Chapter 5 War with Carthage

Key Terms Carthage Punic Wars Corvus Hamilcar Barca Hannibal Quintus Fabius Maximus Fabian Tactics Cannae Apulia Hasdrubal Publius Cornelius Scipio Gnaeus Naevius Bellum Punicum Terence (Terence the African) Polybius Hippocrates First, Second, and Third Punic Wars

War with Carthage Carthage Present-day Tunisia Controlled much of Northern Africa, Corsica, Sardinia, and parts of Sicily and Spain

A Great Sea Power Carthage was on the coast Surrounded by walls, protected Traded metals – gold, silver, tin Carthaginians developed a powerful navy Soldiers were mercenaries What are mercenaries? What’s the downside of using mercenaries?

Fighting Breaks Out Carthage controlled half of Sicily Looked to control all of it Romans wanted Sicily for its: Fertile soil (grain) Location Messina revolts against Carthage Asked for Roman aid War is declared, starts the three Punic Wars Punic comes from the Latin word for “Phoenician” Rome lost 500,000 men throughout the fighting

Fighting Breaks Out Roman army was powerful…navy, not so much Carthage navy was powerful…army, not so much Rome starts building ships (used a Carthaginian ship as a model) Ships were 120 ft. long, 14 ft. wide Had five banks of oars Bronze battering ram Used 300 sailors to row (40 marines in peace, 120 in war)

Fighting Breaks Out Romans built 140 ships in 60 days But had no sailing experience… Practiced rowing on land Developed the corvus to give them an advantage

The First Punic War Began in 264 B.C.E. Lasted for 23 years Rome used their new naval weapon Suffered some losses because of inexperience Rome won Built more ships to replace those that were lost In the final battle, they didn’t even need the corvus Romans also won battles on land (Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica)

The First Punic War Rome suffered great losses Peace settlement 100,000 men died 500 warships destroyed Peace settlement Carthage forced out of Sicily Sicily was Rome’s first province Provinces governed by a Roman official At its height, Rome had 54 provinces Carthage had to pay money and future tribute

Enter Hannibal Hamilcar Barca Hannibal Carthaginian general Led an army to Spain Hannibal Eldest son of Hamilcar Pledged to defeat the Romans Fearless fighter, master of ambush tactics & blitz attacks

Enter Hannibal Hannibal set out for Italy Couldn’t go by sea – why? Traveled overland and hoped to gain support of Gauls and other Italian tribes He started his journey with: 60,000 mercenaries 9,000 horses 37 war elephants His army was 7 miles long

Enter Hannibal Crossed the Pyrenees Mountains Crossed the Rhone River His men made rafts, but the elephants were spooked Crossed the Alps Made it over in just 15 days Very dangerous Only 23,000 of the original 60,000 survived; only one elephant survived Made it from Spain to Italy in five months

The Second Punic War Most of the Roman army was elsewhere fighting Gauls flipped sides and joined Hannibal Hannibal easily defeats Romans at Trebbia River and Lake Trasimene Uses morning mists to surround them Quintus Fabius Maximus chosen as dictator after both losses

The Second Punic War Hannibal continues to outsmart the Romans – but avoids Rome Heads to Campania Fabius tried to wear down Hannibal by attacking small groups “Fabian Tactics” Exhausting an opponent through a constant barrage of minor attacks

The Second Punic War In the spring of 216 B.C.E., two new consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus Gaius Terentius Varro They led an army to Cannae No morning mists, just a hot, open plain Rome suffers one of the worst losses in their history – 50,000 soldiers died

The Second Punic War Hannibal does not go to Rome after his win at Cannae “You know how to win a fight. But you don’t know how to use your victory.” - Maharbal Romans go back to “Fabian Tactics” and lead small attacks over the next 13 years Hannibal hoped to join forces with his brother, Hasdrubal What happened?

The Second Punic War Hannibal remained in Italy for 15 years Publius Cornelius Scipio Roman general Led an army to Spain to drive out the Carthaginians Then headed for Carthage After less than a year, Carthage surrendered In negotiations, Carthage had to get Hannibal to return (and leave Italy)

The Second Punic War Hannibal returns, draws Scipio from Carthage to Zama Roman army uses Hannibal’s own tactics to defeat him His first defeat Marks the end of the Second Punic War

Results of Second Punic War Spain became a Roman province Carthage gave up all their war elephants All but ten of their ships were burned Forced to promise to not rebuild their army or navy Forbidden to wage war without Rome’s permission Territory of Carthage was greatly reduced Carthage forced to pay tribute to Rome

Hannibal He helped restore some prosperity to Carthage Rome ordered his arrest in 195 B.C.E. – worried about Carthage (and him) gaining too much power Hannibal fled to Asia Minor Died in 182 B.C.E. at 65 years old He drank poison to avoid being captured

On the Literary Front Gnaeus Naevius Terence (Terence the African) Served in the First Punic War Created a new type of play Wrote Bellum Punicum Considered Rome’s first great national epic Banished from Rome because of his writing Terence (Terence the African) Brought to Rome as a slave Wrote six plays; Latin adaptations of Greek plays Developed the double plot

Rome Conquers Greece Macedonia and Greece added as Roman provinces Greece forced to send hostages to Rome as a guarantee for their good political behavior Polybius was one Scholar Wrote a military history of Greece and Rome

Rome Conquers Greece Greece’s influence on Roman culture grows Architecture, art, literature, philosophy Medicine Roman medicine tied to religion and superstition Hippocrates Greek physician, “Father of Medicine” Observed patients carefully; did not believe that evil spirits or the gods caused illness

Carthage is Destroyed Romans wary of Carthage because of their prosperity Cato the Elder “Carthage must be destroyed” Third Punic War People in Carthage fought bravely; siege lasted for three years Only 50,000 out of 250,000 survived Rome destroyed the city – ground cleared and salt plowed into ground so no one could live there Became Roman province of Africa

Questions What made Carthage so rich? What is the meaning of the word “Punic?” What caused the outbreak of the First Punic War? What was a corvus and how did it work? Why did Hannibal lead his troops along the overland route to Italy? Give two examples of Hannibal’s clever military strategies. How did Hannibal win the Battle of Cannae? What are Fabian tactics? How was Hannibal finally driven out of Italy? Who was Terence? How did the conquest of Greece affect Roman culture? What is the meaning of these Latin words: Carthago delenda est?