Roman History

264 to 146 BCE – The First Punic War to the end of the Third Punic War

The First Punic War

It can be said that the history of Rome, in several respects, really does not begin until 264 BCE. 264 BCE is the date of the start of the first Punic War, with the war comes the first series of accurate well-documented histories. Prior to the first Punic War much of the history of Rome is subject to intense criticism as a result of the fact that we really do not have a clear picture of what was happening. By the time of the First Punic War, Rome is largely in control of the Italian Peninsula; the Punic war will bring Rome’s hand into areas outside the Italian Peninsula.

Cartage, Rome’s second greatest enemy during the period of the Republic, its first being of course itself, a fact that will become clear in the later sections. Carthage before the first Punic War was a major Hellenistic power. This power came from the vast trade network that Carthage was at the centre of. Carthage had originally been founded as colony of the Phoenician city of Tyre in 814 BCE, according to legend, but 750 BCE has more historical evidence. When Tyre began to decline in the seventh and sixth century BCE, Carthage, already a power in her own right, took control of the Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean. Carthage’s wealth was largely protected through a large well-preserved navy. While Carthage’s power clearly lay within her navy, Rome’s power was derivative from her impressive army.

In Sicily these two great western powers met. In the years prior to 264 BCE, both sides have tried to do as little as possible to antagonize the other. The critical incident that sparked the First Punic War involved a tribe called the Mamertimes. An event dealing with Syracuse, the Mamertimes and Carthage caused Rome to support the Mamertimes and invade Sicily. The following three factors are largely looked to as the causes for the First Punic War. Rome had recently extended her alliance system to some of the Greek cities in southern Italy. Many prominent Romans believed that they had a duty to protect the commercial interests of these Greek States. When Carthage took control of Messana in 264 BCE, many Romans saw this as a threat to the commercial interests of the southern Greek states. Rome’s fear of powerful neighbours and her desire for glory through combat have also been cited as causes for the war.

The First Punic War began in 264 BCE when Appius Claudius Caudex crossed the Straights of Messana and seized control of Messana. Carthage at the time was prepared for war, most of her warships were in storage and had to be refitted and crews needed to be trained. The Roman army on the other hand, from her almost never-ending series of wars in the Italian Peninsula was in fine fighting form. In order to compete with the Carthaginian fleet, Rome would need a fleet of her own. In the famous story by Polybius the Romans built 100 quinqueremes and 20 triremes in only 60 days. While this story is must certainly false, as in would have taken months to secure the resources necessary to build this massive fleet, the Romans did construct a large fleet rather quickly. The Romans added to their new ships an innovation that was truly quite Roman. Each ship was outfitted with a hinged gangplank with a spike (a corvus) attached to the end. When an enemy ship was rammed the gangplank would be lower and attached to the enemy ship via the corvus. The Romans could then use their superior military skills to board the enemy vessel, and fight what was in essence a land battle on sea. The corvus served its purpose, but had to be removed from later ships as it made the ships rather unstable.

In 256 BCE, after gaining naval superiority, the Romans invaded Africa. This invasion became a disaster, when the commander, after defeating the Carthaginians in his initial landing, failed to peruse the enemy and decided to wait until spring to attack. The Carthaginians used this time to hire new mercenaries, and in the battle of Bagradas the Roman army was almost entirely wiped out. A naval force sent to secure the survivors of the African campaign, became caught in a squall and the top heavy corvus’s pulled them in the rocks along the shore 170 of 250 ships were destroyed.

In 247 BCE a young commander named Hamilcar Barca, the father of the future Carthaginian leader Hannibal, began conducting lighting raids along the Italian Peninsula. With several successive victories at sea, victory looked all be certain for the Carthaginians. However, in 244 BCE, Hanno the so-called Great took control of the Carthaginian government and had a large portion of the Carthaginian fleet destroyed. Rome used the opportunity to rebuild her fleet and deliver a devastating blow to the remaining Carthaginian fleet in 242. In 241, the Carthaginian government empowered Hamilcar Barca to secure peace terms with Rome. Though neither side had won, Rome was able to get the upper hand in the peace proceeding. Carthage was to abandon Sicily, and pay a measly fine of 3200 talents over 10 years. The First Punic war had two drastic effects. Firstly, it broke the naval power of Carthage forever, never again would she dominate the waters as she had before 264 BCE. Secondly, Rome became the major naval power in the western Mediterranean.

Between the Wars – 241 to 218 BCE

The First Punic War made Rome fairly suspicious of Carthage, and vice versa. Constant suspicion and fear of the others activities are two factors that can arguably be said led to the Second Punic War. After Carthage had made peace in 241 BCE, she had to face her own mercenaries, many of which had not been paid for their services during the First Punic War. The mercenaries demanded payment for their services in the First Punic War, Carthage rejected their demands and the mercenaries took up arms against Carthage with the support of the Numidians. This war, known as the Truceless War, ended in 238 BCE. Rome, during the war, was able to take advantage of a revolt on Corsica and Sardinia to seize control of the Islands.

Carthage during the interwar years made a strong recovery under the leadership of Hamilcar Barca. The loss of the two islands in the Truceless War was more then offset by the reconquest of Spain. Massilia, a Roman ally in modern day France, evoked a treaty through her complaints of Carthagian aggression. In the Ebro treaty of 226 Carthage agreed not to expand beyond the Ebro River in Spain. Hamilcar Barca died in 229 BCE and his competent son and law, Hasdrubal took control of power in Carthage. In 221 BCE, Hasdrubal was assassinated and the eldest son of Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal, took control of Carthage.

Next: The Second Punic War, 218 to 201 BCE
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