Rome started expanding with its eyes first set on Sicily unfortunately it was loyal to Carthage. This first clash seemed an inevitable failure for Rome, however they triumphed. This set the stage for future expansion, Rome’s thirst for trade goods was quite healthy after all they had to maintain their population
There is a North-East scholar R Malcom Errington (1970) argued the Roman involvement was due to pressure by being invited by Saguntum and Massilia, being fearful of the growing power of Carthage. For Livy he also had strong feelings that Hannibal was to blame in the way that Polybius felt about Hannibal. Livy says that when Saguntum fell Hannibal received dispatches which made him aware of the fact that he was (in Roman eyes) the cause of the impending war. In Livy’s historical account of the battle of Zama, Livy went deeper and made Hannibal say, ‘It was I first began this war against the Roman people’ However it was later that Roman writers (e.g. Appian) who would also put the blame on Hannibal for the start of the war by what they say crossing Ebro and essentially breaking the treaty of 226 B.C When we discuss Livy’s account of the second Punic war he says of Hannibal “ They now came to another canton which, considering that it was a mountain district, had a considerable population.
It is believed that these wars were fought to increase Juliua Caesar's political career. This would also help Julius Caesar pay off a large debt that he aquired during his
Rome Between 264 and 146 BC the Romans and the Carthaginians fought the three Punic Wars. In 264 BC the Punic Wars started when Rome began to feel threatened by Carthage’s increasing power in the trading industry. Finally, in 146 BC the wars were won by the Romans through scurrilous war tactics and by scathing the Carthaginian Empire. This put Rome in total control of Carthage and the rest of the Mediterranean.
One is also left with the impression that the Romans made every attempt to maintain past treaties with Carthage but that the Carthaginians and Hannibal in particular were set on war. This is exactly what Livy intended when writing on the Second Punic War. The problem is that Livy seems to be writing propaganda more than history. His purpose is to thrust the blame for the war solely on Carthage and Hannibal and leave Rome blameless in the eyes of potential readers. Whether or not this was what Livy actually believed is impossible to know for
The Romans decided to attack Carthage in order to get Hannibal to leave. He was defeated at the battle of Zama, ending the Second Punic War (Mulligan). This shows that the Romans did what they had to do in order to get Hannibal to leave their city
The Romans broke the peace treaty, just like Carthage, and sent Roman solders to North Africa to fight and light fire! Carthage, by the year, would get more powerful. Rome did not want that. Rome was filled with “Man Killers” who gave no mercy. When Rome decided to attack Carthage, Carthage stood no chance.
Although the beginning of the second Punic war, Hannibal seemed to be leading victorious throughout Italy after crossing the Alps into Roman territory, the outcome of the Punic war led to the downfall of Carthage. During the second Punic war, Hannibal fought the Romans in the battle of Cannae, where “Poylbius estimates Hannibal had close to 40,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry versus the Roman force of 80,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry” (History Extra, 2009). It was one of the most famous battles in military history and is said to be taught in modern military colleges because of it's significance. Hannibal was outnumbered but used his cunning tactics to close his troops around the charging Roman soldiers to slaughter them in this battle.
This conflict began in 218 B.C. when Saguntum, a Roman ally, was attacked by Hannibal, a Carthaginian military general (Lazenby, 265). When the Carthaginian senate rejected the Roman demand to hand over Hannibal, the states went to war once more. Although the Carthaginians and Hannibal would capture much of the Italian peninsula within the first few years of fighting, the Romans and their massive military would prevail. Specifically, in 212 and 211 B.C., the Roman armed force peaked at twenty-five legions, amounting to more than 100,000 Romans and Italians under arms, with possibly an additional 50,000 serving at sea (Lazenby, 271). This allowed for the Romans to maintain control of central Italy and the city of Rome while reestablishing dominance in Spain and, later, across Greece and Sicily.
Conclusion The three Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome lasted over a century, beginning in 264 BC and ending with the destruction of Carthage in 146 BC. Rome was the dominant power throughout the Italian peninsula, while Carthage was the leading maritime power in the world. By defeating Carthage in the Punic Wars, Rome turned Africa into a province of its
The Punic Wars changed the way the Romans viewed the world, it created change and caused many difficulties. The biggest change that occurred in Rome was the virtues of Rome. As Sallust stated, the virtues of Rome were destroyed after the Punic War because of the lust for power and for the growing love for money. After conquering many lands, Rome's greed and integrity caused a desire for strength; however, with that strength came evil. In the document, “Decline of the Republic”, we see greed and lust when it states, growing love for money, and the lust for power which followed it engendered every kind of evil.
Rome was a target of many for a long time because of how rich and powerful they were. People wanted the Roman riches and power for themselves, and they had to dismantle the empire in order to do so. Rome falling apart inside led to Rome being vulnerable on the outside as well. With the economy failing and corrupt leadership and a weakened army, the barbarians were easily able to destroy Rome even more on the inside. The emperors also became cruel and were nothing like the Five Great Emperors.
Carthage and Rome were two great rivals of the west who also almost equal in strength and resources, situated of the western Mediterranean and Italian Peninsula. Firstly, it is very important to know that Rome 's relations with Carthage down to 264 B.C.E. had been friendly. The two powers had even allied around 500 B.C.E. against the Etruscans. By this treaty Rome recognized the Mediterranean as Carthage 's sphere of influence, and Carthage even claimed a Roman could not wash his hands in the sea without its permission (The flow of History, n. d.).
A mix of political, economic, and territorial factors contributed to the battle between Rome and Macedon. Rome's expansionist intentions, Macedonian rulers' ambitions, and the strategic significance of the Mediterranean region all related to the start of the conflict. While each of the four wars which I will explore below, had its unique set of causes. 1. The Macedonian
The history of the Ancient empires, there were three Ancient historic Punic wars, which been designated within Carthage and Roman. This battle took place over almost a century, starting in 264 B.C. finally finished and concluding with the end of Carthage in 146 B.C (Morey, 1901). The war between these two nation has been for a long time and the power struggling was well known and the political division always created conflict between them. For instance, by the time, the first Punic war split out, even though the Roman Empire had an occasion to dominate and commanded the power over the Italian peninsula becoming a naval power.
