Carthaginian Wars
The Carthaginian Wars, also known as the Punic Wars, were a series of three significant conflicts between the ancient rival empires of Rome and Carthage, lasting nearly a century. The wars began with the First Punic War, triggered by disputes over control of Sicily, which was strategically important for both powers. Carthage initially had a strong naval presence, while Rome's military strength lay in its disciplined land armies. Over time, despite early successes by Carthage, Rome's military organization allowed it to gain the upper hand, culminating in the eventual defeat of Carthage.
The Second Punic War saw the rise of Hannibal, who famously crossed the Alps to attack Rome, achieving notable victories despite suffering significant losses. However, the Romans, led by General Scipio Africanus, ultimately countered this offensive, leading to Carthage's defeat and significant territorial losses. The Third Punic War was characterized by a swift Roman campaign that resulted in the total destruction of Carthage in 146 BCE, with the city being burned and its population either killed or enslaved. The aftermath established Rome as the dominant power in the Mediterranean, fundamentally reshaping the region's political landscape.
Carthaginian Wars
The Carthaginian Wars, better known as the Punic Wars, consisted of three lengthy wars between the rival ancient empires of Rome (Italy) and Carthage (Tunisia, North Africa). Carthage was a coastal city with a large and skilled navy, but Rome's land-based armies were unmatched at the time. While the advantage was traded back and forth between the countries throughout the Carthaginian Wars, which spanned almost a century, after the Third Punic War, Carthage was burned to the ground, and its entire population was either killed or enslaved.
Overview
The First Punic War began indirectly. Two smaller city-states in Sicily had gone to war, and one asked the powerful city of Carthage for aid. Carthage obliged but upon arriving found that this city-state had also secured aid from Rome. The city-state dismissed the Carthaginian army because it was no longer needed. Insulted, and not happy to have Roman soldiers in Sicily, Carthage offered its services to the other city-state involved in the conflict. The war quickly ceased to be about grievances between the two smaller city-states and became about which empire would take control of the strategically advantageous island.
Rome's society at the time was built around its army. Roman citizens were required to serve at least ten years as a soldier before a certain age. Additionally, every division of Rome's army was well-organized and strictly disciplined. A dominant military culture within the Roman Empire encouraged young men to fight hard and do their best to perform military feats that brought glory to Rome.
Carthage, on the other hand, only employed its own citizens in its cavalry. The other divisions of its army consisted of various foreign mercenaries, including Gauls, Spaniards, Greeks, and Macedonians. These mercenaries likely fought within their own units, using their own methods, and under their own command. This made Carthage's army fragmented and unorganized.
While the Roman army was superior, its navy was fledgling and miniscule. Carthage was the dominant naval power of the time. On its war ships, Carthage employed its own citizens along with mercenaries. At the start of the First Punic War, Carthage's fleet vastly outnumbered Rome's fleet. When Carthage's mercenaries on land began suffering devastating losses at the hands of the Romans, Carthage pulled them back and brought out its navy in full force. The large bodies of water around Sicily gave Carthage room to maneuver its fleets, and at first, the Roman navy could not match them, so the Romans decided to use their skilled soldiers to their advantage at sea. However, instead of truly committing to a naval battle, the Roman commanders sailed ships filled with soldiers close to Carthage's fleet, forcibly attached a boarding bridge to each ship, and then invaded it.
After several years, the Romans defeated Carthage's fleet and sailed to North Africa where more fighting with Carthage ensued. Carthage pushed Roman soldiers back, and the war returned to Sicily. Despite the best efforts of famous general Hamilcar Barca, Carthage was defeated, and peace negotiations began. Rome forced Carthage to pay a large sum of money, release all prisoners of war, and give Sicily to Rome in addition to other minor territories. After more than two decades of fighting, Carthage agreed.
To rebuild, Hamilcar turned to conquering sections of Spain. He took most of Spain successfully and negotiated alliances with the remaining cities. Hamilcar died during this time, and his son Hannibal took command of Carthage's renewed army. Hannibal wanted to seek revenge on Rome for the troubles it had put his homeland through, so he declared war. The Romans underestimated Hannibal, and Hannibal had already made several conquests before Rome launched a counter-fleet toward Carthage. Hannibal took his large army straight through the Alps along a direct and unexpected route to Rome. He surprised the Romans but, in doing so, lost a large portion of his army, all his siege equipment, and most of his war elephants. Various battles ensued, a cat-and-mouse game that went on for years, until the Romans finally felt ready to commit to meeting the Carthaginians outside fortified cities.
Despite a numerical disadvantage, Hannibal outwitted and conquered the Roman legions. However, soon after his victory, Hannibal's good fortune ended. Bad weather stopped a second Carthaginian army sent to reinforce Hannibal's position. This army was led by Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal. A nearby Roman legion then slaughtered Hasdrubal and his army. To make matters even worse, Rome had sent ships transporting a large number of soldiers, led by famous general Scipio Africanus, to take Carthage. Without Hasdrubal to provide a moral boost, many of the generals and soldiers defending Carthage fled or betrayed the city. Peace talks began, and Hannibal was called back from Italy to aid the city. Despite a peace agreement and Hannibal's recommendation that they surrender, the citizens of Carthage wanted to continue the war. These citizens were quickly defeated by the Roman army, however, and most of Carthage's soldiers were killed. Carthage then surrendered entirely.
As a condition of its surrender, Carthage had to remain without a military. However, Carthage prospered economically as a coastal trade city. Years later, northern countries that were allied with Rome began to frequently raid Carthage. Carthage asked Rome for assistance instead of rallying its own troops, which would have violated the peace agreement. Rome sent a mediator, but the mediator was biased toward Rome's allies. The mediator was both surprised and disturbed at Carthage's quick recovery after the war. While Carthage had not threatened Rome, Rome soon learned that Carthage had raised mercenary armies to defend itself from its northern neighbors.
The Roman senate resolved to put an end to Carthage before it could threaten Italy in any way. Rome declared war on the mostly demilitarized Carthage, and the Third Punic War began. However, this war was no contest and ended less than a year after it began. Roman legions burned Carthage to the ground, killed or enslaved its people, and salted its fields so crops could not be grown there again. The territory that belonged to Carthage was divided between Rome and its allies.
Tyler J. Biscontini
Bibliography
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Halsall, Paul. "Ancient History Sourcebook: Polybius (c.200-after 118 BCE)." Fordham University. Fordham University, May 1988. Web. 23 May 2016.
Hoyos, B. D. A Companion to the Punic Wars. Malden: Wiley, 2011. Print.
"Punic Wars.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2016. Web. 23 May 2016.