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THE PUNIC WARS
CONTENT SOURCE: RONALD MELLOR & MARNI MGEE
THE ANCIENT ROMAN WORLD, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS,
2004, p41 to 46
Source: http://www.pinterest.com/razvannicu/history/
What were the Punic
Wars?
 Two very long battles between the
Carthaginians (in Africa) and
Rome.
Who were the
Carthaginians?
 They were seafaring people who
left their homeland in Phoenicia
(modern day Lebanon) around 800
BCE.
 They set up colonies in North
Africa and Spain and also on the
island of Sicily.
The City of Carthage
 The most powerful Phoenician colony was the
North African City of Carthage.
 It became a busy trading post for merchants from
all over the Mediterranean World.
 In time Carthage gained independence from its
mother country, conquered other Phoenician
colonies and founded colonies of its own.
 By the 3rd century BCE, this thriving and wealth
city controlled trade across the western
Mediterranean.
Why was there conflict between
Rome & Carthage?
 Like two bullies on the same
playground, Rome and Carthage both
wanted to be the power in the
western Mediterranean world.
 They both wanted to dominate the
fertile island of Sicily and control
trade at the straits of Messina –
between Sicily and the Italian
mainland.
What advantage does
Carthage have over Rome?
 At this period in history Carthage
was wealthier and had a much
better navy.
Conflict begins in Sicily
264BC
 Conflicts starts when the Sicilian city of
Messina asks Rome to help it fight against
Syracuse – another city in Sicily.
 Then Syracuse asked Carthage to join it,
in its fight against Messina & Rome.
 A series of wars ranged, on and off, for a
century with these two military alliances
fighting against one another
Why are they called the
Punic Wars?
 They are called the Punic Wars, from
the Latin word for Phoenicia.
 The enemies fought each other in Italy,
Spain, Sicily and North Africa.
The First Punic War:
Battles at Sea.
 At the beginning of the First Punic
War, the Romans had no navy, only
trading ships.
 They didn’t even know how to fight at
sea – they only knew how to fight on
land.
Rome Invents a Grappling
Machine for Sea Battles
 The Romans invented a grappling machine that made
sea battles more like land battles.
 The machine had huge hooks with heavy ropes attached.
 The Roman solider-sailors lobbed the hooks over the side
of an enemy ship.
 The hooks bit into the other ship, holding it while
Romans pulled it up beside their own.
 With the enemy’s ship locked in place, the Romans
scrambled aboard and fought hand to hand on deck.
 This technique gave the Romans a fighting chance at sea.
The First Punic War
 In 241 BC, a Roman Commander
attacked the Carthaginian fleet of 170
ships.
 Despite stormy seas, Rome sank 50
enemy ships and captured 70 more.
What was left of the Carthaginian fleet
sailed home defeated.
 When the ships arrived in their home
port, the commander was executed.
The Results of the First
Punic War
 After 23 years of battle, the first Punic
War comes to an end.
 Rome controlled Sicily and dominated
the western Mediterranean.
 A harsh peace treaty is opposed on
Carthage.
First Punic War:
Peace Treaty
 Rome demanded that Cartage pay 80
tons of silver – this was equal to a
years pay for 200,000 Roman soldiers.
 The city had to find some way to pay
this huge bill.
Carthage conquers the territory
of modern day Spain
 In order to pay its debt to the Romans, Carthage
looked for new lands to conquer.
 Carthage sent its top general, Hamilcar Barca to
Spain.
 His assignment was to conquer the region and
develop the silver and copper mines there.
 Hamilcar took his son, Hannibal to Spain with
him, and he did his job well.
 He sent money and goods back to Cartage.
A new leader for Carthage:
Hannibal
 When Hamilcar died, the 26 year old
Hannibal took over the job.
 Like his father, Hannibal considered
Spain to be his territory
 He believed Carthage should be the
power in this region.
Roman Alliance with
Spanish City of Saguntum
 When Rome made an alliance with the
Spanish city of Saguntum, Hannibal
fought back and fulfilled the promise he
made as a boy – to be the sworn enemy of
Rome
 Hannibal blocked the trade routes in and
out of Saguntum: all supplies of food and
military aid would not reach the city.
The Fall of Saguntum laids the
groundwork for the Second Punic War
 After 8 months, Saguntum fell to
Hannibal’s warriors.
 And in 218 BC Rome declared war
on Carthage again – The second
Punic war had begun.
The Second Pubic Wars:
Strategy
 The Romans planned to invade Spain
and fight Hannibal there.
 However, Hannibal decided to
surprise Rome and invade Italy first.
Hannibal’s
Long March to Rome
 The journey towards Rome took five months,
beginning with a long journey across France.
 Then Hannibal led his soldiers through the
Alps.
 He lost one third of his men during the icy
mountain crossing.
 However, Hannibal was not deterred and he
marched on with men, horse and war elephants.
War Ready Elephants:
 Hannibal’s African elephants were decorated
for battle and painted in bright colors.
 Their trucks were usually red.
 Swords were attached to tusks.
 Some carried towers on their backs.
 These small fortresses protected the soldiers
riding inside as they shot arrows and hurdled
stones at their Roman enemies.
Second Punic Wars
The Battle of Lake Trebia
 The Romans first faced Hannibal’s elephants
a the Battle of Lake Trebia in northern Italy
in 218BC.
 Most Italians have never seen Elephants
before and their size alone, must have been
terrifying.
 The Roman horses and many soldiers too
panicked at the site and smell of these
creatures.
Second Punic Wars
The Battle of Lake Trasimene
 Hannibal showed his cleverness at the
Battle of Trasimene in Central Italy in
217BC.
 Pretending to march against Rome itself,
he lured the Romans into a narrow pass
and ambushed them from the hills.
 Hannibal’s troops won a major victory
over Rome at this location.
Second Punic Wars
The Battle of Cannae
 A year later in 216 BC, Hannibal conquered the
Roman Troops again in the Battle of Cannae in
southern Italy, thanks to a powerful cavalry and
brilliant battle plan.
 Hannibal commanded the soldiers fighting in the
center to retreat – to move back as if they were
losing.
 The Roman fell for Hannibal trick and followed.
 Then the Carthaginians fighting on the flanks closed
in on the Romans and surrounded them – they were
trapped.
Second Punic Wars
The Battle of Cannae:
Devastating Outcome For Rome
 Rome lost nearly 60,000 soldiers.
 Another 10,000 were captured.
 Only 6000 Carthaginians were killed.
Hannibal’s Reputation
 Whenever a Roman watchman thought
he spotted an army approaching the
city his cry “Hannibal ad portas”
(Hannibal at the gates) would echo
through the streets.
Rome Plans a New Fight
Back Strategy
 The terrible defeat at Cannae
became a new turning point for
Rome.
 More and more men joined the
Roman Army and wealthy citizens
gave generously to the war effort.
The Senate’s New War Plan
 The leaders in the Senate decided not to
meet Hannibal in fixed battles, but to let
him wear himself out in smaller battles in
the countryside.
 Rome’s new battle plan worked.
 Carthaginian troops became exhausted.
 Hannibal’s Soldiers had been in Italy for
10 years and Carthage refused to send
fresh troops.
The Romans
Recapture Spain
 When the Roman general Publius Cornelius
Scipio took charge of the Roman force in
Spain, he cut off Hannibal’s supplies of food
and equipment.
 The Roman finally drove the Carthaginians
out of Spain in 206BC
 Then they invaded North Africa and the
town of Zama to the southwest of Carthage.
The Final Battle Between Rome
& Carthage: The Battle of Zama
 Hannibal faced Scipio in the fierce battle of Zuma in
202 BC.
 At Zama, Scipio ordered his soldiers to attack
Hannibal’s frontline elephants with spears and
arrows.
 The elephants panicked and turned back, crashing
into the soldiers behind them.
 Scipio killed almost all the Carthaginians, but
Hannibal survived.
 Under Roman pressure, he fled Carthage and spent
his last 15 years in exile.
The Final Peace Settlement &
Ultmate Destruction of Carthage
 Carthage was forced to surrender all its possession in
Europe.
 Rome gave Scipio, the honorary title – “Africanus” the
conqueror of Africa
 Carthage never threatened Rome again, but many
Romans still feared the revival of a Carthage threat.
 Therefore in 146BC a decision was made by Rome to
finally destroy Carthage – Rome’s last opponent in the
western Mediterranean.
 Rome was the dominant power on the land and sea – it
would remain that wait for 500 years.