The Second Punic War

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.

Carthage was founded around 813 BCE by the Phoenician Queen Elissa also known as Dido. Originally the city was called Kart-hadasht, but the Greeks called it Karchedon and then the Romans changed it to Carthago. The city started off as only a small port on the coast used for short stops, however over time Carthage became the most powerful city in the Mediterranean before the progression of Rome. After the fall of the Phoenician city of Tyre in 332 BCE, Carthage became the new center of Phoenician trade with a harbor made up of 220 docks in a semi-circle. The Carthaginians enslaved and demanded money from native africans in the area and grew the city in size. They also became very successful in trading. In less then one hundred years Carthage became the richest city in the Mediterranean.

Rome conquered and benefitted from numerous, widespread interactions. They interacted in both peaceful and violent ways. Rome had to revitalize after every Punic War. The Punic Wars consisted of three different wars between Rome and Carthage. Although Rome conquered Carthage in all three wars, they suffered many losses in each war and never crushed Carthage until the third Punic War. Through the conquering of Carthage, Rome was able to expand their borders and become the uncontested leaders of the Mediterranean world. During Pax Romana(31 B.C.- AD 180), Rome increased their trade with other nations. This allowed for a blending of cultures in the Roman empire that would’ve been inaccessible otherwise. They rid the Mediterranean of piracy which

The Third Punic War was not a defensive war like the Second Punic war, but a war to end all Punic wars. The Third Punic War began in 149 B.C, but the destruction of Carthage was on the mind of the Romans before the declaration was ever declared (Baronowski 19). Cata was a consul member in Rome and he ended all his speeches in "Carthago delenda est, (Carthage must be destroyed)," in order to show his view was firm that Carthage is an enemy of Rome even though Carthage has not taken military action. In 152 the Roman Senate have decided that the destruction of Carthage was necessary, but they “sought an attractive pretext” in order to justify the war. The Romans found a pretext in the Carthaginian-Numidian War which was Numidia attacking a weakened

History has given the world many great military minds. In recent times the world has seen such men as Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, and Erwin Rommel. From ancient times, schools teach about Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Scipio Africanus, and Germanicus. But few have accomplished the feats of Hannibal Barca in the Second Punic War. His major accomplishment, marching his army through the Pyrenees and the Alps and into what is now Italy, is a military accomplishment worth honoring. During his march, Hannibal defeated the Romans in three decisive battles; Trebia, Trasimene, and his most decisive and well fought victory at Cannae. When Hannibal finally arrived in Italy, he maintained an Army there for

During the early republic, the Roman state grew exponentially in both size and power. Though the Gauls sacked and burned Rome in 390 B.C., the Romans rebounded under the leadership of the military hero Camillus, eventually gaining control of the entire Italian peninsula by 264 B.C. Rome then fought a series of wars known as the Punic Wars with Carthage, a powerful city-state in northern Africa. The first two Punic Wars ended with Rome in full control of Sicily, the western Mediterranean and much of Spain. In the Third Punic War (149–146 B.C.), the Romans captured and destroyed the city of Carthage and sold its surviving inhabitants into slavery, making a section of northern Africa a Roman province. At the same time, Rome also spread its influence

The Punic wars was a series of wars that determined how the rest of world history would play out in the future. The Romans and Carthaginians were the powerhouses of the Mediterranean for many years. Both had the wealth and the power to rule the Mediterranean. Because of this, the two empires clashed for control of the Mediterranean and the small countries around it. The 2nd conflict lasted from 218 to 201 B.C. and changed the course of history for centuries.

The greatest challenge to Rome’s authority in the Republic Era came from the rival power of Carthage (a Phoenician colonial population located in Modern Day Tunisia). Three Punic Wars were fought over a period of one hundred and twenty years between Rome and its Carthaginian rival for domination of the Western Mediterranean.

In 264 a.c. Rome and Carthage came into conflict over Sicily. Carthagefeared that Rome would take the island. Rome, in turn, believed that Carthage planned to close the Strait of Messina r a narrow passageway

The Second Punic War (218-201 BC) was an opportunity for the city of Carthage to avenge itself from the loss of the First Punic War (264-241 BC) against Rome over two decades earlier. Similarly, the Second Punic War is comparable to World War II (1939-1945) when Germany attacked Britain and surrounding Europe as an opportunity to avenge itself from the loss of World War I (1914-1918) over two decades earlier. By the First Punic War, Carthage controlled most of North Africa, Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia. Near the time of the Second Punic War, Rome controlled Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and most of Italy. Whoever controlled the land around the Mediterranean regulated trade routes, commerce, politics, religion, and more.

Regardless of the Romans interesting warfare, they are about to triumph over Carthage. This is easily credited to the Roman’s ability to adapt and use their intelligence to their advantage. When it came to the warfare in the sea, which Romans struggled in, they were able to acquire a ship, take it apart, learn to recreate it even better than the original Carthagian ships. They also were able to use their power and connections with other territories to get them to become their army. Rome was also able to gain Sardinia from Carthage when they knew that Carthage couldn’t do anything about. Rome was also really smart in having their troops stationed in different places which helped in their warfare during the Punic wars. Also, by using Quintus Fabius Maximus’s strategy to limit where Hannibal and his men could go. Even though it may seem weak and as if he was “delaying” the war, it also showed that he was smart enough to want to weaken the enemy before going to battle again. This also kept Hannibal and his army in a small area.

Romans were a very powerful people, and their influence grew and spread very quickly. Through organized armies and great tactics they pushed themselves up the Italian peninsula, seizing land and territory from the Etruscan League. Rome now owned most of the Italian peninsula except for what was owned by the Gaelic Tribes. (Barker) They grew into quite the power and all of Europe recognized them as a powerful force. Their influence grew and spread across the Mediterranean Sea and it forced the meeting of the two greatest forces of the Mediterranean Sea. It is 264 BC and hostilities between the Carthaginians and the Roman republic are on the rise.

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.

It is a sweet and proper thing to die for one's country. when the Roman poet Horace made this statement he was not proclaiming some personal view he alone held against the popular opinion of the masses, but rather was espousing the long held values and beliefs of both the Roman State and the citizens who resided within it. War brought them honor, glory, wealth, power, and for some the chance for a good and righteous death battling the enemies of their homeland. Throughout the long history of Rome countless wars were fought with competing powers throughout Europe and the Mediterranean basin, however none until the barbarian invasions of the 5th century C.E. brought the country as close to ruin as The Punic Wars with their African rival Carthage

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).