 1901) Compared to Rome, Carthage had more wealth, but Rome was more organized.