Download The Punic Wars • Rome experienced three wars with Carthage

The Punic Wars
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Rome experienced three wars with Carthage between 264 B.C. and 146 B.C;
they are called the “Punic” Wars because the early founders of Carthage were
from Phoenicia. These wars would essentially determine whether Rome or
Carthage would be the primary geopolitical power in the Mediterranean area.
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In the first Punic War, Rome, led in part by a military hero named Regulus,
won Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica.
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In the second Punic war, Hamilcar, a Carthaginian leader, consolidated Spain
under Carthage's rule. His son, Hannibal, attacked a Roman outpost in Spain,
and then marched with elephants over both the Pyrenees and the Alps, and
came close to the city of Rome itself. In panic, the citizens of Rome conducted
human sacrifices to convince their idols to defend them. Hannibal did not take
the city, due in part to a tactically disastrous hesitation on his part, and in part
to the fact that the supply lines, which were to bring him more troops and
equipment, were cut by the Romans. The Roman officer Scipio Africanus the
Elder captured Spain, and then began to invade northern Africa. Hannibal
abandoned his campaign in Italy and went south to defend the Carthage itself.
By the end of this war, Carthage was stripped of its various territories, and
reduced to a small area around the city of Carthage itself. It was forced to pay
tribute to Rome.
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The Roman politician Cato the Elder incited Scipio Africanus the Younger to
attack Carthage in the third Punic War. Carthage was completely destroyed by
the dominating Roman military.
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These wars left Rome as the clear master of the Mediterranean region; world
history would be very different had Carthage won these wars: your computer
would have a font called “Times New Carthaginian”, and you would use
“Carthaginian numerals”.