Rome’s First Great Test: The Punic Wars

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From its mythical founding in 753 BCE, early Rome was no stranger to warfare.

In fact, it was forged in the flames of war and expansion. Minor feuds led to the incorporation of the Etruscans, the Latin Wars saw Rome’s territory across central Italy grow, and the Samnite Wars expanded Rome into a serious regional power.

Yet what would one day become one of the world’s largest empires was still in its infancy, and was not the only major regional power in the Mediterranean world.

Alongside the Greeks to the East, to the southwest of Rome lay the great city of Carthage, ruling the Mediterranean sea with its extensive and experienced navy. Far economically superior to the emergent Roman Republic, Carthage would prove to be a near-fatal enemy for Rome.

But who would triumph in the infamous Punic Wars, and how close did Rome come to complete collapse?

By Mark McKenzie

Early Rome and Unifying Italy

Following the Pyrrhic War and other expansions and alliances across Rome, by the beginning of the 1^st Punic War Rome controlled nearly all of modern-day Italy, and had formed a network of territorial control through conquest, pressure, and alliances throughout Italy.

As such, Rome was a formidable land power, with an experienced, well-trained, and well-supplied army, and a vast supply of manpower from across Italy.

Two Titans Battle – How it Begins

Founded by the Phoenicians, one of the earlier ancient powers in the Mediterranean, Carthage had grown into a significant regional power, and as such, alongside Rome, was involved in political affairs across the area.

Almost inevitably, the two powers would soon come to blows.

It all began on the not-so-peaceful island of Sicily, as the Mamertines, a group of Italian mercenaries, seized the Sicilian city of Messana and swiftly found themselves in conflict with the Syracusan King Hieron II in 264 BCE.

Desperate for aid, the Mamertines called for help – from both Rome and Carthage.

Despite earlier peace treaties clearly defining spheres of influence, both powers would feel compelled to send aid, coming into conflict as Rome arrived second, but insisting on intervening. When the Roman general seized the Carthaginian admiral during “peaceful” talks, the match was lit.

The 1^st Punic War – Initial Success and Naval Revolution

After resisting a Carthaginian attempt to reconquer Sicily, the Roman senate began preparations for a larger war in the region.

Continuing its defining trait of adapting to problems and perfecting other civilisations’ ideas into new technologies, Rome quickly understood that it would need to perfect Naval warfare to combat the mighty Carthage.

Following the capture of a Carthaginian Trireme (warship), Rome copied the design and produced 150 of their own warships in roughly two months, alongside training its soldiers with model ships and bringing in Greek auxiliaries to advise Roman generals in naval warfare.

Crucially, Rome took and integrated the design of the Corvus, likely developed first by the Syracusans, to bring its advantage in territorial warfare to the ocean.

This was essentially a huge, manoeuvrable bridge mounted at the front of the trireme, with metal spikes on the end to stick it into the enemy ship, joining the two vessels and allowing the Roman army to fight to their strength – a land battle – even on the seas.

It worked. Rome swiftly won its first naval engagement against Carthage at the Battle of Mylae. Though, it’s suspected that the huge additional weight of the Corvus made the Roman fleet more susceptible to capsizing in rough seas. And they did, with hundreds of ships being lost in storms during the war.

This, of course, did little to deter Rome, which continued to win multiple naval battles, but failed in its invasion of North Africa.

Eventually, Carthage would be forced to sue for peace, crushed by failing finances and a mercenary revolt within its army. Rome had survived, and to some degree won, its first major regional conflict.

Rome Faces Extinction: The 2^nd Punic War

The 1^st Punic War had lasted 23 years, from 264 BCE to 241 BCE, and had left Rome in a strong position. For the time being.

Having spent the interim period rebuilding its economy, military, and particularly its presence in Spain, Carthage was driven to reclaim its position as the dominant regional power. One man in particular, Hannibal Barca, took on his father’s detestation for Rome into a new era.

In 219 BCE, 22 years after the 1^st Punic War, Hannibal’s conquest of a Roman-aligned city in Spain brought the two powers into open conflict once again.

Understanding that Carthage could not defeat Rome whilst Italy remained united, Hannibal led his army directly to the peninsula, heading up through Spain and Europe and acquiring Gauls and other locals as additional mercenary troops.

Entering Italy

Despite suffering attrition while passing through the Alps during Winter, Hannibal entered Roman territory with a significant force, elephants included, later in 218 BCE. With 20,000 infantrymen and 6,000 cavalry, Hannibal brushed aside hurried and sporadic Roman resistance and established a foothold in the North of Italy.

Hannibal’s first major engagement against Roman forces, the battle of Lake Trasimene, has been described as “the greatest ambush in history”, resulting in 15,000 dead and an additional 15,000 captured on the Roman side – with only 1,500 lost on the Carthaginian side.

And things would only get worse.

The Battle of Trebia saw similar Roman casualties and prisoners taken, yet the Romans persisted. In 216 BCE, Rome assembled its largest army to date – over 80,000 soldiers, predominantly Roman infantry supported by cavalry and auxiliaries. Meanwhile, Carthage fielded just over half the Roman number, with around 50,000 men.

At the Battle of Canae, the two sides would meet. The results were catastrophic for Rome.

In a single day, Rome lost nearly 50,000 men, with a further 19,000 captured, at little cost to Hannibal’s army. The Roman Republic had raised its greatest force, and been soundly defeated.

Deciding not to risk a direct assault on Rome itself, Hannibal would instead spend the next 15 or so years in Italy, turning Italian allies to his side and harassing Rome wherever he could.

Returning From the Brink

Its army annihilated, its money largely spent, and its reputation as a formidable land power in tatters, Rome seemed primed to collapse. Yet as some had previously experienced, and many in the future would come to discover, Rome’s strength lay in its determination, and extraordinary ability to find manpower.

Fabius Maximus, appointed dictator of Rome, implemented a new strategy.

For several years, the Romans shadowed, skirmished, and harassed Hannibal’s army – never engaging him directly, aiming to slowly wear him down. Fabius would quickly become known as “the Delayer,” his tactics giving Rome time to heal and rebuild.

Once it was ready, a second Roman Army was sent to conquer Carthage’s territory in Spain, and eventually to invade the city itself.

Fearing destruction, Carthage recalled Hannibal home after 15 years, only for Hannibal to be met and defeated by his own tactics at the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE, bringing Rome its second victory over Carthage, and much-needed respite from Hannibal.

Destruction of Carthage: The 3^rd (And Final) Punic War

Having reduced Carthage from an empire to a city, the Roman Senate remained paranoid of Carthage’s resurgence. Eventually, in 149 BCE, the pretext for war emerged as Carthage fought Rome’s Numidian allies, sparking the 3^rd and final Punic War.

With an 80,000-strong force, Rome swiftly besieged the city, with Carthage holding out for 3 years before falling in 147 BCE.

The Roman army razed the city to the ground, massacring much of the city and selling the remaining 50,000 survivors into slavery ensuring Carthage would never again challenge Rome itself.

A Legacy of Persistence

The Punic Wars proved not only that Rome could adapt to new forms of warfare, but also that it could survive great loss, endure, and eventually win – something that would remain a defining trait of Rome from Republic to Empire.

For the next 600 years until the fall of the Roman Empire, no other external threat would come so close to collapsing the entire Roman state.

More than just an existential threat, the Punic Wars had helped transform Rome from a strong regional state to a dominant superpower of the Western world.

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