The Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were fought
between Rome and Carthage.
The 1st Punic War was fought over
the control of the island of Sicily.
Carthage’s navy was utterly
destroyed in the war. In 241 B.C., a
peace treaty was signed.
Why was the Roman victory at
Sicily so important?
• The Romans now had
a buffer zone
separating them from
the Carthaginians.
In 221 B.C. Hannibal, a Carthage
general, conquers a Roman ally in
Spain.
• The Romans demand Carthage dismiss
Hannibal and send him to Rome. Carthage
refuses and the 2nd Punic War begins.
Hannibal took his large army and
planned an invasion of Italy.
In 218 B.C., he crossed the Alps
and entered Italy.
Hannibal and his army annihilate
the forces in Northern Italy and
gain alliances along the way.
• 50,000 Gauls join Hannibal.
Quintus Fabius Maximus became a
military dictator of Rome and
decided to wait out Hannibal rather
than engaging him in direct contact.
“The Delayer” was removed. Two
inexperienced hastily send 80,000
troops to stop Hannibal, they fail.
• It is said not one Roman returned alive.
The Second Punic War ended at the
battle of Zama in 202 BC, when Cornelious
Scipio borrowed a move from Hannibal's
play book and invaded Carthage. Carthage
surrendered under Scipio's terms.
Zama was located just south of
Carthage in North Africa.
The terms of surrender:
•
1. Carthage had to hand over all their war elephants and war ships (except
for ten), plus prisoners of war and one hundred hostages.
•
2. Carthage also had to pay a huge war indemnity of 10,000 talents in fifty
yearly installments of two hundred talents.
•
3. They also had to confine their reign to Africa (no more vacations in
Spain).
•
4. The Cathagians had to return some of the surrounding land to the
neighboring Numidian king Masinissa, who was an ally to Rome. This would
help the Romans because Masinissa could keep an eye on Carthage for
them.
•
5. Finally, Carthage couldn't go to war with anybody outside Africa at all. All
their wars inside Africa had to be approved by none other than Rome.
Carthage had no hope after the battle. With
almost no war ships, Carthage couldn't protect
their merchant navy. Ten thousand talents was a
huge sum to pay. The loss of their elephants was
a great strength lost, not to mention losing land!
Carthage saw this as a record low for Rome.
For the victory over Carthage at Zama, Scipio
demanded that he receive the title Scipio
Africanus - Conqueror of Africa.
Carthage begins rebuilding its
army. Thus the 3rd Punic War
begins.
The Romans invaded Carthage
destroying the city, going door to
door, and killing the inhabitants.
The city burned for 17 days.
The great city of Carthage was
destroyed.
To assure people do not rebuild
Carthage, salt was sown in its
fields. Carthage was dead.
The
End…