Triumph of Rome in the Punic Wars
The Triumph of Rome in the Punic Wars Since its formation in approximately 800 BC, Rome had been in a constant state of growth in power in Italy, while at the same time Carthage had been expanding in northern Africa. ... Rome won the first Punic war because of its tenacity, and the second war because of the wisdom of its leaders. ... Etruscans, Volscians, Latins, Hernicans, Samnites, and Tarentites all fell, giving Rome undisputed power throughout the Italian Peninsula. (Berkeley, A Brief History of Rome) Scholar Jeff Berkeley tells us “In 264 BC, 11 years after the victory over Pyrrhus, Rome engaged with Carthage in a struggle for the control of the Mediterranean Sea. Carthage at this time was the foremost maritime power in the world, ruling as absolutely in the central and western Mediterranean as did Rome on the Italian Peninsula.“ (Berkeley, A Brief History of Rome) Carthage was renowned at the time for its massive navy, while Rome had never used any real degree of naval warfare in its history. ... Rome’s army was made up completely of Roman citizens, which meant that their soldiers were fighting for their homeland, not just for their salary and plunder. ... 87) As both Carthage and Rome were growing, they signed a treaty stating that they would stay out of each other’s spheres of influence, and not make war on each other. ... (Goldsworthy, Page 68) At this time, Rome had no ships. After five years of fighting in Sicily, it became clear that a navy would be necessary in order to wage effective warfare against Carthage, so Rome built a massive navy to do battle with the Carthaginian fleet. (Goldsworthy, page 96) Rome’s newly built Navy defeated that of Carthage time and time again, and the land war in Sicily went favorably for the Romans, so Carthage surrendered, signing a treaty that gave Rome all of Sicily and agreed to leave Rome’s allies alone. In 238, Hannibal Barca broke this treaty by attacking a city that was under Rome’s protection. He then marched through the Alps with his army, bringing the war directly to Rome. ... 308) The treaty that ended the second Punic war stated that Carthage could not make war without Rome’s consent, and peace once again came over the Mediterranean world. However, in 150, when Carthage was attacked by one of Rome’s allies, it had no choice but to defend itself, and in making war without the consent of Rome, broke the treaty of 201. Rome was quick to punish, and they did not stop until every last Carthaginian was killed or enslaved. ... 353) But how was it possible for Rome to triumph against Carthage?