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Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of military engagements between the ascendant Roman Republic and the former Phoenician colony of Carthage, in what is now Tunisia. The Wars were notable for the Carthaginian General Hannibal's Crossing over the Alps with elephants in the Second Punic War and for Rome's complete razing of Carthage in the Third Punic War.
591 Questions
What three major consequences for the losers of the third Punic war?
The 'Final Solution' to the Carthaginian problem.
- Their city was levelled to the ground.
- The 50,000 Carthaginians who survived the last stand in the seige including the women and children were sold as slaves.
- Rome took over Carthage's remaining territories in Tunisia and western Libya and her three colonies (settlements) in northern Morocco.
- The nearby city of Utica, which had been a rival of Carthage and had became a Roman ally, was turned into the capital of the region and the main centre of Punic trade.
- When Utica's port silted, Carthage was rebuilt as a Roman city by Julius Caesar (44 BC). Five years later Augustus made it the capital of the province of Africa. Roman Carthage became one of the largest cities in the empire.
What happen to the loser of the punic war?
There were three Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome, and Carthage lost all three of them. In the first war, they lost their territory in Sicily. In the second war, the one in which they came closest to winning, they lost their territory in Spain, Gaul, and Africa. In the third war, Carthage was destroyed after most of the Carthaginians had starved to death in a three-year siege. The survivors were sold into slavery, and the city was destroyed.
He was killed by homicide in war against the Carthaginians.
What happened during the punic war?
The Punic war was a series of naval conflicts with Rome and the city of Carthage over the trade in the Mediterranean sea these conflicts ended with the defeat of Carthage, this war was not resolved well and it lead to the second Punic war.
What was the port problem in the Punic War?
Then Rome developed a fleet which overcame the Carthaginians, so the reverse happened. Carthage could not move food or soldiers by sea and so Hannibal marched overland to Italy.
Did Rome enslave 50000 Carthaginians at the end of the Third Punic War?
Yes - it was the 'final solution' to end the competition from such a resilient opponent.
How many elephants did Hannibal lose when crossing the Alps?
In 218 BC Hannibal left Tunisia with 38,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 37 war elephants. 26,000 men died on this insane trek and only a few elephants reached Italy.
Is Scipio the leader of Rome during the third Punic war?
No, Scipio is the general that led a new army to Carthage while Hannibal was in Italy forcing him to go home in the second Punic war.
How did Scipio win the battle of Zama?
Scipio created gaps between the Roman ranks that would act as corridors through which Hannibal's elephants could pass and got the light infantry to stand at their openings to hide them. He got the cavalry to blow trumpets to frighten the elephants. Some of them panicked and turned back on the Carthaginians. The other elephants were channelled through the gaps. The elephant attack was staved off. The roman infantry resumed normal formation and the battle between the two infantries started. Hannibal's cavalry got the Roman one to chase them to take them away from the battlefield and prevent them from attacking the Carthaginian infantry from the back. When the two cavalries engaged each other, the Carthaginian one was routed. A second fight between the two infantries started. When the Roman cavalry returned, it attacked the Carthaginians at the back. This encircled the Carthaginian infantry which was slaughtered.
In previous battles Hannibal had relied heavily on a cavalry much superior in numbers. This time the two cavalries were the same size. Scipio's military acumen was a match for Hannibal military genius.
What sentence best describes the outcome of the Punic Wars?
It was a struggle for dominance of the Western Mediterranean between Rome and Carthage.
Were there any barriers that soldiers had to overcome in the Zama battle?
The Roman army had to deal with war elephants used by the Carthaginians.
How may men did Hannibal have in the battle of Cannae?
The figures are uncertain. A reasonable estimate is 35,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry.
The Roman figure opposing him may have been 50,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry, though some sources go as high as 90,000.
What is the historic importance in the two Punic wars?
Rome's victories over Carthage in the Punic Wars positioned it as the greatest power in the western Mediterranean and helped launch wars of expansion across the entire Mediterranean region.
How was Roman agriculture influenced by Hannibal's conquest of Rome?
Hannibal did not conquer Rome. He invaded Italy with the intention of seizing Rome. After some victories in northern and central Italy he moved to southern Italy instead of marching on Rome. He conducted the rest of his campaign, which eventually failed, in southern Italy. The Romans retook most of his gains in that area and neutralised his threat. He spent the last four years stuck in the easily defensible mountainous toe of Italy (today's Calabria). He was eventually recalled to Carthage because the Romans had started a military campaign in her homeland in Africa.
What did Hannibal do when Romans sent an army to attack Carthage?
He returned from Italy to defend Carthage. He lost the battle of Zama there.
Rome and Carthage fought in the Punic Wars, but Rome won the war.
