Prior to the third century BCE, Roman military never had a navy or control of any satellite colonies. But all of this would change when Rome engaged in a series of battles against the undisputed naval power of the Mediterranean, the Carthaginian Empire, in the first of three, Punic Wars. The advancements made and victories achieved for Rome during this time would lay the foundation for future success over the next century. Rome’s victorious conquest of Sicily from the First Punic War, 264-241 BCE, was the start of their revolutionary movement towards a geographic empire. During the 3rd century BCE, a new governing, elite class, called the nobility, was established, creating many office positions which were opened to plebeians and allowed …show more content…
Carthage is located on the coast of northern Africa, which gives them easy access to the Mediterranean Sea. They were a trade-dependent society and had the strongest navy in the region. Carthage was established between the ninth and sixth century BCE Phoenician colonization, prior to the foundation of the Roman Republic, and remained the most affluent of Phoenician satellites. Entering the third century BCE, Carthage controlled an empire equivalent in size to Latium and Campania combined. It was the undisputed, greatest power in the Mediterranean. Carthage was a tangible challenge for Rome, although Carthage; had been established earlier, had more cumulative wealth and had a stronger navy, Rome; had a stronger foot army, a comparable geographic advantage, and the strong will of the ego-driven noble officeholders. Romans believed that when Romulus settled at such an advantageous geographic location, they must have been destined to dominate the Mediterranean. In 265 BCE, Heiro of Syracuse hired Mamertine mercenaries to siege the strategically located, north Sicilian city, Massena. At the time, Massena was a part of Carthage’s empire, so they called to Carthage for help against this threat from Syracuse, but they also called for help from Rome. Carthage felt threatened by Rome and they worried that the Romans would try to further intervene on the island of Sicily. This caused troops to mobilize in 264 …show more content…
But, no major victories were had at this time. The Roman desire to completely defeat the Carthaginians would reappear in the future as a cause for the second and third Punic Wars. Finally, in 242 BCE, Roman commander, Gaius Lutatius Catulus would bring Rome to victory at the Aegatae Islands. After this final victory Lutatius was ready to negotiate with Carthage. Finally, after 23 years of war, a peace treaty between Rome and Carthage was negotiated. According to Polybius, the terms Carthage proposed were as follows: There shall be friendship between the Carthaginians and Romans on the following terms, if approved by the Roman people. The Carthaginians to evacuate the whole of Sicily and not to make a war on Heiro or bear arms against the Syracusans or the allies of the Syracusans. The Carthaginians to give up to the Romans all prisoners without ransom. The Carthaginians to pay to the Romans by installments in twenty years 2,200 Euboean talents.
Rome countered and
The end of the third and final Punic War in 146 BCE, marked Rome’s successful conquest of the Mediterranean world. Although Rome’s victory expanded the Roman Empire, the victory most certainly came at a cost. The postwar political and social landscape was filled with chaos that required government response to solve. The Gracchi Reforms resulted directly from the unrest of the common people and weakening roman military power, the rise of Julius Caesar correlated with aftermath of Gracchi reforms and distrust with government, and the second triumvirate was a temporary solution to the unrest after Caesars’ assassination. These three revisions to Roman government structure also contributed to cause the fall of the Roman Republic and rise of
Over the course of one-hundred years the Mediterranean antiquity was rocked by an ancient cold war between the North African seafaring state of Carthage, and the newly rising city of Rome located on the Italian Peninsula. In the course of two major wars and one extended three year long siege of Carthage itself Rome would conquer its last major foe and turn the Mediterranean into a Roman lake.
Carthage was fearful of Rome and it escalated into a conflict, which led to the Punic Wars. (Frankforter & Spellman, 141) The Punic Wars are made up of three different wars. The Carthaginians lost all three wars. The cost of the first war was that the Carthaginians lost Sicily and they had to pay reparations.
The ancient city of Carthage was one of great splendor and magnificence. Carthage thrived on trade throughout the Mediterranean basin. Trade was how their empire had been built. Carthage dominated the Mediterranean basin for centuries until another empire began to rise. Rome began to build their empire upon trade as well. With the building of an empire, Rome built an extraordinary military, as did Carthage. Since trade was vital to the expansion of both empires, the island of Sicily fell under watchful eyes. Sicily’s strategic position in the Mediterranean was important to trade. The Carthaginians were in Sicily first, but the Romans realized how strategic Sicily was. The Romans saw Carthage as a great threat to their empire. Tensions grew between Carthage and Rome over Sicily; this caused a series of wars that changed the ancient world. These wars became known as the Punic Wars.
Rome 's action towards Carthage throughout the Punic Wars cannot be considered defensive imperialism, due to the strong military culture, expansionist aims and profit based attitudes of Roman society. Rome demonstrated traditional imperialism by extending their power and influence through means of colonisation and military force. Rome 's objective in the Punic Wars was to strategically subordinate Carthage, to increase their level of influence and improve their position on the world stage. The economic and material gain of war during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC, was a motivating incentive for warfare for the aristocracy. This eagerness was further propelled by the desire
Since the beginning of time, man has waged war on his neighbors, his friends and his enemies. In many cases these wars were caused by power-hungry nations that were in the process of expanding their empire and ended up stepping on the toes of another superpower or ally of a superpower. In the case of the first Punic War between Rome and Carthage, Carthage was extending its empire and they stepped on Rome’s toes. During the course of this war the winner was unclear but at times victory seemed eminent for both sides until Rome finally won. The Romans had control in the first part of the war but this would not last. After the Romans first win they decided that they needed a victory over the city of Carthage but this would turn the tides in favor of the Carthaginians. For some 15 years after this defeat of Rome the tides went back and forth between the two but would eventually lead to the Romans victory. After the victory, Rome made some very harsh demands and Carthage filled those demands even though some of them were very extreme.
The cause of the Second Punic War is an issue of some great debate. Polybius is someone who gives a very good account of the events that led to the war, blaming the Carthaginians for causing the war. This raises a very large question on the part of Polybius. Was he right to assume that it was the actions of Hannibal and the Carthaginians that led to the war, or was there some other underlying events that took place the actually caused the Second Punic War? It is my belief that Polybius assumption was correct in a sense. However it seems that actions of the Roman state played a large part in provoking the war.
Even in the century before the official replacement of the Roman republic by the empire, Rome expanded immensely as a result of the Punic wars. Rome fought the Punic Wars between 264 and 146 BCE against the nearby trade empire Carthage over the nearby island of Sicily, a cultural crossroads that greatly benefited Rome’s already rich culture. During these years, Rome also gained control of the nearby islands Corsica and Sardina, also surrounding the Italian peninsula and occupying a prime location for trade in the Mediterranean sea. When the Third Punic war ended in 146 BCE, the city of Carthage was burnt, the citizens enslaved, and the land salted to leave it permanently infertile. This demonstrated the new, brutal Roman attitude toward conquered people, who now seen as threatening after the century of fighting required for victory, which cost many Roman lives and much tax money. Additionally, the power vacuum left by Carthage’s trading empire, the remnants of the ancient Phoenician trade empire, allowed Rome to dominate the Mediterranean, gaining control through commerce between Europe, Asia, and Africa, all of the known world of Greco-Roman civilization. Goods flowing into the empire also enriched the culture, a blend of Hellenistic civilization and Etruscan influenc...
So, in 264 B.C. the assembly voted to send a force to expel the Carthage (or Punic)
The Second Punic War, also called the Second Carthaginian War, took place from 218 to 201 B.C between the Roman Republic and Carthaginian Empire. There were three Punic Wars in all, resulting in Roman dominance over the Mediterranean. Rome saw how large Carthage was getting and how much power it was gaining. This, along with the fact that Carthage controlled three islands off the coast of Italy, was an issue for Rome. Rome insisted that Carthage join the Republic, to which Carthage disagreed. The two groups fought for twenty years, ending the wars when Carthage offered Rome the island of Sicily in exchange for peace. Rome took Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia. Carthage, lead by Hamilcar Barca, took off to fight Spain. Hamilcar’s son, Hannibal, was nine years old at the time. Before they left Carthage, Hamilcar made his son promise that when he was older he would fight Rome for revenge. Hannibal agreed, thus beginning the legend of Hannibal, military genius. (Second)
The Second Punic war, beginning in 218 BC, was the second major war between the Roman Empire and the Carthage. Around the same time, the Roman Empire deployed troops to the Northeastern peninsula of Spain to keep reinforcements, from the Carthaginian South, from getting to Hannibal’s armies in Italy to assist them. In A Histor...
Hannibal Barca was born in 247 B.C. in the city of Carthage, which was located in modern Tunis, or the northern tip of Africa. His father, Hamilcar Barca, was a great Carthaginian general of the army who fought in the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage, which the latter lost. At a very young age, Hamilcar made Hannibal promise “eternal hatred towards Rome” (Lendering, 1). At around age nine, Hannibal accompanied his father on an expedition to gain a hold in Spain. During this time was when Hannibal probably gained most of his military knowledge that helped him greatly later in life. When Hannibal’s father and older brother died in 229 and 226, Hannibal was elected commander-in-chief of the Carthaginian army. About ten years later, Hannibal, acting on his promise to his father, attacked the city of Sagantum in Spain, which was controlled by the Romans. This attack led to the start of the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome.
Ancient Rome started as a small city-state, however through force it was established as the dominating power of the Mediterranean. Rome was founded by Romulus on April 21, 753 B.C., and reached its peak in land it controlled in around 120 A.D., and slowly fell after that. During Rome’s peak, the Roman Empire controlled all of Gaul, parts of Germania and Brittan, and most of the Mediterranean. Because the Romans controlled so much land, its important rulers, events, and religion impacted much of the world.
Another sizeable contributing factor to the expansion of the Roman Empire was the sacking of Rome by the Gauls in 390 B.C.. “The Romans were completely dumbfounded by the wild and undisciplined charge of the howling Gauls. The Roman’s tightly packed phalanx, a military formation they had adopted from the Greeks of southern Italy, collapsed, and the Romans fled” (Kidner, 129). The sacking left the Romans determined to prevent and avoid any similar outcomes in the future.
Carthage was founded about 100years earlier than Rome and had very fertile lands and an excellent harbor. It grew economically and politically through trading Gold from Spain, Ivory, Linen, precious stones, and other valuable minerals from different states. They had a very large number of trading vessels to load these products and carry them from pot to pot. They also had a powerful navy of warships. Like the Roman empire the Carthagean empire acquired dominion over the native races of Africa, the Lydians and the Numidians. These two great states had controls over the small states they made their allies, or members of their confederations. They were almost equal in many ways, and even their economies