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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
Why was the the first Punic war was fought over the island of Sicily?
Sicily was very important to Carthage, but it was not very important to Rome before the First Punic War (see below). Rome sent an army to Sicily to help the Mametines, mercenaries who had seized the city of Messana (Messina) in eastern Sicily, on the strait, just two miles from the mainland. They also forced the Greek city of Syracuse, in eastern Sicily, which was the most powerful city in the island, to become a Roman ally. This alarmed Carthage, which mobilised for war against Rome. At this point the war developed into a fight over Sicily. This is how thing developed and was not the result of pre-war aims. The Romans probably did not realise that they were going to let themselves in for 23 years of war.
Carthage had a large trading network around the western basin of the Mediterranean and also traded goods from this part of this sea to the eastern Mediterranean. Sicily was important to them because partly because of its strategic location. It lies between the western and eastern Mediterranean, which helps to control the routes between them. Tunisia, which is where Carthage was, also had a similar strategic position, but Sicily was further north and closer to Italy, southern France and the Balearic Islands. Carthage’s five ports in western Sicily (in eastern Sicily there were Greek city-states) also provided a link with Sardinia and Corsica, which belonged to Carthage. Moreover, Sicily had good agricultural land.
The importance of Sicily for the Romans at the outset of the war is not clear. The reasons for sending an army to Sicily are not clear either. In retrospect the clarity of Rome's alarm about Carthage and her allies in Sicily were well founded. Rome had never ceased to be an aggressive power in Italy. The success of Carthage ws a threat to Rome. Rome ended that threat in the first Punic War which lay seed for the second one when Hannibal began his campaign against Rome from his strong hold in Spain. Rome controlled central and southern Italy, including Calabria, which is next door and only two miles from Sicily. However, she did not have trading networks around the western Mediterranean, hardly had a navy to speak of and did not look beyond Italy. Therefore, Sicily did not have a great strategic importance for them at that time. We are told that the senate was reluctant to get involved in Sicily. Many senators did not want to intervene to help the Mamertine mercenaries because they had seized the city of Messana unlawfully and mistreated its population. The debate in the senate reached impasse. The matter was then passed to the vote of the assembly of the soldiers, which could vote on war and peace. It voted for war. We are not told clearly why. It has been speculated that the soldiers were keen on war booty or that commercial interests influenced the vote as Sicily had rich agricultural land. When Rome won the war it benefited from the island strategic position and her agricultural riches. By then it also had a large navy and she started to look beyond Italy.
Where did Carthage expand after the first Punic war?
The Romans gained control of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica after the first war; Spain and northern Morocco + an alliance with the peoples who lived in Algeria after the second war, Tunisia and Libya after the third War. After the three wars, Rome was in control of the western basin of the Mediterranean. Carthage was destroyed in the third war.
Who did the Romans fight with in the punic wars?
The Romans , throughout the Punic Wars (264 to 146 BC) , fought against Carthage (Notably Hannibal.) for hegemony in the Mediterranean . The Romans persevered over their Carthaginians opponents and , at the end , razed the city of Carthage and it's citizens were sold into slavery .
How many battles did Hannibal barca win?
See the site in the separate panel below entitled Sources and related links:
Hannibal battles
When did Battle of Cannae happen?
Because the Romans just want battle I dare you to copy and paste this!!
The immediate cause of the First Punic War was?
Some pirates on the island of Sicily asked for Rome to help them, while others asked Carthage to help fight.
How many miles did Hannibal and his solders walk to get from Spain to Rome?
846 miles YOUR WELCOME!!!!!!
What year did Hannibal fight the Romans in the Punic war?
Hannibal fought the Romans throughout the Second Punic War (218 BC-202 BC). He fought in Italy from 218 BC to 203 BC. In 202 BC he was recalled to Africa (Tunisia) to fight against the Roman campaign there.
What was the cause of the Punic War in Rome?
There were three Punic Wars and each of them had different causes.
The First Punic war was precipitated by some mercenaries from southern Italy who seized the city of Messana (modern Messina) on the east coast of Sicily. They were attacked by the Greek city of Syracuse, the most powerful city in the island (there were Greek cities in the east and the south of Sicily). Carthage had five ports in the west of Sicily. In the past there had been wars between the Carthaginians and the Greeks of Sicily. The mercenaries asked both Rome and Carthage for help. The former decided to help, but established a garrison in Messana. Not happy with this the mercenaries asked Rome for help again. Rome expelled the Carthaginian garrison from Messana and then besieged Syracuse which was forced to become an ally of Rome. Concerned about this alliance, Carthage mobilised for war.
In Second Punic War Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, wanted war because he wanted revenge against Rome for fraudulently seizing Corsica and Sardinia from Carthage taking advantage of the fact that the latter was facing a military rebellion after the first war. Hannibal provoked the war and quickly mobilised an army to invade Italy from his base in the Carthaginian territories in southern Spain.
Rome used an excuse to declare war for the Third Punic War. A political faction in Rome wanted to destroy Carthage because she had recovered economically from the second war. They were afraid of a resurgence in the power of their rival and wanted to eliminate it.
How did the Punic Wars help project Roman power into the Mediterranean?
1. The First Punic War forced Rome to become a naval power to enable it to defeat Carthage. It also extended Rome's territory and influence beyond the Italian Peninsula to Spain and the western Mediterranean islands.
2. The Second Punic War established Rome's total dominance of the western Mediterranean. Its aftermath saw Rome move to the east to punish Macedonia for supporting Carthage, which involved it in Greece. and the Hellenistic east.
3. The Third Punic War saw the total elimination of Carthage as a threat and competitor, allowing Rome to progressively consolidate its position in Spain, Gaul and North Africa, and to further its influence into Asia and Egypt.
What happened to Carthage in the Third Punic War?
Rome eventually wiped Carthage off the map by the end of the third punic war
Why did Hannibal attack rome and how did it end?
his father made him promise that he would hate rome with his last breath.
everything started with some territory issues in the isles arround the italic peninsule, ruled by cartaghe in that moment.
There where 3 punic wars (Rome vs Carthago) and the 3rd one ended with the Cartagho capital erased from the map. Burned and planted with salt.
Who fought in the Punic Wars and Who won?
The Punic Wars (punic = Phoenician, the Carthaginians were a Phoenician people) were between Rome and Carthage. There were three of them. Rome won all three, eventially putting an end to the problem by levelling Carthage and selling its people into slavery in 146 BCE.
Where did Hannibal cross the Pyrenees?
It toke 3 years!
The above answer is incorrect. It did not take Hannibal three years to cross the Alps. From the start of his ascent of the Alps to his arrival in Northern Italy it took 16 days according to Livy. This underscores the remarkable achievement of the crossing by Hannibal.
What problems did the punic wars create for rome?
Althoug they brought great expansion and influence, they also badly eroded the farmers who constituted the Roman army, and largely replaced them with slaves captured during the war.
This erosion of the farming class sowed the seeds of the Roman revolution. The army became comprised of the non-propertied class which looked to successful generals to get them property after wars, and these generals used this clientele to further their own position and ambitions. The civil wars went on spasmodicaly for a century until Augustus won control and reconstituted the political, social and economic structure of the empire.
In retribution for Philip of Macedonia's support of Carthage, they set out to punish him. In so doing they became embroiled in Greece and its disputes, then with Seleucid Syria in Asia Minor. Then they had to face the German population movement in Gaul, which embroiled them there, and the aftermath in Spain also led them to progressive takeover there. And so on to the Rhine and Danube and then Syria Palestine, north Africa, Egypt ...
How was Gen Hannibal able to come so close to conquering Rome?
1. Elephants
2. Tactics
3. Professional Soldiers
4. The oath he gave his father (His father made him swear an oath that once Hannibal was old enough he would be Rome's biggest enemy)
5. His men would gladly die for him (his men were very loyal)
What was the Roman naval strategy during the First Punic War?
They countered Carthaginian tactics of ramming with the Harpax - a ramp with a beak which when dropped in the opposing ship locked the ships together and allowed the superior Roman infantry to board and defeat the Cartaginian crews.
How many Roman Deaths occurred in the battle of Cannae?
Estimates of the casualties of the Battle of Cannae given by ancient historians vary. Polybius said that 70,000 Roman and allied infantrymen and 6,000 Roman and allied cavalrymen were killed and that only 357 men survived. Livy thought that 45,500 infantrymen and 2,700 cavalrymen died and that 3,000 infantrymen and 1,500 cavalrymen were captured. Appian and Plutarch said that 50,000 men were killed and Quintillian gave a figure of 60,000.
Some modern historians tend to agree with Livy's figure, others give lower estimates of 10,000 to 16,000 men killed.
There are no figures for the number of wounded men.
How Hannibal surprise the Romans?
By passing through Gaul and crossing the Alps into Italy, defeatig their armies before they could develop a clear war strategy and coordinated response.
What problems did the 2nd Punic War cause Roman Farmers?
The farmers were the backbone of the Roman army. While they were away, two things:
- They lost the produce of their land.
- Under Roman law anyone who held land without being challenged for a year gained ownership. Large landowners occupied the common land and as this is where the small-farmers fed their ploughing oxen (their farms were too small to support them) they were left unable to sustain them and plough their lands.
- The free availability of slaves provided cheap labour for the large landowners.
Scipio was important to Rome because he chased, fought and defeated Hannibal and the threat Hannibal posed to Rome.
Scipio was important to Rome because he chased, fought and defeated Hannibal and the threat Hannibal posed to Rome.
Scipio was important to Rome because he chased, fought and defeated Hannibal and the threat Hannibal posed to Rome.
Scipio was important to Rome because he chased, fought and defeated Hannibal and the threat Hannibal posed to Rome.
Scipio was important to Rome because he chased, fought and defeated Hannibal and the threat Hannibal posed to Rome.
Scipio was important to Rome because he chased, fought and defeated Hannibal and the threat Hannibal posed to Rome.
Scipio was important to Rome because he chased, fought and defeated Hannibal and the threat Hannibal posed to Rome.
Scipio was important to Rome because he chased, fought and defeated Hannibal and the threat Hannibal posed to Rome.
Scipio was important to Rome because he chased, fought and defeated Hannibal and the threat Hannibal posed to Rome.
What was the role the Punic Wars played in the expansion of the Roman Empire?
They established Rome as the dominant power in the Western Mediterranean, and Rome's move to punish Macedonia for intervening on Carthage's side, after the Second punic War, enmeshed it in the Eastern Mediterranean.
What impact did the Punic wars have on the development of the Roman empire?
It could be said that the Punic wars were the beginning of the Roman empire. By winning, the Romans gained territory, trade routs, and more areas for both troop training and recruitment.
It could be said that the Punic wars were the beginning of the Roman empire. By winning, the Romans gained territory, trade routs, and more areas for both troop training and recruitment.
It could be said that the Punic wars were the beginning of the Roman empire. By winning, the Romans gained territory, trade routs, and more areas for both troop training and recruitment.
It could be said that the Punic wars were the beginning of the Roman empire. By winning, the Romans gained territory, trade routs, and more areas for both troop training and recruitment.
It could be said that the Punic wars were the beginning of the Roman empire. By winning, the Romans gained territory, trade routs, and more areas for both troop training and recruitment.
It could be said that the Punic wars were the beginning of the Roman empire. By winning, the Romans gained territory, trade routs, and more areas for both troop training and recruitment.
It could be said that the Punic wars were the beginning of the Roman empire. By winning, the Romans gained territory, trade routs, and more areas for both troop training and recruitment.
It could be said that the Punic wars were the beginning of the Roman empire. By winning, the Romans gained territory, trade routs, and more areas for both troop training and recruitment.
It could be said that the Punic wars were the beginning of the Roman empire. By winning, the Romans gained territory, trade routs, and more areas for both troop training and recruitment.
