Transcript The Punic Wars

The Punic Wars
The struggle for control of the
Mediterranean
Who was involved?
• Rome
• Carthage
• Controlled most of Italian
peninsula
• Started as a Phoenician
colony
• Present day Italy
• Controlled Northern coast
of Africa, Corsica,
Sardinia, and most of
Sicily
• Strong army
• Present day Tunisia
• Strong navy
Rome and Carthage - Before
Why did they fight?
• Both groups, the Romans and the
Carthaginians, had been expanding the
territory under their control.
• The Romans were expanding south, while
the Carthaginians were expanding north.
The First Punic War – 264-241 BCE
• Fighting broke out over control of Sicily
• Carthage had one of the strongest navies
in the Mediterranean, while Rome had
practically no navy.
• The Romans “stole” the design to the
Carthaginian warship, built their own
version with one minor change, and then
managed to wipe out the Carthaginian
navy.
Roman Navy’s Secret Weapon: The Corvus
Sea Battle – First Punic War
The First Punic War – 264-241 BCE
• 241 BCE- The two sides signed a peace treaty,
without any real winner to the war.
• Carthage did have to give up its claim to Sicily.
• In 238 BCE, the Romans took advantage of riots
in Carthage to take control of Corsica as well.
• This action creates further added to the
atmosphere of hatred and distrust.
The Second Punic War 218-202 BCE
• Following the previous war, Carthage built
up its army in preparation for future
conflicts with Rome. Corsica showed that
this was inevitable. They expanded into
Spain to gain resources and power.
• When a Greek colony in Spain that was
friendly with Rome was conquered by
Carthage, war began again.
Hannibal Barca
• Carthaginian General
• 218 BCE- Leads an army
to attack Rome, coming
overland from the north.
He knew Rome was
expecting an attack by
sea so wanted to surprise
them.
• The North?
The Alps !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hannibal’s Crossing
Hannibal’s Crossing
Hannibal in Italy
• Hannibals army loses 2/3 of men and all but one
elephant in the crossing.
• Hannibal’s army defeated the Roman armies in
Northern Italy and within 2 months he controlled
this entire area
• Roman strategy- avoid big battle, and
follow/harass Carthaginians until they are weak
enough to be confronted
Hannibal goes south
• When Hannibal’s army marched to southern Italy
and began destroying the countryside, the
Romans confronted him in open battle again.
• The result: the Romans were crushed, again.
• Hannibal’s army was too weak and lacked the
right weapons to lay siege to Rome, but he was
totally unopposed in Southern Italy.
• He continued marching around the countryside
burning and pillaging and living off the land.
Rome’s Hero: Scipio
• Rome appointed a new military leader
named Publius Cornelius Scipio.
• His mission: To cut off Hannibal’s supply
line from Spain
• He did this by 206 BCE, and then in 204,
he and his army entered Africa to take the
war directly to the city of Carthage.
Publius Cornelius Scipio
Battle of Zama
• 202 BCE, in northern Africa
• Hannibal had been forced to abandon
Italy, even though he never lost a battle
there, and return to Africa to defend
Carthage from Scipio.
• The two sides met in battle at Zama.
Elephants in Battle
Elephants in Battle
Results
• Scipio uses cavalry, splits Hannibals men,
reverses elephant charge, and outfights the
Carthiginians on the battlefield.
• Carthage was forced to surrender, and Rome
now controlled all of the western Mediterranean
• Having faced certain defeat and an unstoppable
enemy, victory over Carthage became a defining
moment for the Romans
The Third Punic War – 149-146 BCE
• There was peace for close to 50 years.
• Since the previous war, Carthage had regained
it’s power as a major trading center, but its
military had still not recovered.
• When the Romans, who were in control, told
Carthage to move the city inland, they refused,
as the ocean was their economic lifeline.
• The result: war, again.
The Third Punic War - Results
• This war didn’t last very long
• After a siege of Carthage, the Romans
took the city and killed all of its inhabitants
• The people they didn’t kill were sold into
slavery
• They set fire to the city and destroyed
buildings
• To top it off, they spread salt over the fields
for farming, in order to kill any plants and
prevent anything from growing
Carthage Burns
• Rome did not
fight the 3rd
Punic war to
win, they fought
to destroy
Carthage so it
would NEVER
threaten Rome
again.