The Second Punic War : The Causes Of The Second Pinic War

After the Punic Wars, Rome controlled all of Italy, Sicily, much of Spain and part of Africa, as well as Greece and the eastern Mediterranean world. As you can see, at that time Rome and Carthage had very

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 first Punic war started as the Romans moved over the sea and marched on Sicily to gain lands there. The war began 264 BCE and finished 241 BCE. There were a lot of battles especially with the Battle of Agrigentum being a massive learning curve for the Carthage army as it was routed by the Romans.

Yet when Carthage took Sicily, Rome responded by building 330 ships to fight for their land, starting the First Punic War. Carthage was defeated by Rome in 241 BCE, and had to give up Sicily. Carthage went to war with Rome again when the Carthaginian general Hannibal attacked the city of Saguntum, Rome’s ally. This was the start of the Second Punic War. Hannibal was defeated at the Battle of Zama, meaning Carthage lost against Rome once more. The Third Punic War began when Carthage refused Rome’s demands to have Carthage dismantled and rebuilt further inland. The Roman general Scipio Aemilianus surrounded Carthage with armed forces for three years until it fell and the Romans burned it to the ground. Around 122 BCE, Julius Caesar decided to re-build Carthage, and five years after his death, the city rose again. Power and importance shifted back to Carthage, until the fall of the

The first Punic War left Carthage greatly weakened. Rome now occupied Sicily, while the Mercenary War left Carthage vulnerable in Africa as well. The Carthaginian response was to send Hamilcar Barca, their undefeated general from Sicily, to Spain (c.238-7 BC), where he was to greatly revive Carthage's fortunes.

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 incentive was one the main factors that played into this specific battle (Cannae, 126). In the past and even the present, people in the military have various incentives to defeat their enemies; back in World War 2 we had many incentives for defeating the Germans and Japanese. These incentives included stopping genocide against the Jews in Germany, a

weaken the strong point of Carthage, which was the navy. Compared to Rome Carthage had a

As a result, Carthaginians were forced to retreat. Four years later, a Roman fleet attempted to completely conquer Sicily. As a result, Rome’s operation failed due to the opening to Corsica, where Carthage was exiled. Another four years later, a second Roman fleet reached

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

This began the Punic wars. There were three Punic wars. Rome and Carthage were the two strongest contenders of the central Mediterranean Sea of that time. In each of these wars Carthage lost. These wars lasted off and on from 246 BC to 149 BC, with Carthage eventually being destroyed.

Despite the concessions that they made to Rome after the war, Carthage continued to improve economically through trade in the western Mediterranean Sea. They established territories throughout eastern Spain and the northern coast of Africa. Rome watched this growth with trepidation. When the Carthaginian commander Hannibal seized Saguntum, an allied city of Rome, which was surrounded by the territory of Carthage in 219 B.C. “Carthage refused Roman demands for Hannibal’s extradition” (Mulligan, n.d.). With time and trade Carthage had recovered their coffers from the First Punic War, they had established new territories throughout the region, and with Hannibal at the lead of their armies, Carthage felt that they were now the equal of Rome and were willing to defy its demands. Now the military tides had turned, Rome was the definitive naval power, but Hannibal marched to Italy from Spain at the head of a well-trained “fifty thousand infantry, nine thousand cavalry, and a number of elephants” (Morey, 1901, para. 4) ready to meet, and several times defeat, the Romans in ground combat. But despite their wealth and forces led by a military genius, Carthage did not have the regional support that Rome had established. Thus, started the Second Punic War, the victor of which, Rome, would be finally be established as the dominant

Carthage was thusly pushed back to Spain, although their power was still great at that time. The Carthaginians continued to enjoy control of a vast area and benefitted from all of the trade taking place within it. Wishing to press the enemy and gain more territory and power, the Romans pushed on against Carthage, resulting in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC). On the second attempt, Rome would find much more success than she had experienced during the First Punic

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).