How Is Carthage Equaled Rome

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).

In 262 B.C., multiple sieges and short conflicts ended with the Roman victory at the battle of Agrigentum. This pushed the Carthaginians out of Sicily but they were far from defeat. Carthage had assembled their fleet and waited for the battle to come to them. The Romans countered this by building their own navy and crafting a new way to attack the Carthaginians. The superior ships of Carthage would fight by building speed and ramming the enemy ships. Seeing this, Rome created a small bridge that would allow infantry to board and seize opposing ships. This proved to be extremely effective during the naval engagements. Other than the major loss at the Battle of Tunis, Rome triumphed and ended the first Punic

Hostilities eventually broke out between these two powers, but Rome had one problem. They were not good seafarers and did not have a navy that could match that of the Carthaginians. However based on some Greek triremes that the Romans some how had they built replicas with bridges on them so that Romans could more easily board other ships. The Romans quickly built a navy that could rival that of Carthage within a few years based on this model. This once again showcases Roman innovation, because not only could they quickly borrow technology from their neighbors, but they could also improve upon it. This allowed them to win the First Punic War. The rivalry between these two powers would not end until the destruction of Carthage during the Third Punic

Even with these orders the Carthaginians still complied. It was clear to the Romans, they had to find a way to push the people of Carthage to the limit.

Victory over Carthage brought Rome to greater heights. Romans had secured world supremacy and established dominant power. As a result, Rome suffered and experienced crises more than they could have imagined such as different forms of slavery, plunder, land reform, expansion of citizenship, wars within and outside of Rome, and the changing of the Roman armies.

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

It can be said that the two cities almost equaled regarding power and resources because Carthage had greater wealth, but Rome had a better organization. Carthage had a more powerful navy, but Rome had a more efficient army. Carthage had more brilliant leaders,

As one of the strongest maritime armies of their time, the Carthaginians controlled land that the Romans wanted. Thus, the Punic Wars spanned over a century between Rome and Carthage. The Romans initiated the first Punic War in Sicily, Hannibal declared war on Rome which marked the start of the second Punic War. The Carthaginians broke their treaty with Rome when they declared war on a neighboring state which resulted in the third Punic War. The Romans ultimately claimed victory in all three wars which resulted in a large transfer of power. The Roman and Carthaginian dispute illustrates a change in power, and this caused historians to question how the Punic Wars affected Roman history. Because the Carthaginians formed one of the most powerful empires based on trade, the Romans obtained land and power from the Carthaginians, and as a result, the Romans succeeded in the Punic Wars which resulted in

Carthage became the wealthiest city in the region by 265 B.C. and possessed the leading naval power (Punic Wars). While some clashes erupted between Carthage and other powers in the area, the relations between the city and the Romans remained generally peaceful. However, the relationship changed in 264 B.C. when Rome intervened in a dispute between the cities of Syracuse and Messina on the island of Sicily (Punic Wars). Rome supported Messina, while Carthage sided with Syracuse. The interactions between Carthage, Rome, and the two cities led to a direct conflict between Rome and Carthage (Punic Wars).

The government of Carthage was similar to Rome as it had a council of elders which could be compared to the Roman senate, however, the essence remained different, with a few wealthy and prominent families controlling most of the power. All of this had worked in the favor of Carthage and her power was tremendous. Carthage had made many treaties with chief countries of the world, including Egypt and Spain, she traded with Tyre and Arabia and Carthage desired the Greek cities of Sicily and Italy. The Roman Empire.net (n.d.) maintains that Carthage's location in relation to the Mediterranean sea gave her an advantage in becoming a naval power, with the first sea expeditions rooted in trade.

Carthage was an oligarchic republic government, controlled by aristocracy and wealthier merchants. Afterward, led by two magistrates named Suffets (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2015). It is said that Carthage government was a “Plutocracy” which was a form of government ruled by the rich men. The control was in the hands of these three categories: the ship-owners, the mine-owners and merchants (Hendrick, n.d.). She had a consul of elders named “hundred, and an assembly. However, her real power was held by a small wealthier group and families. The Carthaginian government was strengthened by its army placed in the hands of a permanent and able leader (Morey,

Like Carthage Rome was a developing, powerful city-state keen on controlling the Mediterranean and collecting the wealth associated with that. As the two nations expanded and came into contact more and more tensions began to rise and suspicions turned into hostility in what would be a precursor to the cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States of the 20th century, Rome and Carthage would come to compete with one another for supremacy of the known world.

With the introduction of the hoplite phalanx to the Roman army, came a multitude of wars and long drawn out campaigns that the Romans were involved in throughout the republic period. One such campaign or campaigns that set the Roman republic as the uncontested superpower in the Mediterranean was the Punic Wars. Rome fought three wars against Carthage between 264 and 146 BCE. These wars constituted major events in the history of Rome and the Mediterranean basin (Marcel Le Glay 2009) p. 73. Though these wars were fought for reasons such as competing economics, revenge (most notably the Carthaginian general Hannibal), and a fear that could be related in today’s terms of opposing forces such as (the United States and Soviet Union feared each other during the Cold War) the fact is in the end Rome defeated the Carthaginians, not only were the Carthaginians defeated, but the city of Carthage was demolished and the people massacred or sold into slavery so as not to threaten the Romans ever again. In the fall of the city, in obedience to the Senate’s orders the inhabitants were reduced to slavery or forced to emigrate, the town was burnt and soil was

Rome was a thriving and expanding republic that wanted to conquer the Western Mediterranean beginning with Sicily, however, Carthage, her archrival held a lot of power in those regions through trade and commerce. Carthage was also a large republic who posed a great threat to Rome’s expansion and desire to become a supreme Empire.

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.