She had a powerful navy, a mercenary army, and, through tribute, tariffs, and trade, enough wealth to do as she pleased. "|shift or raise with great effort; throw|violent; painful| The Carthaginians refused to comply with this and so began the Third Punic War. How did the Punic Wars affect the development of the Roman Republic? The Romans incorporated many Greek gods into their religion. [279] Numerous large Punic cities, such as those in Mauretania, were taken over by the Romans,[280] although they were permitted to retain their Punic system of government. They favored the patrician class and did not like that Caesar was popular with the plebeians. Mago left Iberia for Cisalpine Gaul with his remaining forces. Carthage was also to pay Rome a war debt of 200 talents every year for fifty years. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Senators were worried that Caesar would try to become a king or emperor. This caused Carthage to cease to be a military threat. [71] Away from the coasts its hilly and rugged terrain made manoeuvring large forces difficult and so encouraged defensive strategies. Pennsylvania State University. In such circumstances it was difficult to force a battle if the other commander was unwilling to fight. The boys' mother was murdered by an evil king named Amulius. [22] During this period of Roman expansion Carthage, with its capital in what is now Tunisia, had come to dominate southern Iberia, much of the coastal regions of North Africa, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia and the western half of Sicily in a thalassocracy. (2018, April 18). In 149 B.C., after Carthage technically broke its treaty with Rome by declaring war against the neighboring state of Numidia, the Romans sent an army to North Africa, beginning the Third Punic War. The main Roman camp was in a swamp, which caused an outbreak of disease during the summer. The Senate gained increased prestige greater wealth and more influence in Roman government. [42][52] More formal battles were usually preceded by the two armies camping twotwelve kilometres (17 miles) apart for days or weeks; sometimes both forming up in battle order each day. The besiegers met with a gallant resistance and in 249 were compelled to withdraw by the loss of their fleet in a surprise attack upon Drepanum, in which the admiral Publius Claudius Pulcher was repulsed with a loss of 93 ships. Which statement best describes educational opportunities in Roman society? 10,000 talents was approximately 269,000kg (265 long tons) of silver. [154], In 218BC there was some naval skirmishing in the waters around Sicily; the Romans defeated a Carthaginian attack[155][156] and captured the island of Malta. [232] The Carthaginians were defeated, but Hasdrubal was able to withdraw the majority of his army and prevent any Roman pursuit; most of his losses were among his Iberian allies. View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Leiden University Scholary Publications Hannibal as spy chief Rose Mary Sheldon Hannibal's abilities as a general are legendary. - The Roman general Scipio Africanus defeated the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War. The farmers were known as the backbone of Rome at the time. How did the citizens of the Roman Republic govern themselves? After this disastrous defeat, however, the Romans managed to rebound, and the Carthaginians lost their hold on Italy as Rome won victories in Spain and North Africa under the rising young general Scipio Africanus. [note 8][89][90][91] The invasion initially went well and in 255BC the Carthaginians sued for peace; the proposed terms were so harsh they decided to fight on. What was one way the consuls were prevented from having too much power? [73] They then pressed Syracuse, the only significant independent power on the island, into allying with them[74] and laid siege to Carthage's main base at Akragas on the south coast. While Carthage would largely ignore the war, leaving the fighting to Hamilcar and his mercenaries, Rome would be building and equipping more ships and training more men. How did the Punic Wars affect the development of the Roman Republic? Mago was also recalled; he died of wounds on the voyage and some of his ships were intercepted by the Romans,[222] but 12,000 of his troops reached Carthage. [175][183] Hannibal marched through the richest and most fertile provinces of Italy, hoping the devastation would draw Fabius into battle, but Fabius refused. The challenge the nascent Roman Empire faced wasn't just that their opponents were bigger than them. [275] There is a tradition that Roman forces then sowed the city with salt, but this has been shown to have been a 19th-century invention. [151], In 219BC a Carthaginian army under Hannibal besieged, captured and sacked Saguntum[note 12][140][152] and in spring 218BC Rome declared war on Carthage. A treaty was agreed in 201BC which stripped Carthage of its overseas territories and some of its African ones; imposed a large indemnity; severely restricted the size of its armed forces; and prohibited Carthage from waging war without Rome's express permission. Invested with an unrestricted foreign command, he spent the rest of his life in founding a Spanish empire (237228). There were campaigns in Italy, Iberia (Spain), Sicily, North Africa, and more. How might you respond to it ? They concentrated their efforts on the conquest of Spain rather than trying to drive the Romans out of their former colonies. They elected people to represent them in government. Most of the First Punic War was centered around the island of Sicily and . [60] It would also normally carry a complement of 40 marines;[61] if battle was thought to be imminent this would be increased to as many as 120. [34][35], Carthaginian citizens only served in their army if there was a direct threat to the city of Carthage. A second Roman fleet, which subsequently reached Africa after defeating the full Carthaginian fleet off Cape Hermaeum (Shark Peninsula), withdrew all the remaining troops. In 264 B.C., Rome decided to intervene in a dispute on the western coast of the island of Sicily (then a Carthaginian province) involving an attack by soldiers from the city of Syracuse against the city of Messina. The Roman general Scipio Aemilianus (l. 185-129 BCE) besieged the city for three years and, when it fell, sacked it and burned it to the ground. The nearly 20-year conflict pitted Rome against Carthage and became a turning point in Roman history. He then charged into the legions from behind. The Carthaginian government, however, still as corrupt and selfish as it had always been, taxed the people heavily to help pay the war debt while they, themselves, contributed nothing. Had the Carthaginian government better supplied and reinforced Hamilcar, they most probably would have won the war but, instead, they contented themselves with hoarding their wealth and trusted to Hamilcar and his mercenaries to take care of their enemies without the necessary support. [251], Under the pressure of the war, the Romans developed an increasingly effective system of logistics to equip and feed the unprecedented numbers of soldiers they field. [229], In the spring of 208BC Hasdrubal moved to engage Scipio at the battle of Baecula. Carthage controlled the Mediterranean and Rome was expanding, bringing the two into conflict. To avoid complete humiliation Carthage had no resource but to humiliate its adversary. In 218 Hannibal attacked Roman territory, starting from Spain and marching overland into Italy with troops and elephants. Rome's population fell after a famine and a plague. [145] Hamilcar took the army which he had led in the Mercenary War to Iberia in 237BC and carved out a quasi-monarchial, autonomous state in its south east. Shortly after this, the Roman general, Publius Cornelius Scipio (l. 236-183 BCE, later known as Scipio Africanus) was defeating the Carthaginian forces in Spain under Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal Barca (l. c. 244-207 BCE). The main cause of the Punic Wars was the clash of interests between the existing Carthaginian Empire and the expanding Roman Republic. The territory and allies of Rome and Carthage immediately before the start of the Second Punic War. [191], The historian Richard Miles describes Cannae as "Rome's greatest military disaster". The Carthaginian formation collapsed; Hannibal was one of the few to escape the field. In this fight, Romulus killed Remus. [112] It was to be seven years before Rome again attempted to field a substantial fleet, while Carthage put most of its ships into reserve to save money and free up manpower. The temper of the Roman people was soon made manifest during a conflict which broke out between the Carthaginians and their discontented mercenaries. What shows that religion was important in the lives of Roman families? The Second Punic War began in 218BC and witnessed the Carthaginian general Hannibal's crossing of the Alps and invasion of mainland Italy. The last holdouts, including Roman deserters in Carthaginian service, fought on from the Temple of Eshmoun and burnt it down around themselves when all hope was gone. However, by 146 BC, the Romans had achieved a total victory over Carthage and had wiped the city from the face of the earth. Hannibal knew nothing of his brother's whereabouts until Hasdrubal's severed head was thrown into his camp. For the full article, see, The interval between the First and Second Punic Wars (241218, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Punic-Wars, The western Mediterranean during the Punic Wars. The Punic wars would have ended early, Carthage would have colonized Italy and gone on to become the dominant superpower in the Mediterranean, significantly altering European history as we know it. That night the Carthaginian garrison escaped and the Romans seized the city and its inhabitants, selling 25,000 of them into slavery. In 207BC, after recruiting heavily in Gaul, Hasdrubal crossed the Alps into Italy in an attempt to join his brother, Hannibal, but was defeated before he could. Its most famous eruption took place in the year 79 A.D., when it buried the city of Pompeii under a thick carpet of volcanic ash. 3,200 talents was approximately 82,000kg (81 long tons). Meanwhile, the Carthaginian army was crippled by plague. He also liberated the Iberian hostages who had been held there by the Carthaginians to ensure the loyalty of their tribes. How did the Punic Wars affect Carthage? Copy. Carthage, on the other hand, had long been anxious to conquer Sicily and so to complete the chain of island posts by which it controlled the western Mediterranean. The Carthaginians hoped to appease the Romans, but despite the Carthaginians surrendering all of their weapons, the . Did you know? Punic Wars, also known as Carthaginian Wars, occurred between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) empire from 264 to 146 bce. Rome won all three wars. Read the passage from the myth of Romulus and Remus. It entered Gaul and took an inland route, to avoid the Roman allies to the south. 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