The Punic Wars

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The Punic Wars
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Rome v. Carthage, 264-146 BC

• Carthage was a colony of the Phoenicians and
  controlled much of the island of Sicily
• Main cause of Punic Wars was competition for
  Mediterranean trade
• Control of Sicily

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Advantages Carthage Rome

• Large Size
• Huge navy
• Great wealth from trade
• Mercenary army
• (paid soldiers who might not be loyal to
  Carthage)

• Smaller army of loyal citizen soldiers
• Warfare their specialty
• Recent success controlling the Italian peninsula

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1st Punic War - 264 to 241 BC

• Fought for control of Sicily the Mediterranean
• Most battles at sea
• - Carthage had superior navy
• - Rome builds a navy by copying shipwrecked
  Carthaginian warship
• Results Rome defeats Carthage receives island
  of Sicily

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The Corvus (Latin for raven or crow)

• Crane/plank on a Roman ship that turned naval
  battle into a land battle

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2nd Punic War - 218 BC

• Carthaginian military genius Hannibal
• Led 50,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalry, 60
  elephants to invade conquer Rome
• Traveled through Spain, France, the Alps
  lost half his men, elephants
• Strategy was to convince Roman allies to join
  Carthage

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2nd Punic War (Cont.)

• For 10 years, battled up and down the Italian
  peninsula
• - Hannibal his men lived off the land by
  stealing
• - Never able to capture Rome

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Battle of Cannae
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2nd Punic War (cont.)

• Scipio Roman general against Hannibal
• - Planned to invade Carthage to force Hannibal
  to leave Italy return to N. Africa
• Defeated Hannibal in 202 BC Battle of Zama

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Battle of Zama
Scipio Africanus
Hannibal
Hannibal and Scipio meet before the battle
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3rd Punic War 149 to 146 BC

• Cato the Elder of Rome Carthage should be
  destroyed!
• Rome invades Carthage as revenge for Hannibals
  invasion of Italy
• Carthage is seized burned 50,000 inhabitants
  are sold into slavery

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Rome dominates Mediterranean by 70 BC

• East conquered Macedonia, Greece, Anatolia
• West as far as Spain
• Republic dominates the . . . known world