How did the Romans built a strong navy?

Answer 1

Rome destroyed Carthage's power by winning the Three Punic Wars these two cities fought against each other.

With the first war, Rome took over the Carthaginian possessions in western Sicily, and Sardinia and Corsica, which belonged to Carthage. These islands were important for the control of the trade routes of the western basin of the Mediterranean. They also built a fleet which in the second war proved to be the most powerful navy in the western Mediterranean.

With the second war, Rome took over the Carthaginian possessions in southern Spain. The silver mines of this area were the main source of Carthage's wealth. The Romans also made an alliance with the Numidians who were Carthage's next door neighbours, they lived in Algeria, and who defected to Rome.

In the third war Rome destroyed Carthage and took over her remaining territories, the home ones, Tunisia and western Libya.

Answer 2

The First Punic War (264-241 BC) was fought in Sicily. Due to the rough terrain of the island, the war quickly turned from a land war to a mainly naval war, though land battles were still fought. Rome did not have a navy to speak of and built her first large navy.

Her inexperienced men were no match for the highly skilled sailors of Carthage. The Romans compensated by equipping their ships with the corvus, a boarding bridge with a heavy spike at the bottom, to make up for her disadvantage. Instead of the complicated maneuver of ramming the side of a ship, the Romans could flank it, and pin it to the corvus.

The Romans won most naval battles, using this method. However, the corvus made the ships top heavy, and most of the fleet was lost in storms, along with thousands of soldiers. Both fleets were depleted. The Romans used private funds from rich citizens to rebuild the fleet. This fleet won the last naval battle which brought the war to an end.

In the Second Punic War (218-202 BC): Hannibal provoked the war and invaded Italy from Spain, but could not attack Rome because he lost his siege machines while crossing the Alps in the winter. Instead, after routing the Roman armies twice outside Rome, he moved on to southern Italy instead of heading for Rome. He was joined by the Gauls of northern Italy, who had rebelled against Rome and joined him, more than doubling the size of his army. He routed the Romans a third time in the south. After this many of Rome's Italian allies in the south went over to him.

The combined manpower of Rome and her Italian allies was far superior in numbers to Hannibal's forces. So, Hannibal's limited expeditionary force needed Rome's Italian allies to join him to enlarge his army. However, he failed to make a decisive gain in recruitment of these allies.

He established his base at Italy's second largest city, Capua (near Naples and nearer Rome) which went over to him. However, he failed to seize or retain two local key strategic towns. Armies bringing reinforcements form further south, were routed twice and the Romans besieged Capua. Hannibal had to leave the area and move further south. Meanwhile, three Roman armies were heading south to retake it and Hannibal was not able to stop them.

Hannibal needed reinforcements. His tactics had turned more defensive as he had lost many of his best infantry and half of his cavalry. His brother Hasdrubal tried to bring reinforcements and siege machines from Spain. However, he was intercepted and routed in central Italy before he reached Hannibal. Hannibal's campaign came to a dead end. He withdrew to the easily defensible mountain of Calabria (the toe of Italy) and was stuck there for the last four years of his Italian Campaign.

Meanwhile there was war in Spain as well. The Romans had fought an unsuccessful first campaign. In their second campaign, the Carthaginians were defeated in southern Spain. Carthage lost her territories there to Rome. This meant that Hannibal could no longer resupply and reinforce from Spain, and further, that Carthage had lost the Spanish silver mines, her main source of wealth.

After taking Spain, Rome sent a force to Tunisia, (Carthage territory). Hannibal was recalled to defend Carthage but was defeated in the last battle of the war.

In the Third Punic War (149-146 BC): Carthage was much weaker, and to avoid war, the city had agreed to hand over her armories andweaponsto Rome. Rome wanted to destroyCarthage, so they unreasonably demanded that the city be destroyed and rebuilt 10 miles inland. Carthage, critically dependent upon her sea port, could not accept this demand and refused. At this, the Romans besieged the city. After threeyearsofsiege, the city capitulated and was destroyed, with 50,000Carthaginiansbeing sold into slavery

Answer 3

They developed superior tactics - instead of ramming, the closed with the enemy ships and boarded them, using their superior armoured infantry.