Punic << PYOO nihk >> Wars were three struggles between ancient Rome and its great North African rival, Carthage. Rome won all three wars. The victories made Rome the supreme power of the area surrounding the western Mediterranean Sea and helped Rome gain control of the entire Mediterranean world. Punic, the Latin word for Phoenician, is used for the wars because Phoenicians had founded Carthage.
The First Punic War.
Before the First Punic War (264-241 B.C.), the Roman Republic controlled only the Italian Peninsula. The war began with a diplomatic incident at Messina, on the island of Sicily. This incident developed into a contest between Rome and Carthage to dominate the entire island. Rome built its first naval fleet to face Carthage, a sea power, on equal terms. In more than 20 years of bitter fighting, mostly on and around Sicily, both sides lost several fleets and many men. The war was decided when Rome conquered most of Sicily and won a final naval battle in the Aegates Islands (now the Egadi Islands). The site of this battle came to light in 2013 with the discovery of helmets and ships’ battering rams on the ocean floor. The peace treaty made after the First Punic War gave Rome control of Sicily, its first overseas possession.
The Second Punic War
(218-201 B.C.) was caused in part by territorial rivalry in Spain between Rome and Carthage. Carthaginians had conquered much of southern Spain after the Romans expelled them from Sicily. When Rome tried to limit Carthaginian expansion, the great Carthaginian general Hannibal crossed the Alps and invaded Italy. Hannibal won a series of great victories, leading up to the Battle of Cannae in 216 B.C., a terrible defeat for Rome. After Cannae, Hannibal concentrated on destroying the alliance between Rome and other cities in Italy. But most Italian cities remained loyal to Rome. Meanwhile, the Romans adopted a strategy proposed by their military leader Quintus Fabius Maximus. They avoided battle and closed Hannibal into a smaller and smaller part of southern Italy.
In 204 B.C., the Romans sent an invading force under the general Publius Cornelius Scipio to North Africa. The Carthaginians were forced to recall Hannibal from Italy. Scipio then defeated Hannibal in the Battle of Zama in North Africa in 202 B.C. Scipio received a fourth name, Africanus, in honor of this victory. Carthage paid Rome a large sum and was made to give up its empire. Rome took over Carthage’s possessions in Spain, but did not occupy new territory in North Africa. Because of a military alliance that Hannibal had made during the war with the king of Macedonia, Rome was drawn into the wars and diplomatic affairs of the Greek states in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Third Punic War
(149-146 B.C.) resulted when Carthage rebelled against the severe restrictions imposed on it by the peace treaty of 201 B.C. with Rome. The city of Carthage was completely destroyed in this war, and Rome took over its core territory. Rome’s empire now extended for the first time into North Africa.
Rome won the Punic Wars mainly because it had better resources and more soldiers. This advantage was due to the strength of Rome’s alliances with other Italian cities. Carthage was richer and far superior in sea power at the beginning of the wars. But Roman fleets eventually matched Carthaginian fleets, and Carthage had to rely on mercenaries (hired troops) or foreign allies.
