Similarities Between Rome And Carthage

Carthage gained her power through the wealth of trade and commere, bringing the northern African colonies and cities of Sicily under control, solidified her dominance in the Mediterranean. Through wealth comes strength and the ability to obtain more wealth by expanding one’s territory, which brought Carthage to desire the Greek cities of Italy also (Morey, 1901). The very cities bordering Rome, leading to the beginning of hostilities between Carthage and Rome.

The Romans won the Second Punic war for a variety of reasons. These included the role and strategy of the Roman Senate and the failure of the Carthaginian government to support Hannibal. Rome’s strong control of the sea as well as Carthage's failure to rebuild their navy contributed greatly. The actions of Fabius Maximus and Scipio Africanus brought about the decline of Hannibal's momentum in Italy and his final defeat. Thus, there was no single reason as to why Rome were victorious against Carthage.

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.

In the early 3rd century B.C., Rome and Carthage were expanding their empires and met at the city of Sicily. At the time the Roman military consisted of well regulated infantry and cavalry, but hardly any naval forces ready for combat. The Carthaginian military was the opposite.

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

Rome was governed by leading figures in a “constantly changing network of mutually dependent relationships” (Cultures of the West, p. 176). The Romans valued simplicity, and placed a high value on families, or “Familia”, where the men were mostly dominant. They arranged their government so that one group of people could not monopolize over power, and that each senate/assembly could be governed by another, which laid groundwork for the way a lot of governments run today. Republican Rome also gave birth to something much bigger in the scheme of territories during this time, being that the Roman Empire saw that they could simply not make peace with any of their neighbors until they had complete control of the Mediterranean sea. This lead to the Punic wars, which were fought over about 80 years between the Romans and the Carthaginians who lived in North Africa. These wars were fought over three main battles, one in 264 BCE over Sicily, one in 218 over Spain, and the last big battle fought in 149 BCE, which ultimately ended in the complete destruction of Carthage and every Carthaginian, besides some who were sold into slavery (Cultures of the West, p. 182). After the victory of the Carthaginians, Rome recognized the power they had now that they controlled the Mediterranean entirely to themselves. The openness and calmness of the waters lead to easy trade of

This war was costly to both sides but Carthage suffered more seriously owing to the corruption and incompetence of her government (which embezzled funds which should have gone to the military and consistently refused to send much needed supplies and reinforcements to generals in the field), the mostly mercenary army (who often simply refused to fight), and an over-reliance on the brilliance of Hamilcar Barca. Further, however, they seriously underestimated their enemy. While Carthage would largely ignore the war, leaving the fighting to Hamilcar and his mercenaries, Rome would be building and equipping more ships and training more men. Even though Rome had never had a navy before the First Punic War, they emerged in 241 BCE as masters of the

The three Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage went on for over a century. The wars started in 264 B.C. and ended with the Romans destroying Carthage in 146 B.C. The conflict between the countries came from the clash of economic interests. The wars were the first big wars of Roman expansion outside Italy. Carthage had a big empire along the coast of North America, southern Spain, and a few parts of Sicily. The purpose of these wars was to decide which power would become the dominant force around the Mediterranean Sea. The first war was the beginning of the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean sea, and lasted more than twenty years. The second was

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).

In order to determine how Carthage gained power almost equal to Rome, today under examination are the circumstances that lead up to the First Punic war and the results of that war. Carthage's origins are lost in mythological stories, but has it's roots in Phoenicians from Tyre. Her power was largely commercial and trade supremacy and had conquered many of the Greek cities of Sicily and northern colonies of Africa. While Rome had triumphed over much of central and southern Italy. Carthage's rise to power in some part was due to the appointment of a permanent commander over the army in stark contrast to Rome's constantly changing consuls.

Trace how Carthage became almost the equal of Rome. Be sure to show the strength of both and how this conflict led to Rome becoming a naval power. Introduction "I swear that so soon as age will permit . . . I will use fire and steel to arrest the destiny of Rome.

Roman Empire was growing at a fast pace, they added more subjects to their wing and the growth made it stronger also in terms of the military. After plundering almost the whole of Italy, the Romans ventured outside of Italy, and they came across Carthage. Carthage was a civilized city that was rich and powerful.

The first things we can look at about Rome and Carthage is Rome’s citizens and Carthage’s wealth. We can draw conclusions from these and begin to compare both. One of the prominent things about Rome was its “hand-to-hand combat” skills of its soldiers. Rome was not originally a navy, but had to become a naval power to take on Carthage. Before Rome ever faced Hannibal in the second Punic war (B.C.218-201) it faced Carthage in the first Punic war (B.C. 264-241) and had fewer losses than it did in the Second Punic war. We can examine what Carthage’s advantages were, and what Rome’s disadvantages were (Morey, 1901).

Briefly discuss how the governments of Rome and Carthage differed The government of Rome and Carthage, before and during the conflict, had some similarities. However, some differences were also noticeable. While the government of Rome had consuls, the government of Carthage had magistrates.