Download Chap. 14 Section 3 Notes Punic Wars

The First Punic War
 Romans had conquered Greek city-states in southern Italy putting them in
contact with the Phoenicians at Carthage (264 B.C.)
 Carthage controlled most of West Africa, most of modern-day Spain, and
some islands off the coast of Italy (including the western portion of Sicily)
 The First Punic War lasted 23 years
 Carthage’s military strength was its navy
 Rome’s military strength was its army
 Roman naval ships implemented the corvus, a boarding bridge, (4ft. x 36 ft.
with a heavy spike on the underside of the device) to fight the
Carthaginians at sea
 Romans won this first war, but at a price (approx. 250,000 dead and 500
ships lost)
 Carthaginians agreed to peace forfeiting Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia
The Second Punic War
 Second Punic War Begins (218 B.C.)
 Carthaginians led by the General Hannibal crossed into Italy from Spain and
Gaul (France) and shocked/won several battles vs. the Romans
 Hannibal and his men made it all the way to the gates of Rome, but could
not penetrate its walls due to a lack of heavy equipment
 The Carthaginians also ran out of supplies because the Roman navy
controlled the surrounding seas
 Unable to sack Rome, Hannibal and his men roamed the Italian countryside
for 15 years burning towns and destroying crops
 When the Romans attacked Carthage, Hannibal was forced to return home
to defend it
 Hannibal lost his first battle and the war at the town of Zama
 In 201 B.C., Carthage agrees to pay a large sum of money and to give up all
of its territories, including Spain and its resources of copper, gold, lead, and
iron
The Third Punic War
 Peace lasts for about 50 years before the Third Punic War begins
 Carthage began to show signs of regaining its lost power
 To prevent this, Romans attacked and burned Carthage and plowed salt
into its fields (149 B.C.)
 Romans either killed the Carthaginians or sold them into slavery
 A Greek city-state named Corinth + some of its allies defied a Roman
order
 Corinth was burned to the ground
 Rome now had control of the modern-day areas of Macedonia, Syria,
and now Greece
 At this time, Rome became the leading power of the Mediterranean
world