Transcript Roman Wars and Military Conquests

Roman Wars and Military
Conquests
By : Chris Lin, Kyle Yeh, and
Pranavan P,
The Punic Wars
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The Punic Wars took place
from 264 – 146 B.C.
The war was fought between
the Romans and the
Carthaginians.
The war began with the
Romans increasing their
powers throughout Southern
Italy, while the Carthaginians
were spreading their control
over that of North Africa.
They both fought over control
of Sicily. This began the chain
of events known as the Punic
Wars.
There were 3 Punic Wars in
total.
The First Punic War
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This war took place from 264 241 B.C.
It was fought for control over the
Island of Sicily, located in
between Italy and Africa.
The war ended in somewhat of a
stalemate. However, the
Carthaginians were forced to sign
a treaty signing Sicily over to the
Romans and to pay indemnities
to the Romans for the costs of the
war.
Soon after the war Carthage
experienced internal outbreaks
and rebellions. Rome saw and
acknowledged the vulnerability of
Carthage to foreign powers and
took advantage of the situation,
conquering the island of Corsica.
The events leading to the Second
Punic War
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The Second Punic War took place from 218 – 202 B.C.
Prior to the war the Carthaginians were spreading their power in
Spain, located to the west of the Roman empire in Italy.
Once again the Carthaginians signed a treaty, this time stating
that they would not spread their empire past the Ebro river in
Spain.
Saguntum, a small city in the heart of the Carthaginian Iberian
Empire, asked Rome for allegiance and peace between them.
Rome once again seized the nation.
In 221 B.C. a man by the name of Hannibal ascended to power in
the Carthaginian controlled Spain. At first he dismissed the
allegiance to avoid further conflict with Rome. However, the
Saguntines began to interfere with politics throughout Spain. At
this point Hannibal conquered the city.
The Romans tried to resolve the dispute diplomatically, asking the
Carthaginians to send Hannibal to Rome. When they refused
their terms, the second Punic war broke out…
The Second Punic War
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By this time Carthaginians had spread their power across Spain. Hannibal
marched a formidable army out of Spain and across Europe. In September,
218, the army crossed the Alps and invaded Italy. Within 2 months a large
portion of northern Italy was conquered. In fact, approximately 2 remained.
Despite this victory, more men arrived from Gaul joined the war from the
north.
Against the belief of Hannibal, the cities remained loyal to Rome. At this
point Quintus Fabius Maximus became the Dictator in Rome. He simply
attacked from the shadows and took out small mobs of Carthaginian warriors
until Roman victory over their army was assured.
At this point Quintus was labeled “The Delayer” and forced out of power.
Despite the lowered number of forces Hannibal marched his men into
southern Italy. The Romans sent 80 000 men to fight the Carthaginians.
However, they were still conquered by one of Hannibal’s strategies, known
as “The Pincer.”
At this point many Roman loyalties were broken and the southern states in
Italy began to build alliances with the Carthaginians. Even the king of
Macedon, Philip V, became an ally to Carthage and began its own campaign
against Rome in 215 B.C.
The Second Punic War - Continued
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In 211 B.C. Hannibal marched out his party
to the walls of Rome, but didn’t lay siege to
it. “So confident were the Romans, that on
the day that Hannibal marched around the
walls of Rome with his cavalry, the land on
which he had camped was sold at an
auction in Rome, and it was sold at full
price!”
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus had
fought in the Punic war, following in his
father’s footsteps. Following his fathers
death he was voted proconsul and went on
to lead Rome to victory against Hannibal.
Starting with the defeat of Hannibal’s
brother, Hasdrubal.
“After his victory in Africa he came to be
known as Scipio Africanus. By 206 B.C.
he conquered all of Spain.
Scipio later stormed into Africa in about
2054 B.C. and forced the Carthaginians to
sue for peace with Rome.
Despite all of his efforts and strategies
Hannibal lost the war and was forced to
surrender Italy back to Rome.
Aftermath of the War
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In 202 B.C. Carthage
took up arms once again
in a last gamble.
In Zama, Africa Hannibal
lost his first military
campaign to Scipio.
Following the war Rome
ruled over the western
Mediterranean including
Northern Africa.
The Third Punic War
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Following the turmoil of the second
Punic war Rome continued conquest
of the Hellenistic Empires to the east.
Rome forcefully confined the Iberian
people who had, ironically, played a
crucial role in the Roman success
during the second Punic War.
During the first half of the Century,
Carthage was beginning to recover in
prosperity. Out of fear the Romans
had the Carthaginians relocate inland
towards Northern Africa.
Due to the fact that Carthaginians
main source of revenue came from the
sea and imports/exports, simply
refused. Outraged Rome sent its
military in. Following a siege on the
city, the Roman warriors killed many
inhabitants and sold many remainders
as slaves. The harbor was destroyed
along with the Carthaginians.
Historical Significance
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”The victory during the second Punic War was the defining historical
experience of the Romans. They had faced certain defeat with
toughness and determination and had won against overwhelming
odds. Their system of alliances had held firm; while Hannibal had
depended on the allies running to his side, only the most remote
Roman allies, those in the south and Sicily, left the Roman alliance.
For the rest of Roman history, the character of being Roman would be
distilled in the histories of this seemingly desperate war against
Carthage. The Second Punic War turned Rome from a regional power
into an international empire: it had gained much of northern Africa,
Spain, and the major islands in the western Mediterranean. Because
Philip V of Macedon had allied himself with Hannibal and started his
own war of conquest, the second Punic War forced Rome to turn east
in wars of conquest against first Philip and then other Hellenistic
kingdoms. The end result of the second Punic War, in the end, was
the domination of the known world by Rome.”
Debate Questions
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What was the first Punic
War fought over?
What years did the Punic
wars take place?
What Carthaginian city
formed an allegiance with
the Romans?
Do you think Rome using
Carthage’s weakness to
overtake Corsica was
justified?
Who do you think was the
better strategist? Scipio
or Hannibal?
Work Cited
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http://www.wsu.edu/~
dee/ROME/PUNICW
AR.HTM
http://history.boisestat
e.edu/westciv/punicw
ar/
http://www.lbdb.com/T
MDisplayLeader.cfm?
PID=5514