Essay on The Punic Wars

Submitted By notleycha
Words: 1142
Pages: 5
Open Document
The Punic Wars The omnipotent Roman Empire, constructed over centuries and established itself as the most influential organization in history. From the form of government we still use, to the art of war, and the philosophy that intrigues us today, we owe the Romans credit for changing our lives, even today. But what caused the urge for Rome to become so grand? The Punic Wars gave Rome a taste of what it was like to have power, riches, eminence, and fueled their expansion to transcendence. Before the first Punic War erupted, tension had built up over years between Rome and Carthage. To the people of that time, it seemed natural for a more supreme nation to have total domination over all the weaker ones. Rome and Carthage were the two most powerful nations of that region and as their power rose, so did the tension. By 265 BC, Rome controlled most of the Italian Peninsula, and was looking to expand. Sicily was the first region Rome looked to conquer but Carthage had taken control a major port at Messina that connected eastern and western Roman trade. With that, the race for domination had begun. With Carthage’s expansion into Roman territory, the tension bursted and the first Punic War broke out. In an attempt to start war with Rome, Carthage seized a vital port and strait that connected trade between east and west Rome. With this, Rome eagerly declared war with Carthage with the goal to dominate the other at their expense. Carthage had a more supreme navy, but Rome had a stronger army. To get onto Carthaginian shores, Rome would need to get past Carthage’s fleets of ships. To complete this task, Rome invented the crow, a large wooden plank with a nail at the end to connect two ships and raid the other, turning a disadvantage into an advantage. With this ingenuity, African shores were now accessible to Roman armies. Twenty-three years after the beginning of the war, Carthage surrendered. In return for all the fighting and blood shed that the first Punic War caused, Rome received complete ownership of Sicily and Carthage had to pay an immense indemnity. The first punch of the fight between Rome and Carthage had landed in Rome’s favor, and not needing to worry about Carthage for the moment, they could set their eyes on territorial expansion. In the time between the first and second Punic War, Rome looked to expand in all aspects. Three years after the war, mercenaries rebelled on the islands of Sardinia and Corsica. The mercenaries asked for Rome’s assistance for when Carthage would send their armies to take back the islands. Rome declared the islands annexed from Carthage, and when Carthage protested, Rome threatened to declare war. Still recovering from war and paying off their indemnity, Carthage was in no shape to go to war and gave up the islands. Adding insult to injury, Rome then seized control of the islands and increased the indemnity. In 229 BC, Rome had the chance to prove their new prominent navy. Illyrian pirates harassed Roman ships on the open seas. Rome sent a military expedition and swiftly wiped out the pirates, doing so, they took control of Illyria itself. Rome also set their sights on the Po Valley in Gaul. They defeated many tribes and expanded to all northern Italian lands below the Alps. Expansion into Sardinia, Corsica, Illyria, Cisalpine Gaul, enlarged their territory, population and increased their volume of trade. After Carthage recovered from the first Punic War, they gained control of Spain, triggering Rome’s appetite to gain further control of Carthage increased. The battle for their corner of the world got even more heated as the tensions between the son of the leader of Carthage during the first Punic War, Hannibal, was hungry for revenge. Rome, expanding in mass, trade, and volume, saw this as threat for their well-being and a threat to commerce. As Hannibal and his forces started in Spain and moved their way through Europe, they had to overcome a major obstacle, the Alps. They proved
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on The Punic Wars

The Second Punic War

Discussion forum Unit 5 What were the outcomes of the second Punic War? Punic wars were held between Rome and Carthage through the time period of B.C. 264-146. The wars which took place were three, from which the second was the harshest one. According to Morey (1901) the second Punic war had as protagonist general Hannibal as a leader of the Carthage. Hannibal was a very clever and fearless leader who wanted to conquer Rome since he was a boy. That passion led the army and the allies of Carthage…

Words 346 - Pages 2

Carthage's Victory In The Punic Wars

clash at some point, which brought us the Punic Wars. During the first Punic War Carthage dominated the sea, while Rome dominated on land. Carthage’s domination of the sea changed when Rome found an abandoned ship on shore and started to replicate the Carthaginian ship, creating a naval empire of its own (Morey, 1901). The turning point in naval wars came in 241 BCE, when Rome annihilated the Carthaginian fleet, which subsequently ended the First Punic War, making Rome the new naval power in the Mediterranean…

Words 582 - Pages 3

Second Punic War Analysis

What were the outcomes of the second Punic War? ‎ There were series of significance and remarkable outcomes of the Second Punic War in Roman history. According to Skip (n.d), ‎It was base for the Roman republic because it created room for the existence of the Roman Empires and the Mediterranean within the period of fifty years. It was this war that gave room to the upgrading and promotion of the administrative system including economic system, financial policy, alliance system, foreign and political…

Words 351 - Pages 2

Second Punic War Analysis

What were the outcomes of the second Punic War? There were three Ancient historic Punic wars, been registered between Carthage and Roman. This ware took place over nearly a century, beginning in 264 B.C. finally completed and ending with the destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C. For example, by the time the first Punic war were broke out the Roman impair had an opportunity to dominated the power over the entire Italian peninsula. According to this history reading understanding, one of the biggest…

Words 513 - Pages 3

Rome And The Second Punic War

The Punic Wars are a series of three wars. They began in 264 BC and ended this year (146 BC). During this 118 year period, there were over 1,250,000 casualties. The First Punic War began in 264 BC, it lasted for 20 years. This war was won by Rome. It was incredible that Rome won this war because Carthage was a lot larger and stronger than Rome. Not many people expected Rome to win. The Second Punic War was from 218 BC to 201 BC. Just like the First Punic War, Rome was not expected to win. But by…

Words 195 - Pages 1

The Second Punic War Essay

The second Punic war –Latin Dear mum, I know you must be worried about me however I am fine the battle was deadly for both sides; we got ambushed at Lake Trasimene in Italy by the Carthage a group led by the leader Hannibal. They killed 30,000 of my men. However, they had severe casualties Over 55000 of those pigs. We lost with honour. The road was really long and dirty so we where all tired. I got promoted to a century I led my group to kill over 250 of those scum before we had to flee to…

Words 355 - Pages 2

The Three Punic Wars Between Carthage And Rome

The three Punic wars between Carthage and Rome took mostly over a century to end, in the end Carthage met its demise. By the first Punic War, Rome was the dominate power in the Italian Peninsula, and a powerful city-state Carthage was leading in water in the world. In the end of the first war it ended with Rome in control of both Sicily and Corsica. Hannibal, a great Carthaginian general invaded Italy and had victories in Cannae, in the second war. Before he could be defeated Hannibal left Rome to…

Words 315 - Pages 2

The Punic Wars To The Development Of The Roman Empire

1. What was the significance about the Punic Wars to the development of the Rome Empire? Since the Romans won all Punic Wars against Carthage, it made the Roman Empire look invincible. They crushed an enemy and a potential for downfall in those three Punic Wars. It also sent a message to other countries, saying not to mess with Rome or they will be destroyed. The Punic Wars also gave Rome total control of the Mediterranean Sea, which they had been battling Carthage for. Control of the Mediterranean…

Words 348 - Pages 2

Second Punic War: Hannibal And The Elephants

Hannibal and the Elephants crossing of the Alps in 218 B.C. was one of the biggest dangerous events of the history in the Second Punic War, and one of the most celebrated accomplishments of any force in ancient warfare. Bypassing Roman navy dominance, Hannibal managed to lead the army over the Alps and into Ancient Italy to take the war directly to the Roman Republic, Hannibal needed to reach the Alps quickly so they wouldn’t get stuck in winter. He knew that if he waited until spring on the side…

Words 267 - Pages 2

Hannibal: Second Punic War and Hannibal Essay

Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal grew very much in a military environment. Hannibal would see little of his father as he would be fighting the Romans over islands between Italy and Carthage (Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia). These battles were known as ‘The Punic wars’, Hamilcar fought in the first one. In 241 BC the Carthaginians lost the islands to Rome. Hamilcar, one of the generals, moved to Spain to build a new empire to use to overthrow the Romans. At the time, Hannibal was only nine years old. Eager to…

Words 1561 - Pages 7