Punic Wars: Conflict between Rome and Carthage

Between 264 BCE and 146 BCE, the Punic Wars were a series of battles between the forces of ancient Carthage and Rome. Punic is derived from the word Phoenician (Phoenix in Greek, Poenus from Punicus in Latin), which was applied to Carthaginians of Phoenician heritage. As the conflict's history was documented by Roman historians, it was called "The Punic Wars".

The article encompasses the discussion of the punic wars between Rome and Carthage. It discusses the reasons for the conflict between Rome and Carthage. The article also provides an insight into how the punic wars affect Rome.

More About Public Wars - Introduction 

Carthage had evolved from a tiny port-of-call to the richest and most powerful metropolis in the Mediterranean region before the conflict began in 260 BCE. It had a powerful navy, a mercenary army, and enough riches to accomplish whatever it wanted thanks to tribute, tariffs, and trade. Carthage prohibited Roman trade in the Western Mediterranean through a pact with the little city of Rome, and because Rome had no naval force, Carthage was able to easily enforce the treaty. 

In Carthaginian waters, Roman traders were drowned and their ships were stolen. The three Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome lasted nearly a century, starting in 264 B.C. and concluding in 146 B.C. with Carthage's destruction.

Rome had established itself as the dominating power throughout the Italian peninsula by the time the First Punic War erupted, while Carthage–a great city-state in northern Africa–had established itself as the world's leading naval power. In 264 B.C., Rome intervened in a dispute on the Carthaginian-controlled island of Sicily; the conflict finished with Rome in control of both Sicily and Corsica and heralded the empire's development as a naval as well as a land power. 

Hannibal, the renowned Carthaginian general, invaded Italy in the Second Punic War and won major victories at Lake Trasimene and Cannae before succumbing to Rome's Scipio Africanus in 202 B.C., leaving Rome in control of the western Mediterranean and much of Spain. The Romans, commanded by Scipio the Younger, conquered and destroyed Carthage in the Third Punic War in 146 B.C., transforming Africa into yet another province of the great Roman Empire.

Background for the Punic Wars Between Rome and Carthage

Around 814 B.C., Phoenician settlers from the Mediterranean port of Tyre, currently known as Lebanon, established the city-state of Carthage on Africa's northern coast, just north of modern-day Tunis. 

Carthage was the region's wealthiest and most advanced city, as well as its dominant naval power, by 265 B.C. Carthage's relations with Rome were historically favourable, and the cities had signed various treaties outlining commercial rights over the years, despite the fact that Carthage had clashed brutally with several other countries in the region, most notably Greece. 

In 264 B.C., Rome chose to interfere in a dispute involving an attack by soldiers from the city of Syracuse against the city of Messina on the western coast of Sicily (then a Carthaginian province). While Carthage backed Syracuse, Rome backed Messina, and the conflict quickly escalated into a direct clash between the two powers, with control of Sicily on the line.

Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage: The First War

Sicily was divided between Carthaginian and Roman authority. When Hiero II of Syracuse attacked the Mamertines of Messina, the Mamertines sought assistance from Carthage and then Rome. The Carthaginians have dispatched troops to Hiero II. 

The Mamertines of Messina were fought for by the Romans, and in 264 BCE, Rome and Carthage began the war on each other for the sovereignty of Sicily. The Corvus, a moveable gangplank that could be connected to an enemy's ship and held in place with hooks, was invented by Rome. By immobilizing the opposing ship and tying it to their own, the Romans were able to control a sea war using land battle tactics. 

Despite this, they lacked the Carthaginians' sea experience and, more significantly, lacked a general with the skill of Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca. In 249 BCE, he beat the Romans at Drepana, but due to a lack of soldiers and supplies, he was forced to retreat.

The Romans, now more experienced at sea battles and better equipped and led, defeated Carthage in a series of decisive victories, and the Carthaginians asked for peace in 241 BCE.

Impact of the Conflict Between Rome and Carthage

Since we have seen the first Punic war let us look into the impacts of the first war on the individual countries, it is important to understand how did the punic wars affect Rome and Carthage to develop a comprehensive understanding.

Needless to say, the Punic wars took an economical toll on both countries but Carthage suffered greatly.

The government's corruption and incompetence, which embezzled funds that should have gone to the military and consistent refusal to send much-needed supplies and reinforcements to generals in the field, the most mercenary army, which often simply refused to fight, and an over-reliance on Hamil's brilliance, cost Carthage the war.

Carthage would mostly neglect the conflict, assigning the battle to Hamilcar and his soldiers, while Rome would construct and equip more warships and deploy more warriors. Despite the fact that Rome had never possessed a navy before the First Punic War, they triumphed as lords of the sea in 241 BCE, and Carthage was defeated.

The Carthaginian government had regularly failed to pay its mercenary army during the war, and these mercenaries besieged the city in 241 BCE. Hamilcar Barca was summoned to raise the siege, which he succeeded despite Carthage's refusal to provide him with much-needed supplies and troops during his battles. The Mercenary War lasted from 241-237 BCE when Rome controlled the Carthaginian colonies of Sardinia and Corsica while Carthage was fighting.

The Ebro Treaty was signed in 226 BCE between Carthage and Rome, stating that the Romans would maintain Spanish land north of the Ebro River, Carthage would hold the area south of the river that they had already acquired, and neither nation would cross the border.

Punic Wars Between Rome and Carthage: the Second War

Rome took control of Corsica and Sardinia over the next several decades, but Carthage was able to build a new base of influence in Spain beginning in 237 B.C., led by the formidable general Hamilcar Barca and later his son-in-law Hasdrubal.

Hannibal, a military officer, eventually assumed command of the Carthaginian armies in Spain. He marched his army across the Ebro River into Saguntum, a Roman-protected Iberian city in Spain, two years later, essentially declaring war on Rome. At Ticinus, Trebia, and Trasimene, the Second Punic War saw a streak of triumphs over Roman forces. 

Hannibal's audacious conquest of Rome peaked at Cannae in 216 B.C., when he exploited his better infantry to encircle a Roman force twice his size and inflicted tremendous casualties.

However, the Romans were able to recover from this humiliating defeat, and the Carthaginians were no longer a threat to Rome's control in Italy, thanks to triumphs in Spain and North Africa. 

Hannibal's army was compelled to abandon the battle in Italy in 203 B.C. in order to protect North Africa. Hannibal's defeats in the Second Punic War ultimately ended Carthage's dominion in the western Mediterranean, leaving Rome in possession of Spain and Carthage with only its North African realm. Carthage was also obliged to surrender her fleet and pay a huge silver indemnity to Rome.

Third Punic War: The Decline of Carthage

The Third Punic War, perhaps the most contentious of the three conflicts between Rome and Carthage, arose from Cato the Elder and the other militaristic Roman Senate members' efforts to persuade their colleagues that Carthage (even in its weakened state) posed a continuing threat to Rome's dominance in the region. 

After Carthage broke its treaty with Rome by launching the war on the neighbouring kingdom of Numidia in 149 B.C., the Romans dispatched an army to North Africa, kicking off the Third Punic War. Carthage withstood the Roman siege for two years before the North African campaign was handed up to the young general Scipio Aemilianus (later known as Scipio the Younger) in 147 B.C. 

After reinforcing the Roman defenses surrounding Carthage, Aemilianus launched a powerful attack on the city's harbourside in the spring of 146 B.C., pushing enemy troops towards their citadel while demolishing home after house. The Carthaginians surrendered after seven days of horrible violence, obliterating an old city that had existed for 700 years.

Impact of the Punic Wars

The third punic war was the last war of the conflict between Rome and Carthage. Let us look into important aspects like how did the punic wars affect Rome and who won the punic wars.

Needless to say, Rome won the punic wars, an immediate effect of the punic wars on Rome was the emergence of Rome as a strong naval-based force in the western world. Let us look into some important changes in the aftermath of the punic wars. Carthage's 50,000 citizens were sold into slavery. 

In 146 B.C., Roman armies went east to defeat King Philip V of Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars, and by the end of the year, Rome ruled over an empire reaching from the Atlantic coast of Spain to the Greek-Asian border (today known as Turkey).

Scipio Aemilianus, a Roman general, besieged the city for three years and then devastated and burned it to the ground when it fell. Following Julius Caesar's death, Rome became the preeminent force in the Mediterranean, while Carthage lay in ruins for over a century before being rebuilt. The Punic Wars supplied Rome with the training, navy, and resources it needed to grow from a little city to a world-ruling empire.

Conclusion 

In conclusion of the article, we can say that we have learned about the punic wars and the aftermath of these wars, we have also learned the root causes of the war. In simple words, these were the wars which were fought between Rome as well as Carthage during 264 BCE and 146 BCE.