Name: _______________________________________________________ Period: __________ Date: _______________
The Punic Wars
Learning Target: I can explain why Ancient Rome became so successful (History Standard 1).
Directions:
 Read and annotate the text below with your pencil.
 Find the answer to each question in the reading, highlight it, and place the question number next to it.
 Make sure each answer is a complete sentence – it restates the question and has a capital letter,
punctuation, and correct spelling!!
During the time of the early Roman Republic, the western part of the Mediterranean Sea was ruled by
the people of the city-state of Carthage. It was a wealthy city with a powerful navy located on the coast of
Northern Africa. They were not very happy when the city of Rome began to conquer the area of Italy and
Sicily. The Carthaginians and Romans fought for years and years in a series of wars called the Punic Wars.
At first, the Carthaginians had the upper hand because of their navy. Rome did not have any ships.
Then, a ship from Carthage’s navy wrecked on the coast of Italy. The Romans took the ship apart and figured
out how to build their own ships. Still, both sides were well trained and fierce fighters and neither one was
winning. Tired of the stalemate, a general name Hannibal took and army with 40 specially trained elephants
over the Pyrenees Mountains and the Alps north of Italy and attacked by land. No one had ever tried to attack
Rome by land before! The Romans had never seen elephants before; much less ones that had been trained to
flap their ears, shake their heads, and in general be as big and frightening as possible. The Romans fled and
Hannibal began to burn and destroyed Italy. While he was busy destroying Italy, the Romans sailed to
Carthage and burned it down. When Carthage fell, the war was over. Rome had won.
Because the Romans had won the Punic Wars, they became the dominant power in the
Mediterranean. Soon, the Romans conquered all of Greece and the lands Alexander the Great had taken over.
However, in a way, it was the Greeks that conquered the Romans because the Romans came into contact with
Greek culture and were won over. Greek literature, art, and architecture soon began to influence Roman
culture. Roman artists began to copy Greek sculptures. Roman authors began imitating Greek authors, and
Roman students began studying Greek literature and philosophy in school.
Skill: Reading Comprehension


Highlight or underline key words in each question.
Make sure each answer is a complete sentence – it restates the question and has a capital letter,
punctuation, and correct spelling!!
1. Where was Carthage located? _______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Why did the Carthaginians get mad at the Romans? ______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. In the beginning of the war, why was Rome at a disadvantage? _____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What was the name of the general the led the Carthaginians? ______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Which two mountain ranges did Hannibal cross? ________________________________________________________
6. Locate the two mountain ranges on your map and label them with the symbol for mountains (^^^^^^^)
7. Why were Hannibal’s war elephants so effective? _______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Who won the Punic Wars? __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Answer the following question using complete sentences. Even though the Romans conquered Greece, how did the
Greeks conquer the Romans? Please provide three examples. ________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name: _______________________________________________ Period:__________Date:_________________________
The Punic Wars Map Questions
Skill: Using the map key
1. Locate the city of Carthage on your map and circle it.
2. Using the symbol for mountains (triangles ^^^^^^^^^^) add the Pyrenees and Alps mountain ranges to the map.
Then add this symbol to your map key.
3. Hannibal was called back to Carthage to help after Rome attacked it; from what Italian city did he leave? ___________
4. In what year was the last battle was fought? Remember that in B.C. time counts backwards towards 0. (250 B.C. is
longer ago than 200 B.C.) ________________ Where did it happen? _________________________________
5. Of the battles on the map, which was the first fought? Remember that in B.C. time counts backwards towards 0. (250
B.C. is longer ago than 200 B.C.) __________________________________________________
Skill: Physical Features
6. Italy is surrounded by which two seas? _______________________________________________________________
7. Which island town is southwest of Croton?____________________________________________________________
8. Which river is north of the Alps? ____________________________________________________________________
9. On what island are there 6 battle sites? _______________________
Skill: Latitude, Longitude, and Scale
10. Which battle took place at approximately 45⁰N and 9⁰E? ________________________________________________
11. Which battle took place at approximately 37⁰N and 6⁰W? ________________________________________________
12. What is the approximate latitude and longitude for the city of Rome? ______________________________________
13. What is the approximate latitude and longitude for the battle of Saguntum? ________________________________
14. What is the approximate distance from Croton to Cape Hermaeum?
15. What is the approximate distance from Hannibal travelled from New Carthage to Trebbia? _____________________
16. How did you figure out the answer to number 15? _____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Advanced (4-A): Why do you think the Carthaginians wanted to hold on to Spain; explain why it was so valuable.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________