Name: Gerardo Yanez

Date: 09-21-2020
THE PUNIC WARS
Rome fought three wars with Carthage between Hannibal Barca—the son of Hamilcar—commanded an
264 and 146BCE. The wars established Rome as a army from Spain. Hannibal led an army of 40,000
world power and left the once powerful empire of soldiers, 8,000 horses and 37 war elephants in a
Carthage in ruins. daring and difficult journey over the Alps. The Alps are
Carthage was a city in North Africa originally a treacherous mountain range that stood between
founded as a trading post by the Phoenicians. Since Spain and the Italian peninsula.
historians have tended to label the conflicts by the Hannibal expected some Italian cities to join his
Roman name, we know them as the Punic Wars. army, but the cities remained loyal to their conqueror.
Punica was a Latin word for Phoenician. Hannibal’s army won three decisive victories against
By the time of the first Punic War, Carthage had Rome in northern Italy despite being outnumbered
created an empire that stretched across North Africa more than two to one. In the Battle of Canae,
and into the southern coast of modern day Spain. Hannibal’s army surrounded the Romans, killing
Merchant sailors from Carthage traded with cities between 50,000 to 80,000 Roman soldiers—the most
throughout the Mediterranean Sea. To protect its destructive battle in ancient history.
profitable sea trade Carthage developed a powerful After their humiliation at Canae, Rome changed
navy. their strategy. The Romans sent a new army to
The Romans completed their conquest of the northern Italy with instructions to withdraw. Hannibal
Italian peninsula by 263BCE. Rome’s economy spent the next twelve years destroying the Roman
depended on the plunder of their army. The Roman countryside, but his army had no opponent to fight.
Senate had to keep the army busy, or the army might The antipathy, or bad feelings caused by Hannibal’s
have turned against the Senate. destruction would last for generations and would lead
The first Punic War was fought over Sicily, a to the third Punic War and the downfall of Carthage.
Mediterranean island off the coast of the Italian A Roman army led by Scipio attacked Carthage in
peninsula. Carthage controlled Sicily in 264BCE, so the 202BCE. Hannibal was ordered home to defend his
Romans declared war to defend a small group of native land. Without Hannibal in charge, the war on
Roman fortune seekers Carthage had captured. the Italian peninsula turned in Rome’s favor. Once in
Rome had a powerful army, but they had little Carthage, Hannibal had a mercenary army in place of
experience with the sea. The Romans developed an his loyal soldiers. Mercenaries are foreign soldiers
innovative technique to win several naval battles. They hired to fight. The mercenary army was no match for
lacked the naval skill to sink ships, so the Romans Scipio's trained forces. Rome defeated Hannibal’s
outfitted their vessels with a hinged bridge. Roman army and won the war.
sailors used pulleys to lower the bridge to face an Carthage was no longer in a position to hurt Rome
enemy ship. The Roman ship would ram into an after the second Punic War, but in 149BCE, Roman
enemy vessel. An iron spike at the edge of the bridge antipathy toward Carthage continued to linger. A
attached the two ships, allowing soldiers to cross over Roman senator named Cato ended every speech with
and attack in hand-to-hand combat—where Rome was the cry, “Carthage must be destroyed.” Rome attacked
more experienced than Carthage. Carthage and the two sides fought bloody battles in a
To try to close the gap in naval power, the Romans war that lasted almost three years. After a siege in
captured a Carthaginian warship and used it as a 146BCE, the Romans broke through the city walls of
model to build their fleet. They won a few early Carthage. Once they subdued the Carthaginian army,
victories and captured most of Sicily, but the Roman soldiers went from house to house slaughtering
inexperience of the Roman navy left them unprepared the people in their homes. After destroying Carthage,
for a catastrophic storm that destroyed two-thirds of the Romans sold the remaining citizens into slavery,
their fleet and killed thousands of Roman sailors. burned the city and destroyed Carthage’s harbor.
Rome raised a second and third fleet, but storms also Rome annexed Carthage by making the city a part
destroyed most of the additional ships. of a Roman province they called Africa. Africa
A Carthaginian general named Hamilcar Barca probably comes from a Latin word that means “sunny
recaptured most of Sicily, but Carthage did not have land without cold.” The Punic Wars established Rome
the money or manpower to continue to engage in the as a powerful nation and the wars were an indication
conflict. In 241BCE, Carthage surrendered Sicily to the that Rome would develop into one of the most
Romans. powerful empires in history.
In 218BCE, a generation after the first Punic War,
Name:
Date:
Fill in the Blanks
a h g fought three P__n__c
Rome and C__rt__a__e 264
u i Wars over ______
146 BCE. The wars established Rome as a world
years beginning in ______
o e and d__s__ro__ed Carthage’s once great North A__r__c__n
p__w__r f i a
i l an i__l__nd
empire. The first Punic War was fought over S__ci__y, s a in
e i e r n a Sea midway between the two cities.
the M__d__t__r__a__e__n
Carthage built a superior n______
avy to support their m__r__ha__t
e c n
sailors. Rome had little experience f__g__t__ng
i h i at s____;
ea they won many
battles using i__n__v__t__ve
n o a i techniques, but Rome also lost many ships
due to their i__e__p__r__e__ce
n x e i n with s__o__ms.
t r Carthage lost
S__c__ly
i i and the war when they ran out of the m________
oney and m__n__o__er
a p w necessary to continue
fighting.
A generation later, a young Carthaginian g__n__r__l
e e a named H__n__i__al
a n b led his army in a difficult
and daring journey over the Alpine *M__u__t__ins.
o n a Hannibal won three bloody b__t__l__s
a t e with the
Roman army and spent most of the next t__e__ve
w l years d__s__r__y__ng
e t o i the I__a__i__n
t l a countryside.
Hannibal was forced to leave his army and return home when a Roman general named S__i__io
c p invaded
Carthage. Hannibal was forced to fight with untrained m__r__e__a__y
e c n r soldiers who were no match for
Scipio’s R__m__n
o a army. Rome won the battle and the war.
Rome d__s__r__y__d
e t o e their e__e__y
n m in the t__i__d
h r Punic War. After a three-year s__e__e,
i g the
Romans broke through the city w________
alls of Carthage. The Carthaginians who were not k__l__ed
i l were
sold into s__a__e__y.
l v r Rome then d__s__r__y__d
e t o e Carthage’s h__r__or, ensuring that their old nemesis
would never again be a *t__r__at.

Answer in Complete Sentences

*2. Why do you think Hannibal led his army through the treacherous Alps instead of engaging his enemy at sea?
he expected for some some italian cities to join his army

*3. Why does the author suggest that the Romans treated Carthage with such brutality after the third Punic War?
maybe for them to just surrender and stop fighting in more battles

*This is a higher order learning question. You will earn credit for any reasonable answer.