The Romans fought against the city of Carthage which then ended in their destruction. Yale University. In such circumstances it was difficult to force a battle if the other commander was unwilling to fight. The only noteworthy feature of the ensuing campaigns is the skillful guerrilla war waged by a new Carthaginian commander, Hamilcar Barca, from his strong positions on Mt. The Romans retreated to their coastal stronghold north of the Ebro, from which the Carthaginians again failed to expel them. The first war broke out after a group of mercenaries seized control of Messana First Punic War (264-241 B.C.) The Punic Wars took place in the years 264 B.C. In 264 B.C., Rome decided to intervene in a dispute on the western coast of the island of Sicily (then a Carthaginian province) involving an attack by soldiers from the city of Syracuse against the city of Messina. Hasdrubal[note 13] led the Carthaginian cavalry on the left wing and routed the Roman cavalry opposite, then swept around the rear of the Romans to attack the cavalry on the other wing. Hannibal kept his oath and devoted his life to defeating Rome. - Rome won each of the Punic Wars and gained control over the western Mediterranean. [175][183] Hannibal marched through the richest and most fertile provinces of Italy, hoping the devastation would draw Fabius into battle, but Fabius refused. We care about our planet! [note 5] Many were from North Africa and these were frequently referred to as "Libyans". Corrections? . As the history of the conflict was written by Roman authors, they labeled them collectively as 'The Punic Wars' which refers to: Rome won all three of these wars, allowing the Romans to dominate the Mediterranean region which had previously been controlled by Carthage. [175][176], In early spring 217BC, the Carthaginians crossed the Apennines unopposed, taking a difficult but unguarded route. Books [40][41] The close order African infantry and the citizen-militia both fought in a tightly-packed formation known as a phalanx. Read the passage from the myth of Romulus and Remus.The founding of Rome revolves around two orphan boys named Romulus and Remus. [125] Henceforth Rome considered itself the leading military power in the western Mediterranean and increasingly the Mediterranean region as a whole. After this disastrous defeat, however, the Romans managed to rebound, and the Carthaginians lost their hold on Italy as Rome won victories in Spain and North Africa under the rising young general Scipio Africanus. Hasdrubal fled Spain, following his brother over the Alps into Italy to join forces. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Web. Wars of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Punic_Wars&oldid=1135825581, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 January 2023, at 02:31. 2 Yet, in . What did the Romans believe about the role of the gods in society? What I learned: The Second Punic War is arguably the most famous of the three. [93] The Romans sent a fleet to evacuate their survivors and the Carthaginians opposed it at the battle of Cape Hermaeum (modern Cape Bon); the Carthaginians were again heavily defeated. She rescues the boy who becomes the founder. (The word Punic, later the name for the series of wars between Carthage and Rome, was derived from the Latin word for Phoenician.). Our main source for information about the Punic Wars is the . [213], Carthage sent more reinforcements to Sicily in 211BC and went on the offensive. [281] A century later, the site of Carthage was rebuilt as a Roman city by Julius Caesar; it became one of the main cities of Roman Africa by the time of the Empire. These wars were fought on three frontiers. [2][6][7] Modern historians consider Polybius to have treated the relatives of Scipio Aemilianus, his patron and friend, unduly favourably but the consensus is to accept his account largely at face value. Ben Kiernan. This breach of the recently signed treaty is considered by modern historians to be the single greatest cause of war with Carthage breaking out again in 218BC in the Second Punic War. Historians of Ancient Rome an Anthology of the Major Writings Third Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike, The corruption and incompetence of her government, which embezzled funds which should have gone to the military and consistently refused to send much needed supplies and reinforcements to generals in the field, The mostly mercenary army who often simply refused to fight, An over-reliance on the brilliance of Hamilcar Barca. Traditionally, when at war the Romans would raise two legions, each of 4,200 infantry[note 4] and 300 cavalry. The Carthaginian council upheld Hannibals action and drew upon itself a declaration of war. The recent complications of foreign and internal strife had indeed so weakened Punic power that the prospect of renewing the war under favourable circumstances seemed remote enough. Explain how the connotation of the new word differs from the connotation of the original. First, the amount of casualties in numerous wars, such as the Punic Wars in which 300,000 were estimated to have died, negatively impacted the number of Roman farmers. The Carthaginians, whose citizen levy was utterly disorganized, could neither keep the field against the invaders nor prevent their subjects from revolting. He was stopped and defeated at the Battle of the Metaurus in 207 BCE, dying on the field. The first Punic War was over ownership . ), or Marcus Antonius, was an ally of Julius Caesar and the main rival of his successor Octavian (later Augustus). As the Punic Wars ended, the surviving 50,000 citizens of Carthage were sold into slavery. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Punic_Wars/. Punic Wars, also known as Carthaginian Wars, occurred between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) empire from 264 to 146 bce. Prior to the conflict, Carthage had grown from a small port-of-call to the richest and most powerful city in the Mediterranean region before 260 BCE. Then Romulus founded Rome. How was a freshwater supply transported from the Tiber River to the city of Rome? The First Punic War (264-241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. Small farmers could not compete with higher levels of production from large estates. In A.D. 80, Vespasians son Titus opened the Colosseumofficially known as read more, The Roman politician and general Mark Antony (8330 B.C. A cavalry force of 4,000 from the other Roman army was also engaged and wiped out. Both battles ended in complete defeat for the Romans, as Hasdrubal had bribed the Romans' mercenaries to desert. How did patricians satisfy people at the end of the Roman Republic? The unresolved strategic rivalry between Rome and Carthage caused the Second Punic War to break out in 218 BC, sparking a major but ultimately unsuccessful revolt within the Carthaginian Empire. The Mercenary War lasted from 241-237 BCE and, while Carthage was engaged in this conflict, Rome occupied the Carthaginian colonies of Sardinia and Corsica. By the time the First Punic War broke out, Rome had become the dominant power throughout the Italian peninsula, while Carthagea powerful city-state in North Africahad established itself as the leading maritime power in the world. Mago was also recalled; he died of wounds on the voyage and some of his ships were intercepted by the Romans,[222] but 12,000 of his troops reached Carthage. The Carthaginian's superior seamanship was not as effective as they had hoped, while the Romans' corvus gave them an edge as the battle degenerated into a shapeless brawl. [273] The next morning the Romans started systematically working their way through the residential part of the city, killing everyone they encountered and firing the buildings behind them. [200] It was the only time during the war that Carthage reinforced Hannibal. However, the scheme of preparing for a fresh conflict found a worthy champion in Hamilcar Barca. Carthage and Rome. When they did exactly that, and the Romans pressed what they saw as an advantage and followed them, Hannibal closed from behind and the sides, enveloping the Roman forces and crushing them. [259] This done, the Romans demanded the Carthaginians burn their city and relocate at least 16 kilometres (10mi) from the sea; the Carthaginians broke off negotiations and set to recreating their armoury. Rome's army gained new soldiers from conquered territories. In 201 BCE, you have the end of the Second Punic War. [271][272] Scipio launched a major assault which quickly captured the city's main square, where the legions camped overnight. The remaining Carthaginian-controlled towns then surrendered or were taken through force or treachery[214][215] and the Sicilian grain supply to Rome and its armies was secured. Why were roads important to the military expansion of the Roman Republic? Rome, which before the war had never fought outside of Italy, now controlled a wealthy overseas territoryits first of many. [249] Henceforth it was clear that Carthage was politically subordinate to Rome. All except the smallest towns were too well fortified for Hannibal to take by assault and blockade could be a long-drawn-out affair, or, if the target was a port, impossible. Over the course of nearly 20 years, Rome rebuilt its entire fleet in order to confront Carthages powerful navy, scoring its first sea victory at Mylae in 260 B.C. [120], The Romans rebuilt their fleet again in 243BC after the Senate approached Rome's wealthiest citizens for loans to finance the construction of one ship each, repayable from the reparations to be imposed on Carthage once the war was won. [111] Carthage turned to the maritime offensive, inflicting another heavy naval defeat at the battle of Phintias and all but swept the Romans from the sea. Punic Wars, also called Carthaginian Wars, (264-146 bce), a series of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) empire, resulting in the destruction of Carthage, the enslavement of its population, and Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean. The combined Roman force attacked Hasdrubal at the battle of the Metaurus and destroyed his army, killing Hasdrubal. In spring 212BC the Romans stormed Syracuse in a surprise night assault and captured several districts of the city. 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