Comparing The Punic War, Battle Of Karbala And Crusades

The Punic War, Battle of Karbala and Crusades were all bloody battles with meanings behind them and the earliest examples of conflict. Punic War, a bloody battle between two nations, Rome and Carthage. A battle over land and Carthage not having a strong military as Rome, was defeated. Battle of Karbala a religious battle between Muhammad’s relatives and supporters vs the non believers. Crusades a mission for the holy land and a way to end Feudalism in Western Europe, turned into a defeat for the Europeans, sending them into the Dark Ages.

The earliest example of conflict was the Punic Wars. In the year 264 B.C is when the first Punic War began. This battle was clashed between Rome and Carthage. The Punic Wars originally started

to take control over the important islands of Corsica and Sicily. This is the start of the first Punic War. When Rome decided to hinder with the island of Sicily involving an attack by soldiers from the city of Syracuse against the city of Messina. Rome had sided with the city of Messina and Carthage had sided with Syracuse. And the struggle soon blew into a big conflict between the two powers, with control of Sicily at stake. Over the course of nearly 20 years.Rome rebuilt its entire fleet in order to confront Carthage’s power navy, scoring its first sea victory at Mylae in 260 B.C and a major victory in the Battle of Ecnomus in 256 B.C. (History 2009). Rome refused to give up, and in 241 B.C. the Roman fleet was able to win a decisive victory against the Carthaginians at sea.(History 2009) At the end of the first Punic War, Sicily became Rome’s first overseas territory. (History 2009)
In the second Punic War, Rome gained control of both Corsica and Sardinia as well, after Carthage was defeated.(History 2009) Carthage had established a new base in Spain beginning in 237 B.C., under the leadership of powerful general Hamilcar Barca. (History 2009)Hamilcar Barca died in 229 B.C, and made his younger son Hannibal swear a blood oath against Rome when he was just a young boy.(History 2009)Hannibal took command of Carthaginian military in Spain. Two years later, he brought his army across the Ebro River into Saguntum an Iberian city under Roman protection, finally declaring war on Rome. (History 2009) With 90,000 men, 12,000 cavalry and a number of elephants, his army marched from Spain across the Alps and into Italy, where they scored a ties of victories over Roman troops at Ticinus, Trebia and Trasimene. (History 2009)
In the third Punic War, was and still is by far the most questionable of the three bloody battles between the two strong nations, Rome and Carthage was the product of efforts by Cato the Elder and other members of the Roman Senate to convince their colleagues that Carthage was a continuing threat to the Romans.(History 2009) In 149 BC, after Carthage technically broke its treaty with Rome by declaring war against the neighboring state of numidia, the Romans sent an army to North Africa, beginning the Third Punic War(History 2009) Carthage withstood the Roman siege for two years before a change of Roman command put that young general Scipio Aemillianus in charge.

Aemillianus launched a forceful attack on its harborside in the spring of 146 B.C., pushing into the city and destroying house after house while pushing enemy troops towards their citadel..(History 2009) After seven days of horrific bloodshed, the Carthaginians surrendered, obliterating an ancient city that had survived for some 700 year. .(History 2009) The surviving 50,000 citizens of Carthage were sold into slavery. Also in 146 B.C., Roman troops moved east to defeat King Philip V of Macedonia in the Macedonian Wars, and by year’s end Rome reigned supreme over an empire stretching from the Atlantic coast of Spain to the border between Greece and Asia Minor (now Turkey).(History

2009)

1,000 years after the Punic Wars, the Battle of Karbala continued the impact of conflict.

Battle of Karbala was a major change because they were fought over different reasons and different geographies. The Battle of Karbala was a battle between Muhammad's followers vs the non believers known as the Umayyad caliph led by Yazid. The battle is marked as an event that seperated Sunni and Shi’a Islam. Ultimately Muhammad’s followers were outnumbered. They were eventually slaughtered by Yazid’s army for being outnumbered by 10,000 soldiers. The battle of karbala supported to secure the spot of the Umayyad dynasty but for the Muhammad's followers or known by the shiite muslims, When Yazid I succeeded his father, Mu’awiyah, to the caliphate in the spring of 680, the many partisans of Muhammad’s late cousin and son in law ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib- who collectively fet that leadership of the Muslim community rightly belonged to the descendents of ‘Ali rose in the city of Al-Kufah, in what is now Iraq, and invited al Husayn to take refuge with them, promising to have him proclaimed caliph there. (Britannica

2008)
Meanwhile, Yazid, having learned of the rebellious attitude of the Shiites in Al Kufah, sent ‘Ubayd Allah, governor of Al Basrah, to restore order. (Britannica 2008) The muslim shiites were then used as Yazid’s slaves technically.

Years after the Punic Wars, the Crusades continued the impact of conflict. The Crusades is known as the most “successful failure” for its mission to send all of the problems in Western Europe at the time. Those problems vary from the poor to robbers. Pope Urban II received a letter from Alexius, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire asking for help from the Christians in Western Europe. At Clermont, France, Pope Urban II addressed members of the clergy from all over Western Europe to hear him speak of “the accursed race” of infidels(the Seljuk Turks) who took over the Holy Land. The speech encouraged many Europeans to journey to the “Holy Land” which was a plan to end Feudalism, so the people causing it, they journeyed to the Holy Land or also called Paradise for them. “Let those who have hitherto been robbers now become soldiers. Let those who have formerly contended against their brothers and relatives now.” - Pope Urban II. They were persuaded to go their by Pope Urban to think they would become soldiers which they did but not in the way they wanted it. They thought there would be food and money and they could get a new life but found out something else when they got. The journey to Jerusalem was very difficult. Getting to the Holy Land was a struggle getting there passing through snow and deserts but they saw new things they hadn’t see. Rediscovering Athens was a change for the Western Europeans that were traveling to the holy land on the point of view of the world.At the time Athens was going through a golden age and Europeans were shocked with all the inventions that were made. Before this Europeans lived on a manor and were self sufficient. They didn’t want any outside help and made the items they needed to live for their rest of their lives. They didn’t know they would be leaving the manor until Pope Urban convinced them. Europeans were shocked with Constantinople also because it nothing like it back in Western Europe on the manor. With all the trading back and forth at Constantinople made the Europeans shocked. The Crusades changed city states of Europe. The Crusades is known as the “most successful failure” because they had success when they took over Jerusalem and killing muslims, increasing social mobility, bringing new goods to Europe like fine silks, beautiful porcelains, carpets and perfume, Business with population growth after feudalism ended, Europe’s population grew when fighting stopped and everyone could regroup. Also new towns were built, more trade, new technology, cultural diffusion, brought back the Arabian numeric & decimal system but the failure is that the Christians took Jerusalem for 100 years then lost it forever to Saladin, leader of the Muslims. The ones that lived brought back the plague. Bubonic plague led Europe to the dark ages when Europe's population decimated