The Punic Wars Who fought in the Punic Wars? What were the cause, key events, and results of these wars?

The Punic Wars: A brief overview The Punic Wars were fought between Rome and Carthage There were “three” wars that spanned over 100 years The first battle occurred in 264 BCE and fighting ended in 146 BCE with Rome's destruction of Carthage

Map of Carthage and Roman Territories at the start of the Punic Wars

The Punic Wars Rome Carthage

The Punic Wars Gaul Corsica Rome Spain Sardinia Carthage Sicily Med. Sea

The Cause of the Punic Wars By the 3rd Century BCE, Rome had become a dominant power along the Italian Peninsula Carthage was a powerful city-state in northern Africa who had developed a vast maritime empire They dominated trade along the Mediterranean Sea

The Cause of the Punic Wars Rome sought to expand their influence over the Mediterranean Sea, the main obstacle standing in their way—the Carthaginians Rome and Carthage both wanted to control the Med. Sea, thus this war was fought over this fierce competition for trade and power The First Punic War would officially begin in 264 BCE, when Rome interfered in a dispute on the Carthaginian controlled island of Sicily

The First Punic War (264-241 BCE) The First Punic War was fought partly on land in Sicily, but was predominately a naval war The Roman Legion (Army) was superior to the Carthaginians, but Carthage held a naval advantage In response Rome quickly invested in expanding their navy to engage the land-retreating Carthaginians Rome dominated the First War and as a result Carthage signed a treaty which granted Rome control of the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily The result of this war was that Rome was now the most powerful civilization along the Mediterranean

Rome After the 1st Punic War

The Second Punic War (218-201 BCE) After the defeat of the First Punic War, the Carthaginians established a new military base in Spain In 221 BCE, Hannibal Barca became the military leader of Carthage Hannibal had taken a blood-oath against Rome as a young boy In 219 BCE, Hannibal marched his army into Saguntum (a Roman Territory) This was seen as an act of war, thus the 2nd Punic War began

The Second Punic War Hannibal sought to invade the Italian Peninsula He wanted to surprise the Roman’s by crossing the Alps and launching a northern invasion On his way to invading the city of Rome, Hannibal delivered a series of blows to the Roman Legion In fact, Hannibal never lost a battle en route to Rome Hannibal marched south to Rome with more than 100,000 soldiers, but perhaps must intimidating of all—soldiers mounted on freakin Elephants! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gbPIyCuGTA

The Second Punic War Hannibal fought his way to just outside the city of Rome Hannibal waited for reinforcements as opposed to invading the city While Hannibal waited Rome led a counter-attack to Spain and Northern Africa Although Hannibal had won every major battle his hesitation ultimately lost the war

The Second Punic War Rome’s victory over Carthage in 2nd Punic War ended the Carthaginian Empire—the only territory Carthage retained was the city itself Rome now had control of Spain and virtually all of the western Mediterranean Carthage also had to pay a hefty amount of silver to Rome—as part of the treaty that ended the war

Rome After the 2nd Punic War

The 3rd Punic War (149-146 BCE) The Roman Senate had convinced the people of Rome that Carthage was still a threat to their control of the Med. Sea Rome launched a siege attack on Carthage that lasted over 2 years Once Rome gained their way into the city they destroyed house after house and slaughtered the majority of those in Carthage Of the 50,000 Carthaginians who survived—each and everyone was sold into slavery

Rome at the End of the Punic Wars

Results of the Punic Wars: Summary Rome destroyed Carthage—their main economic and political competitor Rome expanded trade and wealth Rome was the most dominated civilization along the Mediterranean Sea Roman culture spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin (N. Africa, Central Asia, Central Europe and Western Europe—Gaul and the British Isles)

Video Link and Questions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-7RwmL4Cjg Explain the bizarre sacrificial ritual of the Carthaginians. Who was sacrificed? Why were they sacrificed? And how was this ritual performed? Why did the Romans claim to hate the Carthaginians? According to the narrator, what was the true reason behind Rome’s conflict with Carthage? What military innovation allowed the Roman’s to board enemy naval vessels and engage in hand-to-hand combat? What were the costs of Hannibal’s plan to launch a northern invasion on Rome by crossing the Alps?