The Punic Wars The Punic Wars 264-146 BCE Punic comes from the Latin word for Three conflicts fought between Rome and Carthage First Punic War 264-241 BCE Fought over Second Punic War 218-201 BCE Fought over invaded Italy Third Punic War 149-146 BCE Rome feared Carthage would again become a threat Carthage was Carthage Carthage was a colony founded in the 8 th century BCE by Phoenician From the 8 th century BCE to the 3 rd century BCE it grew from a small port town to become the and most powerful city in the Mediterranean By the mid 3 rd century Carthage virtually all trade in the Mediterranean The Harbor of Carthage The harbor of Carthage was an wonder Designed and built to accommodate both and military vessels The entire harbor could hold This harbor was the heart and soul of Carthage 1
Carthage Carthage was ruled by an a system of government where an elite few rule The large and powerful Carthaginian enabled Carthage to rule the Mediterranean Its military consisted mostly of well-paid from Western Europe and North Africa Carthaginian Navy Developed from the Phoenician sailing Carthaginian sailors were well-paid and were of Carthage unlike the army which was largely made up of foreign mercenaries Carthaginian boats were called Had three banks of oars Were used to smash into and sink enemy boats Carthaginian oarsmen were incredibly skilled at their vessels during battles Rome By the mid 3 rd century BCE Rome had come to most of the Italian peninsula but not Sicily Had become a moderate power in the region but could not yet challenge Carthage at Rome s strength lay in its which was made up largely of Roman citizens and supported by troops from allied states Roman Army The Roman army in the 3 rd century was not yet a force Troops were levied by conscription from landholding Romans had adopted the manipular structure more flexible and effective than the earlier used Greekstyle 2
First Punic War: 264-241 BCE Carthage had the advantage at Rome had the advantage on Conflict would arise over of Sicily Rome would build four fleets to take on the powerful Carthaginian navy each was Rome then developed a new naval tactic the This lashed the ships together and forced the sailors to fight Allowed Rome to turn naval battles into mini- battles Rome would and take control of Sicily Carthage lost because its government did not take the Romans seriously Funds that should have gone to the Carthaginian military were by its nobles the mercenaries would then refuse to fight Rome had virtually no navy at the beginning of the war but by the end it had a Between the 1 st and 2 nd Punic Wars Carthage would fight the Mercenary War between 241-237 BCE after to pay its mercenaries Rome would take Corsica and Carthage would slowly recover and begin to expand further into Iberia ( ) 226 BCE Rome and Carthage signed the Treaty of the Ebro River was controlled by Rome of the Ebro River Carthage would control the territory it had already conquered It was agreed that neither nation would cross the The Second Punic War: 218-201 BCE 219 BCE Saguntum, an ally of Rome but located south of the Ebro, was by the Carthaginian general Hannibal The Romans that Carthage turn Hannibal over to Rome Carthage refused 218 BCE Rome war Rome believed this would be an victory as the Carthaginian navy was now very weak 3
Hannibal was the of Hamilcar Barca, the leading Carthaginian commander during the Punic War As a boy his father made him swear an : "I swear that so soon as age will permit... I will use fire and steel to arrest the destiny of Rome Hannibal led men including 37 war elephants through Spain and Gaul along the Mediterranean coast Hannibal gathered many men on his way towards Rome his soldiers would make up a, multi-ethnic army Hannibal Crosses the Alps A Roman army marched to to stop Hannibal In a stunning feat, Hannibal led his army north and then down through the Alps no one at the time believed this was possible Hannibal took days to cross the Alps and lost between 1/3 to 1/2 of his army Hannibal in Italy Once he was through the Alps Hannibal his forces with soldiers and mercenaries from all over Italy These men joined Hannibal both out of hatred of the Romans and because they were in awe of Hannibal s Remained in Italy for winning many battles but unable to capture the city of Rome The Battle of Cannae Battle of Cannae (216 BCE) This was Hannibal's most famous He used an envelopment strategy where he surrounded the Roman army and it 44,000 Roman soldiers were killed from this point on the Romans would not directly Hannibal in battle in Italy Fabius Maximus Roman politician and general who was appointed five times Appointed twice in 221 and 217 BCE Fabian strategy Fabius was convinced that Hannibal could not be defeated in Italy thus he refused to meet Hannibal in a pitched 4
He attacked Carthaginian and developed scorched earth policies to deprive Hannibal of supplies This strategy was initially very in Rome After the Battle of Cannae, the Romans looked to Fabius for he was now considered as wise as the gods Fabius Maximus is regarded as the father of warfare a tactic that saved Rome from Hannibal General Publius Cornelius Scipio Scipio was a young during the Second Punic War He studied for many years as the Carthaginian army won multiple victories in Italy Decided it was best to attack Carthage of Italy while Hannibal was stuck on the peninsula Considered one of Rome s greatest and most generals The Second Punic War: 218-201 BCE Scipio led his army to attack Carthage in He next led an army against the city of itself Hannibal returned to to defend Carthage Battle of Zama (202 BCE) Hannibal was finally and Scipio earned the title Africanus Hannibal convinced the Carthaginian senate to Carthage s fleet was to trade vessels and 10 warships, lost its colonies in Iberia and was forced to pay Rome 200 talents every year for 50 years Rome was again Between 2 nd and 3 rd Punic Wars Carthage slowly began to rebuild its trading and commercial power Rome s influence and power across the Mediterranean world Roman Senator was convinced Carthage needed to be destroyed Cato would end every speech he made in the senate regardless of the subject Carthago delenda est! ( Carthage must be ) 5
The Third Punic War: 149-146 BCE Rome made impossible demands of Carthage with the one goal of a war 300 noble to be given to Rome as hostages The city of Carthage was to be destroyed and away from the coast Carthage refused but with no allies or mercenaries left it was forced to defend itself behind its massive The Destruction of Carthage The Roman general Scipio Aemilianus (adopted grandson of Scipio Africanus) laid siege to the city of Carthage for Once the Romans breeched the walls they proceeded to the city Carthage was brick-by-brink and burnt to the ground The survivors were sold into Results of the Punic Wars Rome would become the pre-eminent power in the With its experienced military it would rapidly expand east becoming incredibly in the process By 133 BCE Rome had Macedon, the city-states of Greece, and the kingdom of Pergamum in Asia Minor Roman Provinces Each new territory conquered became a Roman A Roman Proconsul ( ) was sent to oversee the new province Responsible for the province Often these Romans were and this position was a way to get rich quick The Wealth of Rome Wealth flowed into Rome from the new from Sicily and Africa and tin from Spain and luxury goods from Greece and the East Roman became exponentially wealthy during the period after the Punic Wars A new class of wealthy merchants and traders emerged these were generally 6
Effects of Roman Expansion Rome became incredibly wealthy and most of the Mediterranean Wealth gap between rich and poor Romans increased Huge influx of from non-stop conquest, beginning with the Punic Wars, forced many Roman citizens out of work Cities particularly Rome itself increased in as the new poor looked for work Reforms after the Punic Wars Military Gaius Marius - 155-86 BCE - was a brilliant and a wealthy plebeian During the early and middle Republic, soldiers were and farmers Now there were far Romans who owned land Marius recruited his army from the landless poor creating Rome s first soldiers Soldiers were well trained and paid but their loyalty was to the and not the Republic Societal Tiberius Gracchus - 163-133 BCE - was a of the Third Punic War Became Plebeian in 133 BCE Attempted to enact reforms to the poor Roman citizens from the greed and corruption of the rich Tiberius would be by the senate later that year His, Gaius Gracchus, would be killed a decade later attempting to bring about similar reforms Both brothers were seen as of the people Rome after the Punic Wars Rome would become increasing corrupt and over the next century Relied on powerful generals such as Marius, Sulla, Crassus, and Julius Caesar to maintain This civil unrest would culminate in a series of civil wars that ended with the ultimate victory of Augustus Caesar Rome s first The Republic was the Empire was 7