Mohammed Salaheldin
March 7, 2015
Grade 9, Period A
Ms. Lund
The Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were three distinct conflicts between Carthage and Rome. When the Punic Wars began, Rome was close to complete the conquest of Italy. Meanwhile, Carthage controlled Northwestern Africa and the islands of the Western Mediterranean. When the Punic Wars ended, Rome was the greatest power West of China. Carthage was ruined when the wars ended. In the first war, Rome wanted to break Carthage’s control of the islands that enabled it to control all of Western Mediterranean. The second Punic was basically to decide the fate of Rome. It was mostly about the rivalry between Rome and Carthage. The last war was all about Carthage’s attempt to gain liberty. I think
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This war was well known for Hannibal, the Carthaginian leader, who caused a massive damage to the Romans. This war was fought over three fronts; with Sicily never being a problem and Rome defending well, Southern Spain where Carthage was able to control for quite a while before regaining control and retreating and the most well known being that of the battles in Italy. Hannibal took an army of men and elephants through the Alps. Hannibal surprised the Romans in Northern Italy. Hannibal was victorious in many great battles in Northern Italy like the Battle of Trebia, the Battle of Lake Trasimene and the Battle of Cannae. Hannibal requested more soldiers, as he was moving towards the North, but Carthage refused. The Romans later realized that it was going to be difficult to beat Hannibal, so they decided to cut off supplies to make life harder for Hannibal before he attacks. It was a very smart idea and it resulted Hannibal to rush back to his homeland to protect it from the Romans at the Battle of Zama on October 19th, 202 BC. Once again, Rome gains victory in the war and now controls much of the Western Mediterranean, which means that Carthage lost much of its