Key Terms – The Punic Wars

1. Key Terms – The Punic Wars Carthage Sicily Punics Mercenaries Syracuse Corvus New Carthage Hannibal P. Scipio The Alps Fabius Maximus Cannae Double Encirclement Scipio Africanus Cato the Elder

3. Carthaginian Background (cont.) Carthaginians were not interested in populating the interior of Africa Led to a very small agricultural community → farmers were commonly used as soldiers, therefore the lack of farmers led to a lack of a recruitment base Mercenaries were used instead Were good soldiers but were only loyal while the pay was there, where there was no pay.....

4. Punic Wars (causes) The Greeks had populated the eastern side of Sicily since the 8th Century B.C. & the Punics occupied the western side of the island. Romans were expanding quickly around 277 B.C. & it led them to the island of Sicily → the Carthaginians already had established the area as a sphere of influence Immediate cause was the town of Messana → Campanian mercenaries had seized the town and were then being attacked by the ruler of Syracuse Would seek and receive help from the Carthaginians but would renege on their deal Sought protection from the Romans against the Carthaginians

5. 1st Punic War Romans would land on Messana and would gain a victory over Carthage there Would have the tyrant of Syracuse join their side giving them solid control of the eastern half of Sicily Romans wanted the western half but knew that moving from town to town would turn out to be a long and costly process Believed that they could finish off Carthage by gaining control of the seas and cutting off Carthage from any of its reinforcements

6. 1st Punic War Romans would build a fleet from scratch Believed that since Carthage possessed a superior navy that they would not be able to compete in a conventional fashion Would build a corvus (large plank with a spike at the end) that would be used to connect the Roman ships to the Carthaginian ships and give them the ability to turn a sea battle into a land battle Romans would still not be able to make any headway in moving the Carthagians off the island

7. 1st Punic War Roman male population would go down by 17% since the start of the war → led to period of time where there was no fighting Carthage did not attack during this time electing to rebuild its land army instead of its navy. Romans would recover and build a fleet of 200 ships but would populate those ships with true sailors instead of foot soldiers Carthage would reactivate its navy but its sailors were out of practice and easily handled → led to the request for a peace treaty with the Romans

8. 1st Punic War - Conclusion Victorious consul would arrange peace terms which would be rejected by Rome and made harsher Carthage was forced to abandon Sicily and pay a large fine over 10 years.

9. Why did the Romans Win? Romans were able to win war they initially were unprepared for because: Determination: Romans were relentless. They fought even when the losses were mounting up. Inventiveness and Adaptability: Romans began without a navy and then proceeded to build one. They used the corvus until it began to fail. When it failed, they trained their soldiers to be sailors giving them the decisive victory. Manpower: Romans did not care for their losses because they knew they could easily replace the numbers that were lost very quickly.

10. Carthage in Spain • New Carthage would be founded in Spain around 228 B.C. • Roman embassy would check in on them to see what was going on and terms were apparently reached where Hasdrubal would not cross the Iber (located in northeastern Spain). • Hasdrubal would assassinated and Hannibal assumes control.

11. Hannibal takes over • Hannibal would be the object of Roman hatred for a period of 20 years and many more after his lifetime. • Decided that Rome's power lied in its ability to replenish its forces quickly → led to his decision to attack Italy directly.

12. Causes of the Second Punic War • Hannibal would attack a town known as Saguntum on the southern portion of the Iber. • Romans would do nothing while the siege occurred and would later send an embassy demanding Hannibal's surrender • Hannibal would refuse leading to Rome declaring war on Carthage

13. 2nd Punic War • Romans would launch a two-pronged attack → P. Cornelius Scipio would go to Spain while the other consul would go to Sicily and prepare for an invasion. • Hannibal was aware of Rome's strength and decided to go into the heart of Italy • Took more than 50,000 troops and 37 elephants across the Pyrenees to Italy

14. 2nd Punic War • Hannibal would cross the Alps with roughly half of his army → local Gallic peoples would reload his ranks. • Romans would recall their forces directed toward Carthage to help against Hannibal • Armies would meet in northern Italy where Hannibal would gain a decisive victory over the Romans → would release all non-Roman prisoners in an attempt to take away Rome's allies.

15. Battle of Cannae • Hannibal initiates battle by sending a cavalry directly at the Roman camp to provoke them. • Varro would take his forces directly at Hannibal believing that Hannibal's position by the water would trap him and force him to panic and end up losing • Hannibal anticipated this and actually found his position much more strategic since it would prevent the Romans from using their numbers against him

16. Battle of Cannae • Hannibal would allow the Romans to march directly at him from the east. He intended to use the double-envelopment technique to stop the Romans • He would position his mixed race soldiers in the center of the battle line to gain the Roman army's attention • He would place his superior soldiers on the flanks to attack the heart of the Roman army from both sides while the cavalry took the Roman cavalry out of the picture

17. Aftermath • Hannibal punished the Romans • For Hannibal to kill the amount of Romans that were claimed to have been killed in the battle, his soldiers must have killed at least 600 soldiers a minute • Only 14,000 of 70,000 soldiers survived, some of the survivors on the field committed suicide to prevent death or capture • Hannibal once again released the non-Romans

18. Strategies After Cannae - Upon losing the Battle of Cannae, the Romans sought to rebuild and engineer a new strategy. - In the meantime, Hannibal had laid siege to Rome and awaited reinforcements and siege equipment from his brother.

19. Roman Strategy - The Romans, under Scipio, were able to prevent Hannibal from acquiring reinforcements, hence Hannibal could not enter Rome and would have to wait until he devised a new strategy. - The Romans would invade Carthage while Hannibal was stationed at Rome. - The Carthaginians would be forced to sign peace treaty → this would later be reneged on once Carthage found out Hannibal was alive.

20. Battle of Zama - Hannibal would return to Carthage and engage the Romans for the final time at Zama. - Hannibal's elephants proved to be ineffective and ultimately led to Hannibal's defeat, he would escape only to be killed later.

21. Results - Carthage would be forced to sign a harsher treaty that stated: - they could not have a standing military - they would have to ask Rome's permission to be able to engage other groups in war - they would have to pay a huge fine

22. The Third Punic War - After numerous encroachments by Numidia in the east of Carthage, Carthage would attempt to defend itself in violation of the treaty. - Cato the Elder, an orator, stated that Carthage must be destroyed. - Scipio Africanus would engage Carthage one final time and completely overwhelm the city. - Carthage would be destroyed and the Punic Wars would end.