Download How to Structure Your Punic Wars Essay File

ESSAY: SAMPLE QUESTIONS:
How did the Punic Wars contribute to the growth and expansion of the Roman Empire?
Paragraph 1: Introduction Paragraph
S1. (General Statement about the growth of the Roman Empire)
“The Roman Empire was one of the greatest empires of all time, but it took many centuries and
many wars for Rome to expand and grow its influence over Europe, The Mediterranean Sea the
Middle East and Africa.
S2 (General Statement on the Punic Wars)
Arguably one of the most defining conflicts that shaped the development and expansion of the
Roman Empire was the Punic Wars that occurred between XXX BC and XXX.
S3 (Origin of the word – Punic Wars & The Origin of the People)
The term Punic is derived from the latin word for Phoenicia. The Phoenicians migrated from
what is modern day Lebanon to occupy an area of modern day Tunisia.
S4. (The Establishment of Carthage)
S4. The Phoenicians established the city of Carthage, well before Rome was just a collection of
mud huts. The people from Carthage were known as the Carthaginians.
S5-S6 (What you will cover in this essay)
This essay will focus on the five most important events / people / places that shaped the
development of the Roman Empire during the Punic Wars. This includes……..
S7. (Link sentences to first paragraph)
Firstly, its important to understanding some background information on Carthage & Rome at
the start of the first Punic Wars.
Paragraph 2: Context of Rome & Carthage at the Start of the Wars
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Carthaginians controlled most of Northern Africa.
The Carthaginians were a great sea Power.
The city of Carthage was one of the great cities of the Ancient World.
The people of Carthage worshiped a God called ….. that demand human sacrifices, and
this included Children.
Rome at the same time had expanded to include all of the Italian Peninsula.
Rome wanted to expand its control of the Mediterranean Islands including Sicily, …. but
this would lead to conflict with Carthage.
One reason Rome would use to justify a war with Carthage was the sacrificing of
children, which they considered barbaric, but the real reason was simply to expand its
territory.
Paragraph 3: Event 1: Rome Learns how to fight at Sea: The First Punic Wars
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Rome has no experience fighting at sea, before the start of the first Punic Wars.
Rome discovers an abandoned ship from Carthage, that is washed up on the coastline
of modern day Italy.
Rome learns how to build ships for the first time.
Rome attaches a special devise to its ships which allows it to…. (powerpoint)
Last sentence of paragraph: Explain how this event helped/shape/grow the Roman
Empire. A fleet of ships would be essential for defending and expanding and empire.
It would also be essential for transporting goods around an empire.
Paragraph 4: Event 2: Peace Treaty with Rome
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Carthage has to pay significant compensation to Rome.
Most importantly Rome gets control of a number of Med Islands that would be vitally
important for its control of these waters and the expansion of its territory.
Control over Islands like Sicily, Sardinia, (for example) makes it easy to repeal a sea
invasion against Rome.
Last sentence of paragraph: Explain or reiterate how the event helped/shape/grow
the Roman Empire.
Paragraph 5: Context of the Events Leading up to 2nd Punic Wars: The Rise of Hannibal
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Rise of Hannibal
Nature / Character of Hannibal
Witnessed his nation humiliation at peace treaty signing and vowed to destroy Rome.
Carthage looks to expand its territory in Spain and attacks the city of Saguntum, in
Spain, located near modern day Valencia.
Saguntum is an ally with Rome and Rome tries to defend the city, but is not successful.
Sagnutum falls to Carthage.
Carthage cannot attack Rome from the sea, so takes a long journey across the Alps, with
elephants.
Paragraphs 6-7: Major Battles of the Punic Wars: Battle of Cannae & Lake Trasimene
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Explain the facts, dates, tactics of the Battle of Cannae & Lake Trasimene.
It is from a great military loss that Rome learns values lessons about a battle strategy.
Last sentence(s): How did this battle(s) help grow/expand the the Roman Empire: It
was only from the experience of failure that Rome could grow stronger. It eventually
decides to appoint a real military leader with experience (Scipio) to take on Hannibal.
Prior to this many Generals that the led the Romany Army, were just Politicians with
little real battle experience.
Paragraph 8: The Battle of Zama & the Long Term Outcome
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Event: Rome decides to attack Carthage directly rather than be on the defensive. This
change in strategy would be essential to becoming a strong empire.
The Battle of Zama: Why this is great victory for Rome?
Long term impact of the event: Rome takes over northern Africa & Spain.
It is now growing into a very strong empire.
Paragraph 8: Conclusion
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3 to 4 sentences where you summarize the most important events that helped Rome
grow & expand as an Empire.