The Punic Wars

Mark, Joshua J. “Carthage.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 8 Feb. 2020, www.ancient.eu/carthage/.

What I learned: The article provided information about the early history of Carthage. Carthage, or Kart-hadasht (new city), was founded by the Phoenicians in 322 BC. They were fleeing their home city of Tyre when Alexander the Great destroyed it. The Phoenicians were a seafaring people who's primary occupation was trade, so they selected the site of the city based on its good harbor and proximity to trade routes.

The Carthaginians drove out the native Africans by the city and secured alliances with others, such as the Numidians. The city soon grew to be immensely wealthy because of their control of trade and lucrative goods. The article claims that within a hundred years of its founding, Carthage could claim to be the richest city in the Mediterranean. They would further expand their influence by founding colonies on the African Coast, Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia, as well as the Iberian Peninsula.

Their navy reigned supreme in the Western Mediterranean, allowing them to exert a large amount of influence over other states. In fact, Rome was forced to sign a treaty that forbade them from trading in Carthaginian markets. This shows how their powerful navy gave them protection and leverage against other states.

How this relates to the class: Understanding the background of Carthage is beneficial to understand when talking about Rome and the Punic Wars. Despite being a power based in Africa, the Carthaginians held a large amount of power over various places in Europe and had interactions with the local populations. If it wasn't for the initial rise of Carthage, the Roman world could have been very different. This is especially important because Rome is often attributed for being one of the foundations for "the western world."

“The First Punic War: Dickinson College Commentaries.” The First Punic War | Dickinson College Commentaries, dcc.dickinson.edu/nepos-hannibal/first-punic-war.

What I learned: The First Punic War began in 264 BC and would last until 241 BC. It began after a group of Italian mercenaries asked Carthage for help against the city of Syracuse. Soon the mercenaries changed their mind and appealed to Rome for aid. The Romans were hesitant to get into an armed conflict, but they agreed due to their fears of the expending influence of the Carthaginians.

The Roman army soon crossed the narrow straights to Sicily. While nobody could have known it at the time, this first campaign outside of Italy would be the first step to Roman control of the entire western world. The war would primarily be fought on and around the island. The Romans would have some initial success, but soon a bitter deadlock engulfed the island as both sides failed to gain the upper hand. Cities would change hands repeatedly, increasing both the monetary costs and the cost in lives as both sides struggled to maintain control over their territorial gains. The Romans would soon Sack the city of Agrigentum, making it clear that Roman war aims had transitioned from wanting to maintain the status quo to wanting to expel Carthage from the island entirely.

The Romans soon came to the realization that they would need to become a naval power if they wanted to break the stalemate. This would allow them to cut the Carthaginians from their supply lines and bring the fight to Africa if needed. The Romans copied the design of a washed ashore Carthaginian ship. They suffered several large setbacks at first, but the Romans would come up with several innovations that would allow them to compete with their highly skilled adversaries. This culminated into the battle of Ecnomus (potentially the largest naval battle in history when examining total combatants), where Rome won a decisive victory.

Rome would try to push their advantage and launch an invasion of Africa, but this would end in disaster. Several more devastating events, many of them being natural storms, would wreck the Roman fleet and allow Carthage to regain control of more cities on Sicily. The war would devolve into a war of attrition once again, with many small scale battles being fought bitterly. Carthage soon found itself exhausted from the conflict and sued for peace.

Rome would gain the control of Sicily and the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. Carthage would be forced to pay Rome a large indemnity and not make war against Romes allies. The war was devastating for both sides, with Roman losses to be estimated at over 400,000.

How this relates to the class: The First Punic War would lay the groundwork for Rome to become the dominant power in the western world and lay the foundations for modern history as we know it. The war allowed Rome to expand outside of the peninsula for the first time. It would also strengthen the Roman resolve and highlight their characteristics of being willing to win, no matter the cost.

Cartwright, Mark. “Second Punic War.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 10 Feb. 2020, www.ancient.eu/Second_Punic_War/.

What I learned: The Second Punic War is arguably the most famous of the three. It took place from 218 BC to 201 BC. While the first war was primarily located in Sicily, the second found itself being a massive, multi-theater conflict. There were campaigns in Italy, Iberia (Spain), Sicily, North Africa, and more.

Prior to the war, Carthage had taken control of large swaths of land in the Iberian peninsula in order to gain access to the rich silver mines. Rome was concerned with this but was preoccupied with other conflicts, so they signed a treaty with Carthage that each would respect the others spheres of influence. This treaty was broken when Hannibal, a Carthaginian general, conquered the Roman ally of Saguntum. Rome demanded that Hannibal be turned over to Rome for punishment but the Carthaginian government refused. Both sides would begin immediate preparations for war.

Hannibal would march through southern Gaul and make is infamous pass through the Alps. Rome, shocked to have the enemy at their doorsteps, suffered a series of crushing defeats. At the battle of Cannae alone Rome lost 50,000 men in a single engagement. The Romans had learned their lesson and chose to not engage Hannibal in more large scale battles, choosing to harass his army and not allow Hannibal to exploit his success. The Carthaginian general was also hopeful that the northern Gauls and various cities in Italy would revolt against Rome at the sight of Hannibal's success, but they generally remained loyal to Rome. The Romans also enjoyed control of the seas. This meant that Carthage had a very difficult time keeping the Italian army supplied. They also chose to send other armies to different theaters instead of focusing all of their resources on Rome itself.

While Hannibal was ravaging Italy, the Romans were having more success on other fronts. Macedon, being urged by Carthage, attacked Rome's Greek territories. This was unsuccessful and Rome helped finance uprisings in Macedonian territory. The Carthaginians were also unsuccessful at retaking the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Rome also found success in Iberia. They were able to win stunning victories and eventually gain control of all the Carthaginian holdings, giving them access to the wealthy silver mines and cutting a large supply of troops to Carthage.

The Roman government was hesitant to launch an invasion of Africa, but they eventually accepted. The Romans were able to continue the success that they had achieved in Spain, wining several more victories. The Carthaginians panicked and recalled Hannibal back to Africa, making his years of effort for nothing. Hannibal was finally defeated at the battle of Zama, after which the Carthaginians sued for peace.

The terms of peace were harsh. Carthage was forced to destroy her fleets, was not allowed to have any war elephants, was not allowed to have an army unless Rome gave them permission, and had to pay a large tribute to Rome. Carthage was also only allowed to remain in control of the African territories closest to the city.

Why does it relate to the class: While the First Punic War was the conflict that brought Rome unto the stage as a major power for the first time, it was the Second Punic War that would make or break Rome's future. While Rome defeated her greatest rival and gained control over the western Mediterranean, things could have been very different. If just a handful of things had changed into Carthage's favor the entire history and foundation of what we call the "western world" would be completely different.

History.com Editors. “Punic Wars.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/punic-wars.

What Did I learn: The Third Punic War was from 149 BC to 146 BC. While Carthage was extremely hampered by her loss, she began to focus more on her trade. This allowed for wealth to begin to flow back into the city. The Romans still had the memories of Italy being ravaged fresh in their minds and feared that Carthage would gain power once again. Because of this, many political leaders in the Senate voiced their desire for renewed hostilities against their rival.

Carthage was attacked by the Numidians, which were their previous ally. They raised an army to protect themselves, but this was technically a violation of the treaty with Rome. The Romans quickly used this excuse to mobilize and army and quickly dispatched a force to Africa. The Romans surrounded the city and commenced a bloody siege of the city that would last two years. The walls were finally breached, allowing Roman troops to enter Carthage for the first time. There was bitter street to street fighting for seven days before what was left of the Carthaginian force surrendered. The city was reduced to rubble and 50,000 civilians were sold into slavery. Romes greatest enemy had finally been defeated.

How does this relate to the class: This is important for the western world because this war cemented Roman domination over Europe for thousands of years. While Rome would certainly face large threats again, no rival could ever match Carthage in how much they challenged Rome and threatened its existence. Defeating Carthage would allow Rome to create an empire that would stretch from Britain to Egypt, spreading the foundations of western society to every corner of the empire.

Delile, Hugo, et al. “Economic Resilience of Carthage during the Punic Wars: Insights from Sediments of the Medjerda Delta around Utica (Tunisia).” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 116, no. 20, 2019, pp. 9764–9769.

What did I learn: The article aims to discuss a topic that is often overshadowed by the great battles and hero's of the Punic Wars, but is arguably just as important. It tries to understand how the Carthaginian economy was able to survive numerous catastrophic military defeats, large war indemnities to Rome, and the loss of their silver rich mines in Iberia. Essentially, sediment samples were taken from the ancient harbors in Carthage and analyzed to see how concentrations of elements varied, particularly elements related to the production on silver or lead coins. These concentrations can be dated and show sharp increases in coin production during times of instability or conflict. These include sustained increased during the Punic Wars when Carthage had to pay its mercenaries and pay Rome.

Why does this relate to the class: The article relates to the class because it shows how Carthage was able to adapt to its changing circumstances and the loss of territory. It also was able to utilize geographic features of their homeland, such as the mines in Tunisia. Rome would later be able to utilized these territories to aid their cause and spread western culture across Europe.