The+Punic+Wars

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[|Ancient Rome] was a very powerful empire that dominated the lands. The Romans had lots of enemies, but one enemy had something that they lacked. Sea warfare. The Romans wanted their [|naval army]. [|Carthaginian] sea warfare. The Romans wanted it so badly that they started the Punic wars. The Punic wars consist of 3 wars. It started at 264 BC. The first war lasted 23 years. Then there was a 23-year interval until the second Punic war started. The second Punic lasted 17 years with a 52-year interval until the next war started which lasted nearly three years. It all ended in 164 BC. (264 – 241 BC) The first Punic war started in 264 BC in the city of Messina, Sicily. The Carthaginians had an advantage because the war was mainly a naval war, and they had a vast navy and experience with sea warfare. The Romans, never giving up, also built a navy, and soon Rome was in the upper hand. The Romans could not conquer them by land, but they won the first of the Punic wars, the war at sea. They also forced Carthage’s army to be abandoned on Sicily, waiting for them to surrender. The first Punic war ended on March 10, 241 BC. [|Hamilcar Barca] took an army to Spain in 237 BC so they wouldn’t be completely defeated. In Spain, they opened markets and created a new base for planning. [|Hasdrubal] and [|Hannibal] continued were taken in charge of Hamilcar’s army in Spain. Hannibal wanted to conquer Sagunto, a Roman town in Spain. His wanting made a new war. The Second Punic War. (218-201 BC) According to Roman accounts, Hannibal had sworn an oath to fight Rome all his life. The second Punic war had his shares of leaders. For Rome there were Fabius Maximus, with his delaying tactics, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, whose forces took Syracuse (an ally of Hannibal). But Rome’s champion was [|Publius Cornelius Scipio], later named Africanus. Carthage leaders were Hannibal and Hasdurbal, but Hannibal most of the fighting. In 218, from Spain, Hannibal led his army through Italy’s [|Alps] and they arrived near the Po River. In 217, Hannibal defeated a Roman army, which had more than 15,000, but he did not care much about it. In 216 a Roman army met Hannibal at Cannae. He had a simple tactic, allowing the Romans to pass through him. Then, his brother, Hasdrubal, surrounded them and nearly [|annihilated] them. Hannibal did not care much about the victory once again. In Italy, he tried to get Rome’s allies on to his side. In 207 BC, Hasdrubal had gotten a fresh army and went back to Italy. Rome was in [|jeopardy]. Hasdrubal and Hannibal decided not to combine forces with each other. Hasdrubal was defeated by the Romans and Hannibal was left in southern Italy. He was then ordered back to Africa in 203. Another war was going on in Sicily and Spain. In 210 BC Roman had conquered all of Sicily. The Roman forces in Spain were now controlled by Scipio. He couldn’t stop Hasdrubal lead his forces to Italy in 208 BC. In 206 BC he ended Carthaginian power in Ilipa. It was a great victory. Scipio went back to Rome in 205 BC to assemble artillery, and then he went to North Africa in 204 BC. In 204 and 203 BC, he won campaigns fighting Carthage’s allies and Carthage. In 202 BC, Hannibal controlled the Carthaginian army. Near Zama, Hannibal’s army and Scipio’s best army face to face. Scipio had defeated him and was nicknamed Africanus after that. Rome had won the second Punic war, and the Romans got Spain and all [|Mediterranean islands] Carthage had. This was a very important role ending Carthage’s military power. (148-146 BC) The third Punic war was determined by [|Cato the Censor], a politician, and other Roman politicians with their chant, “Carthage must be destroyed.” Carthage had to fight for survival, even though they wanted peace. Scipio Aemilianus was put in charge of the Roman army in 147 BC. They rampaged every house harshly and Carthage was torn down. Carthage was now a Roman province.

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Kevin

Works Cited

Bonta, Steve. “The Imperial Republic.” The New American. 2004. SIRS Researcher. ProQuest. 27 Oct. 2007 <[|http://sks.sirs.com/>.] Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. “First Punic War.” Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 23 Oct. 2007 <[|http://www.britannicaschool.eb.com/all/comptons/article-207005>.]

- - -. “The Punic Wars.” Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 23 Oct. 2007 <[|http://www.britannicaschool.eb.com/all/comptons/article-207441>.]

- - -. “Second Punic War.” Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 29 Oct. 2007 <[|http://www.britannicaschool.eb.com/all/comptons/article-207006>.]

- - -. “Third Punic War.” Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 31 Oct. 2007 <[|http://www.britannicaschool.eb.com/comptons/article-207007>.]