Preview

Punic Wars Research Paper

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1535 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Punic Wars Research Paper
The Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between Rome, the powerful empire, and Carthage, a quickly made and equally powerful superpower. In 264 BC, Rome and Carthage started the lengthy and devastating series of wars over who should have control over the strategic island of Sicily. Rome and Carthage were affected greatly because wars have their consequences, good or bad. A total of thirteen million people died over the course of these wars. The wars started with a single conflict, but lead to massive casualties and much destruction. Although the quickness of Carthage’s military and the power that came with it was devastatingly effective, Rome managed to pull out an almost impossible victory. Rome fought the good fight. Rome and …show more content…
Rome would send, not sell, but simply just make people go live in other countries. This was not in punishment or anger, but simply out of common sense. Not everyone was so lucky as to be sent out. Most of the strong men or fast men or any man with abilities to the use of Rome’s military were kept. Some of the women were kept to make and mend clothing, and to also cook meals for sick, injured, or people that had come back from war. Most of the children were just kept as helping hands when needed. Even though Rome was very powerful, they were smart and courteous when managing the way people were treated inside of their …show more content…
The first war sparked this never ending rage between these two superpowers. As the saying goes, “Power will corrupt, so absolute power will corrupt absolutely.” At some point, two battling city-states, one supported by Rome, the other by Carthage, brought their supporting hands in and started what we know as the Punic Wars. The first war started in 264 BC and lasted until 241 BC. Rome, as you know won this war and forced a treaty upon Carthage. Unwillingly, they signed and somewhat forgot about it. Then in 218 BC, Carthage had been set up in Spain. Carthage and its leaders realized they had a way to try and win back what they had lost some years ago. Carthage attacked quickly on the Roman controlled city of Saguntum. Rome retaliated back but were, for some time, on the bottom side of the rope. Eventually, Rome took care of business and showed Carthage how a real military fights. Despite the early loss, Rome bounced back and once again defeated Carthage. Rome thought for sure that Carthage was down and out. Surprisingly, in 149 BC, Carthage launched one more attack on another Roman controlled city, Numidia. Rome was absolutely fed up with Carthage, so they decided to wipe them out, completely. Rome retaliated with so much force and power and diligence, Carthage never stood a chance. Carthage was a strong city but also young, which meant Rome would be more experienced and they’ve been through plenty of wars. Rome

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    By 246 BCE, the Carthaginians controlled the trade routes and maritime trade in the Mediterranean. The Rome Republic was founded in 509 BCE as a result of an overthrow of Tarquinius Superbus, King of Rome. By 246 BCE, Rome, a small city, was unable to trade in the Mediterranean, only the Tiber River, but it dominated the Italian Peninsula, and only had access to the Italian Peninsula. However, Rome was growing stronger. The Punic Wars were fought to determine who controlled the trade in the…

    • 4407 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Punic Wars were three conflicts between Carthage and Rome. The first conflict was from 264-241 B.C. It grew out of an altercation between Messana and Syracuse. The Messanians asked Carthage for help and Syracuse asked Rome for help. The Strait of Messana, which separated the Italian Peninsula from Sicily, was important strategically, and both Carthage and Rome responded. The Punic army (Carthaginians) arrived in Sicily and mediated peace between the two and established a military base. When the Roman army arrived, they drove off the Punic army from the military base and war ensued (Columbia…

    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hannibal’s overall war strategy in Italy, or lack thereof, can be seen as a strong contributing factor to Carthage’s ultimate defeat in the Second Punic War. Livy describes, “Hannibal…without orders from the senate, crossed both the Alps and the Ebro.” Demonstrating his defiance of Carthaginian Government’s ambitions against Rome. Ultimately, Hannibal sought not to destroy Rome but to “create a balance of power with [her]” according to Fronda. This is to suggest that rather than conquer Rome, Hannibal wanted to be on the same playing field in order to deny them the opportunity to claim hegemony over the Mediterranean. The content of the Macedonian–Carthaginian Treaty further evidences Hannibal’s lack of intention to destroy Rome as, in multiple sections, it discusses how Rome will be treated and acknowledges their…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    From a snapshot of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginians defeated the Romans while under the consul of Gaius Flaminius. The battle is considered one of the largest and most successful ambushes in military history. The battle consisted of around 50,000 Carthaginian soldiers versus about 30,000 Roman soldiers. The aftermath of the battle produced well over 15,000+ lost soldiers for the Roman army while Hannibal only lost approximately 2,500 of his own. Despite the overview of the battle, much more can be examined when looking at the events leading up to the brilliant ambush set by…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Between 600 BCE and 600 CE, many empires throughout the world rose to power as a result of powerful military organizations that allowed them to defend themselves and conquer new land. Forceful armies were especially important in both Rome and Greece, where their dynamic military permitted them to dominate and expand their territories, thus increasing their empire’s power and influence. Most notably in the Roman Empire, the strong martial force led the state to victory in several battles, including the Battle of Zama. The empire’s powerful military obliterated Carthage and led to Rome subsequently taking control of the area. As a result of winning such battles, Rome took control of more land and expanded its territory to take over much of Southern…

    • 313 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rome did not only survived the period of the Punic Wars, they defeated and flourished. This was because of the way Rome administered its peace agreement with its defeated states and the strength of its republican establishment. What we have understood by these wars is that, Rome always losses the first battle, yet they always win the last.…

    • 58 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Battle tactics are said to have changed over time. However, just the opposite is evident. Battle tactics are for anyone to use, but work best with military’s that are stable and continually training. In many cases, militaries throughout the world can be seen using the same tactics today as used in the 2nd Punic War particularly The Battle of Cannae. What make tactics improve so well is the repetition of both practicing in training and executing tactics on the battlefield. Battle tactics improved with the establishment of a professional military because, most soldiers who were now veterans could move up in ranks and understand how they were previously defeated in different battles.…

    • 1788 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Augustus saw how divided to the Roman civil wars were. He understood that control of the soldiers by the government was necessary for the establishment of peace and order throughout the Roman Empire. He wanted to reorganize and begin changes in the military to assure that it would not rise again in support of a general to challenge the power of the state. Since warfare within the Empire was eliminated, the role of the legions changed. Its main objectives consisted in protecting the borders from foreign foes and stopping conquered lands through the gradual introduction of the Roman language, law, administration, and engineering. Augustus' priority was to reduce the number of the legions from 60 to 28, settling in the process more than 100,000 veterans in colonies in Italy, Africa, Asia, and Syria. While drafting financed…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There have been three Punic wars. The wars was fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC. And if you are wondering, Carthage is a city in the coast of North Africa. Also they both were major powers at the time and these wars were caused by them both wanting to expand their empires. The first war ended in 241 BC and it was mostly over who could get the island sicily, which was in the water and that gave carthage the advantage. This is why Rome created the corvus, which won them this war.…

    • 234 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    started in 218 BC and lasted until 201 BC. This was also the most fascinating. It was the Carthaginians bitterness over the agreement from the first war, and the expansion following the years after it that brought on this war. Part of this expansion was the taking of Corsica and Sardinia from Carthage in the year of 237 BC. From 237 to 219 Hannibal, son of Hamilicar, and Hasdrubal,…

    • 1243 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since the third century C.E., Rome faced many problems and was weakened by barbaric invasions from 100-500 C.E. Around 476 C.E, most of the Eastern Roman Empire was still intact, but the Western Roman Empire was covered by barbarians. External enemies, such as the Saxons, Vandals, and Ostrogoths engaged with Rome, which enabled the empire to wear out slowly. On the other hand, this powerful empire was not only weakened by external rivals but by internal decay as well. The increase of enemies contributed to the problematic issue of recruiting soldiers. Rome had difficulty recruiting male boys from Rome into their military, which resulted in the government to promptly pay German foreigners to join the army. Low funding from citizens did not give the military supplies or resources they needed to protect Rome. Consequently, citizens rarely paid for the army, even though Rome kept on paying German foreigners for their army. This caused a major conflict. Lastly, many foolish decisions made by the emperors and government caused the aspects of the military to slowly…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The legions of Western Rome demanded a increase to their salary and if that didn’t happen then they would not protect the empire, so the taxes were raised. A lot of the Roman goods were actually not from the Rome they were from other empires. There were also pirates on the Mediterranean that would steal there goods or even worse the pirates would steal their ships. There was also taxes on imported goods which is called high tariffs. They also lacked gold that was imported to Rome, which lead to a loss of gold coins. In Rome there was something called inflation, that is when the prices of a product go up but you might think if the prices go up then the value would go up, well you're wrong the value would actually go down. Instead of paying for something the people of Rome would barter, that is when they would trade for something instead of paying for it. This would cause very limited money flow. The farming in Rome would also decrease and while that is happening famine develops. There were also financial difficulties for the farmers and merchants, and many people from outside of Rome would migrate into Rome or the other…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient Rome DBQ

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Because of the size, Rome had a lot of space to protect, but little protection. In Doc 5, “young men in military declined, the army faced a serious threat...the Roman government recruited foreigners...this ‘new breed’ of Roman soldiers had very little loyalty to the empire.” (Doc 5). After conquering civilization after civilization, Rome seemed powerful because of its large size, but also made them a serious target. Without any military support, Rome had no other choice, but to recruit from civilizations they had taken over. Because Rome had taken over their home, the new soldiers were not exactly sympathetic to Rome. Following this, in Doc 6 a chart shows all the invasions of the Roman Empire from 100-500 CE. Arrows and line and written on the chart to show the paths and entrances they came through. By showing all the invaders shows how Rome’s fall was enviable. Also to mention, there was six invaders that had tried to make their was into the civilization. If there had been one, Rome could have easily taken care of the enemy, but there was more than one to worry about. In addition, because this happened within the span of 500 years, these attacks must have weakened borders more before they were completely destroyed. As the big and strong Rome, became less big and strong, outsiders used this to their advantage to finally over rule…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Punic Wars were fought between Rome and Carthage. The wars lasted over one hundred years starting in 264 B.C. and ending in 146 B.C. At the start of the war, Rome was the dominant power in the Italian Peninsula and Carthage was a wealthy and advanced city with the most powerful navy in the world. Rome ended up winning the wars and for this reason Rome became the most powerful force in the Mediterranean. The course of Rome becoming the most powerful force in the Mediterranean takes place over three events: the First, Second, and Third Punic Wars.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Just because a few things benefited Rome and Italy, does not mean that it didn 't benefit the empire as well. For example, the roads extended from Rome because usually that was where the army was located. In order to find the fastest route to other cities, they directed the roads straight to them from Rome. All children got some sort of education, whether it was in a school or at home. Children with wealth were educated further because they would most likely be the ones who would help lead the empire when they got older. They needed to be prepared for their duties in the future. Much of the trade came to Rome but as merchants traveled there, they most likely stopped at all of the other cities along the way. These facts prove that things which benefited Rome and Italy also benefited the entire…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays