Compare And Contrast The First And Second Punic Wars

The Punic Wars

The First, Second, and Third Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage were caused by several different conflicts, were fought with many different methods and for several different reasons. They resulted in both positive and detrimental effects for Rome. The First Punic War was caused by Rome’s interference in a dispute on Sicily which was controlled by Sicily. Rome eventually conquered Sicily and its neighbor, Corsica.The war allowed Rome to rise into an empire with world power that was able to be noticed. The Second Punic war was brought about by a blood oath that hannibal took against Rome after the First Punic War. When Hasdrubal, Hannibal’s brother died, Hannibal took the opportunity to invade Rome. He captured Rome but soon

lost it when Scipio of Rome’s army defeated his. The Carthaginians were left in control of only North Africa as Rome conquered the Roman empire again. They were forced to give up the fleet and pay silver to Rome as a result of their loss. Lastly, the Third Punic War was fought. The war began when Carthage broke its treaty with Rome. Rome wouldn’t tolerate a broken treaty and sent an army to North Africa to conquer Carthage. After two years of Rome holding siege against Carthage and seven days of bloodshed, Scipio the Younger accepted the surrender of Carthage. He expanded the Roman Empire across Europe from Spain to Turkey and North Africa became a Roman province. Each of the three Punic Wars led to Roman victories and Carthaginian defeat. Rome was left with a giant empire and heavy power, and the historical wars outlined how wars would begin and be fought in the present day.