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Punic Wars
• Between 264 B.C. and 146 B.C., Rome fought three wars against Carthage
• Punicus is the Latin word for Phoenician
• In the First Punic War, Rome defeated Carthage and won Sicily, Corsica,
and Sardinia
• The Carthaginians sought revenge in the Second Punic War
• In 218 B.C., the Carthaginian general Hannibal led his army, including
dozens of war elephants, on an epic march across the Pyrenees
mountains, through France, and over the Alps into Italy
• The trek cost Hannibal nearly half of his army
• However, the Carthaginian general had surprised the Romans who had
expected an invasion from the south
• For 15 years, Hannibal and his army moved across Italy, winning battle
after battle
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Summary of Punic Wars
• The main cause of the Punic Wars was the clash of interests between the
existing Carthaginian Empire and the expanding Roman republic
• The Romans were initially interested in expansion via Sicily, part of which
lay under Carthaginian control
• At the start of the first Punic War, Carthage was the dominant power on
the Mediterranean, with an extensive maritime empire, while Rome was
the rapidly ascending power in Italy
• Carthaginian General = Hannibal
• Roman General = Scipio Africanus
• By the end of the third war, after the deaths of many hundreds of
thousands of soldiers from both sides, Rome had conquered Carthage's
empire and destroyed the city, becoming the most powerful state of the
Western Mediterranean
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Hannibal
• 247 B.C. – 183 B.C.
• was a Carthaginian military commander
and tactician who is popularly credited as
one of the finest commanders in history
• He is one of the best-known Carthaginian
commanders
• His most famous achievement was at the
outbreak of the Second Punic War, when
he marched an army, which included war
elephants, over the Pyrenees and the
Alps into northern Italy
• Hannibal is universally ranked as one of
the greatest military commanders and
tacticians in history
• In the same company as Alexander the
Great and Napoleon Bonaparte
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2nd Punic War
• The Carthaginians failed to capture Rome
itself
• In the end, the Romans outflanked
Hannibal by sending an army to attack
Carthage
• The Roman General was named Scipio
Africanus
– Best known for defeating Hannibal
• Hannibal returned to defend his
homeland, where the Romans defeated
him at last
• Carthage gave up all its lands except
those in Africa
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3rd Punic War
• Even though Carthage gave up most of its land, many Romans still
saw Carthage as a rival and wanted revenge for the terrible
destruction that Hannibal’s army had brought to Italy
• A popular saying was, “Carthage must be destroyed”.
• Finally, in the Third Punic War, Rome completely destroyed
Carthage
• Survivors were killed or sold into slavery
• The Romans even poured salt over the earth so that nothing would
grow in the city of Carthage again
• The Romans were now the masters of the Western Mediterranean
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Summary of Punic Wars
• The main cause of the Punic Wars was the clash of interests between the
existing Carthaginian Empire and the expanding Roman republic
• The Romans were initially interested in expansion via Sicily, part of which
lay under Carthaginian control
• At the start of the first Punic War, Carthage was the dominant power on
the Mediterranean, with an extensive maritime empire, while Rome was
the rapidly ascending power in Italy
• Carthaginian General = Hannibal
• Roman General = Scipio Africanus
• By the end of the third war, after the deaths of many hundreds of
thousands of soldiers from both sides, Rome had conquered Carthage's
empire and destroyed the city, becoming the most powerful state of the
Western Mediterranean
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Roman Conquests
• After Rome defeated Carthage, it seemed no Mediterranean force could
stop the Romans
• Rome then launched a series of wars on the Eastern Mediterranean
• One by one, Macedonia, Greece, and parts of Asia Minor (Turkey)
surrendered and became Roman provinces
• Other regions, like Egypt, allied with Rome instead of fighting
• By 133 B.C., Roman power extended from Spain to Egypt
• Truly, the Romans were justified in calling the Mediterranean Mare
Nostrum, or “Our Sea”
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Social & Economic Effects of Imperialism
• Imperialism: establishing control over foreign lands and peoples
• As the Romans conquered more and more lands, they forced people
captured in war to work as slaves on their large farms
• This widespread use of slave labor hurt small farms
• Why?
• Also, large quantities of grain were pouring in from the conquered lands,
which also hurt small farms
• Many farmers fell into debt and had to sell their land
• In despair, landless farmers flocked to Rome in search of Jobs
• As the gap between rich and poor grew, angry mobs began to riot
• The new wealth of the empire also produced corruption
• Greed and self-interest replaced virtues such as simplicity, hard work, and
devotion to Rome
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Attempts to Reform
• Two young patrician brothers named
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were among
the first to attempt reform
• Both Gracchus brothers were Tribunes
• Tiberius called on the state to distribute
land to poor farmers
• Gaius, sought a wider range of reforms,
including the use of public funds to buy
grain to feed the poor
• The proposed reforms by the Gracchus
brothers angered the senate, which saw
them as a threat to its power
• The brothers, along with thousands of
their followers, were killed in waves of
street violence set off by senators and
their hired thugs
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Decline of Roman Republic
• Unable to resolve its problems peacefully,
Rome fell into a series of civil wars
• The main issue concerned who should hold
the power
• Some thought the Senate should be in
charge, like past times
• Others wanted popular political leaders to
take charge who aimed at weakening the
senate and making large reforms
• The turmoil sparked slave uprisings and
revolts
• Meanwhile, the old legions of Roman citizensoldiers became professional armies whose
first loyalty was to their commanders
• Rival generals marched their armies into
Rome to advance their ambitions
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First Triumvirate
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Roman political alliance between three powerful Romans:
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-Julius Caesar: Military and political leader, later Ruler of Rome
-Pompey: Military and Political leader
-Crassus: a Roman General and politician; very wealthy
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Basically, this group of three men tried to work together as an “unofficial” or secret
alliance
They thought they could accomplish more as a whole as compared to going about it
individually
However, their arguments and personal rivalries would eventually prove to be to
strong to prolong this alliance  especially between Pompey & Crassus
This intense disagreement eventually turned into a civil war between Caesar’s troops
and Crassus’ troops
Caesar’s army defeated Crassus’ army and Crassus was slain in battle
Next, in fear of his life, Pompey fled to Egypt
In time, assassins caught up with him and he was stabbed to death, thus ending the
first triumvirate
The First Triumvirate proved to be politically effective for a short while, but ego and
greed got in the way
The death’s of Pompey & Crassus left Julius Caesar as the leader of Rome
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Julius Caesar, Crassus, Pompey
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Julius Caesar
• 100 B.C. – 44 B.C.
• Roman General, Politician, and
Emperor
• One of the most influential men in
all of world history
• He played the most important role in
transforming Rome from a republic
to an Empire
• Brilliant Military leader
• As a General, Caesar conquered all
of Gaul (modern day France)
• He also, invaded and conquered
much of Great Britain
• Greatly expanded the Roman empire
and led to the spread of Roman
culture
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Julius Caesar
• After Caesar crushed Pompey and his
supporters, he then swept around the
Mediterranean, suppression rebellions
• “Veni, vidi, vici” – “I came, I saw, I
conquered”
• A famous quote by Caesar after
winning a battle
• Later, returning to Rome, he forced the
senate to make him dictator
• His soldiers were loyal to him, not to
Rome
• Although he kept the senate and other
features of the republic, he was in fact
the absolute ruler of Rome
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Caesar’s Reforms
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Between 48 B.C. and 44 B.C., Caesar pushed
through a number of reforms to deal with Rome’s
many problems
He launched a program of public works to employ
the jobless and gave public land to the poor
He also reorganized the government of the
provinces and granted Roman citizenship to more
people
Caesar’s most lasting reform was the introduction
of a new calendar based on Egyptian knowledge –
365 day/year calendar
The Julian calendar, as it was later called, was used
in western Europe for over 1,600 years
With minor changes, it is still our calendar today
Caesar was also the first living Roman to be used
on Roman coins
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Caesar & Cleopatra
• While in Egypt with his armies, Caesar
formed a relationship with the Egyptian
Queen, Cleopatra
• Cleopatra ruled as Queen of Egypt with
her Brother Ptolemy
• She realized that a friendly relationship
with Caesar and favor among Rome
would give her more power
• Eventually, Caesar and Cleopatra fell in
love
• Nine months after their first meeting,
Cleopatra gave birth to their son,
Caesarion
• Cleopatra and Caesarion traveled to
Rome later to live with Caesar, but then
something unexpected happened….
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Assassination
• Caesar’s enemies worried that he
planned to make himself King of Rome
• In order to save the republic, they
plotted against him
• Ides of March: As Caesar walked into
the Senate, he was attacked by some
60 Senators led by Brutus and Cassius
• Brutus had been a close friend of
Caesar’s
• Caesar was murdered by the men
• He was stabbed 23 times
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Aftermath of Caesar’s Assassination
• The death of Caesar plunged Rome
into a new round of civil wars
• Mark Antony, Caesar’s chief general,
and Octavian, Caesar’s grand-nephew,
joined forces to hunt down the
murderers and succeeded
• In a meeting near Bologna in October
of 43 BC, Octavian, Mark Antony, and
Marcus Lepidus formed the Second
Triumvirate
• This was an explicit grant of special
powers lasting five years
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Second Triumvirate
• 1. Octavian = Caesar’s Grand-Nephew
• 2. Marc Antony = Caesar’s favorite general
• 3. Marcus Lepidus = Politician, Caesar’s Vice Dictator
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The Second Triumvirate:
Octavian, Mark Antony, Marcus Lepidus
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The 2nd Triumvirate Falls
• The Triumvirate was
eventually torn apart under
the competing ambitions of
its three rulers
• After a political mistake,
Lepidus was forced into
retirement and exiled
• However, the feud between
Octavian and Mark Antony
was much more intense
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Antony & Cleopatra
• While in Egypt, Mark Antony began a romantic relationship with Cleopatra
(the mother of Caesar’s child)
• However, other factors were involved
• Antony wanted Cleopatra for Egypt’s wealth, and Cleopatra wanted
Antony for his Roman armies
• The two soon married and had twins
• Later, they would have another child
• This marriage outraged Octavian since Antony was already married to his
sister Octavia, a Roman woman
• Also, rumors spread that Antony & Cleopatra planned to form their own
empire
• Antony soon declared that Caesarian, the son of Julius Caesar and
Cleopatra was the true heir to the Roman throne
• This, combined with greed and ambition, pitted the two men against each
other
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Octavian v. Antony & Cleopatra
• The Battle of Actium:  off the Coast of Greece
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The opposing fleets of Octavian and Antony met outside the Gulf of Actium, on the
morning of September 2, 31 BC, with Mark Antony leading 220 warships through
the straits toward the open sea
There he met the fleet of Octavian
Unfortunately for Antony, many of his ships were undermanned due to a severe
malaria outbreak that had struck his forces while he was waiting for Octavian's
fleet to arrive
Seeing that the battle was going against Antony, Cleopatra's fleet retreated to
open sea – Mark Antony retreated soon after
Once back in Egypt, the two reunited shortly
However, Octavian’s forces followed and Antony & Cleopatra knew their hours
were numbered
Having been separated, Octavian believes than Cleopatra had been murdered so
he commits suicide by falling on his sword
Cleopatra does as well, by putting her hand in a basket of asps
Shortly after, Octavian has Caesarian murdered saying, “there is no room for two
Caesars”
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Octavian becomes Augustus
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After Marcus Lepidus was exiled and after the
deaths of Antony & Cleopatra, Octavian was
left as the soul ruler of Rome
The senate gave the triumphant Octavian the
title of Augustus, or Exalted One, and declared
him first citizen of Rome
Although he was careful not to call himself
King, Augustus exercised absolute power and
named his successor, just as a King would do
Under Augustus, who ruled from 31 B.C. to
A.D. 14, the 500-year-old Roman republic
came to an end
Romans did not know it at the time, but a new
age had dawned—the age of the Roman
Empire
Augustus' reign laid the foundations of a
regime that lasted hundreds of years until the
ultimate decline of the Roman Empire
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