Carthaginian Power

1. Introduction

In studying the history of the great ancient powers, inevitably we must discuss the rise of conflict between two prominent powers: Carthage and Rome. Carthage was a powerful force in the western Mediterranean, while Rome was the ruler of Italian Peninsula at the time.

In the following sections, we will discuss how Carthage became a rivaling force to Rome.

Over the course of this discussion, we will compare the strengths of both forces, and reveal the reasons behind how Rome became a naval power.

2. Tracing the Development of Carthage as a Rival of Rome

Carthage was originally a colony of Tyre, and was settled by Phoenicians in 813 BCE

(Cartwright, 2016, para. 2). It was one of the most powerful commercial empire on the

northern

1).

The Carthaginian government had some outward similarities to the government of Roman

Republic. It had two chief magistrates, a council of elders, and an assembly, which could compare with the Roman consuls, senate, and comitia respectively (Morey, 1901, Carthage and Rome section, para. 3). However, in contrast to the Roman government, the real governing power in Carthage was exercised by a few wealthy families; also, the command power of the Carthaginian army was placed in the hands of one permanent leader.

The power and wealth of Carthage had grown from trade and commercial supremacy.

She had formed commercial treaties with the chief countries of the world to buy and sell the products of the East and the West (Morey, 1901, Carthage and Rome section, para. 4). Thus, in order to further expand in power, Carthage had the desires to possess the Greek cities of

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UNIT 5 ASSIGNMENT - CARTHAGE AND ROME

Sicily as well as the cities of Italy; this possession over the cities at the western

Mediterranean Sea became the main reason for the rivalry between Carthage and

5).

4. Rome Becoming a Naval Power

The first conflict between Carthage and Rome broke out in the form of the first Punic

War in 264 BC (Morey, 1901, Operations of the First Punic War section, para. 1). The main reason for the war was over the possession the the island of Sicily. When the Carthaginian fleet first appeared, it gained possession of most of the coast cities that had belonged to

Romans before. The Carthaginian naval fleet ravaged the coasts of Italy, and therefore made it difficult for Rome to send more troops to Sicily; the Roman vessels could not compete with the strong Carthaginian vessels (Morey, 1901, Operations of the First Punic War section, para. 4). Hence, the Romans realized that in order to overcome the Carthaginian forces, they had to surpass Carthage both on land and upon the sea. This drove the Romans to build a new naval fleet equal to that of the Carthaginian fleet. The Romans soon constructed a hundred vessels that were modeled after the Carthaginian vessel, and trained their soldiers to become sailors. Also, in order to maintain the Roman advantage in hand-to-hand