The Punic Wars
By Celer
The Punic Wars were a series of wars fought between the Two Great Empires of the Mediterranean, Rome and Carthage. Carthage had long been a thorn in Rome’s eyes. It was rich from trading and had numerous ports and a big navy. Rome, at that time, had just fought and defeated the Latin League, the Samnites and King Pyrrhus and still confident from her victories, was looking for more territory.
Growing Pains
A group of Italian Mercenaries, the Mamertines, took the city of Messina in northern Sicily. They became, a problem for Syracuse, which at that time, was an independent city. Syracuse besieged Messina. The Mamertines in turn appealed for help from the two superpowers, Rome and Carthage. Rome, at first was reluctant to send troops. However, Carthage responded and began to send troops to the area. Rome, seeing this also began to send troops, afraid to see Carthaginian power spread further over Sicily and spread to Italy. Rome formed an alliance with the Mamertines and forced Syracuse into an unwanted alliance. Soon, only Rome and Carthage were left in the dispute. This resulted into the First Punic War, which lasted for 23 years.
Due to the hilly geographical features of Sicily, the war was mainly fought by sea. Rome, previously, fighting only in the Italian peninsula, had little or no experience of naval warfare. However, the Carthaginians were experts. They were descended from the Phoenicians, the masters of the sea. Their fleet was big and proud, her sailors living off the sea for decades. Rome, lacked naval technology and built a fleet from captured Carthaginian triremes and quinqueremes. To compensate from the lack of technology in sea, the Romans built a boarding device, the corvus to bring the tactics of fighting on land to sea. This, therefore, led to several spectacular Roman victories. However, the Romans lost more ships and crew to Carthage due to storms and other mishaps. Several whole fleets were destroyed due to storms. By the ending of the war, Carthage ruled the sea and Rome was reluctant to build another fleet. However, wealthy citizens funded for a new fleet. The First Punic war was decided in the naval battle of the Aegates Islands (March 10, 241 BC), where the new Roman fleet under consul Gaius Lutatius Catulus scored a victory. Carthage lost most of its fleet and was economically incapable of funding another, or to find manpower for the crews. With no fleet, Carthage and forced to surrender.
By the end of the First Punic War, Carthage was no longer a major player in the Mediterranean. Both nations were financially wrecked. Rome, only won because it wouldn’t accept defeat and because its ability to attract private investements. Carthage was forced to accept Rome’s peace terms which in Carthaginian eyes were outrageous.
The Second War
Locations of where the battles took place.
After Carthage lost, her power in the sea was gone, her territories taken by Romans. Carthage therefore tried to compensate for the loss by invading Spain. Hamilcar started this campagin, which was continued by his son, Hannibal whom would soon be remembered by all even thousands of years later for his military genuis. When he crossed the River Ibera, with his army, which Carthage, by treaty was forced to stay south of Rome, asked Hannibal to be handed over. Carthage refused, and war was the result.
Hannibal took an army of 40 000 and 37 war elephants. He attempted to cross the Alps, and succeeded, even with heavy casualties along the way. Nearly 20 000 were dead by the end of the journey. By spring he was in Northern Italy. The Romans tried to attack him but he defeated them in Ticinus and in The Battle of Trebia. In Trebia, both Roman consuls were killed along with a quarter with their forces. After many more spectacular victories, the Senate appointed two new consuls who field the largest Roman army ever. The two forces met at Cannae where the Romans outnumbered the Carthaginians by 20 000 soldiers. Hannibal merely surrounded the Roman forces and annihilated them. Out of the 70 000 Romans, only 16 000 escaped death from the Carthaginian blade. Over, the next three years, the Romans suffered humiliating defeat after defeat.
While all this was happening, Rome invaded Iberia, and in 211 BC she finally managed to capture Saguntum. That same year, Rome captured two more cities. However, the Carthaginians managed to defeat the Roman forces in battle killing the two Roman commanders Publius and Gnaeus Scipio, the famous Scipio Africanus Major’s father and uncle. After a vow to have his vengeance from the death of his father, he captured the Iberian capital, Carthago Nova. Scipio returned to Rome as a national hero, and was elected consul. He was given the role to invade Carthage himself. Given control of two legions, he proceeded in his invasion. He was supported by the Numidians, who resented Carthaginian control and promised Scipio to provide him with cavalry. The two generals, Scipio and Hannibal met at Zama, where the historical battle was fought. With the help of the Numidian cavalry, Scipio won his battle and was afterwards known as Scipio Africanus.
The war weakened Carthage, which was forced to accept, Rome’s outrageous peace terms, such as only allowing 10 ships in the navy to ward of pirates. Carthage would never regain her former glory as the world’s leading empire in trade.
The Last Struggle
Carthage by now had literally no allies and little territory. In the peace treaty at the end of the Second Punic War, it was not allowed to declare war without the permission of Rome. However, Carthage ignored the order and invaded Numidia. The Senate had a vote whether or not to declare war again. When the vote won, the Senate started to gather a new army. The Carthaginians tried to calm Rome down with hostages but failed. The Romans landed an army while negotiations continued. When the Carthaginians learned that Rome's final demand was that they leave their city, destroy it and rebuild 10 miles inland, they abandoned negotiations and the city was immediately besieged, beginning the Third Punic War. The Carthaginians were beseiged for three years, before, their city was finally stormed. The 50 000 surviving Carthaginians were sold as slaves. The city walls were destoryed, the buildings burned. The ground was sowned with salt so nothing would ever grow again. Carthage would not exist anymore, but merely a thing of the past.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/punic_wars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Punic_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Punic_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Punic_War