The Punic Wars Punic is the Latin word

The Punic Wars *Punic is the Latin word for Phoenicians

By 264 BC, the Romans had conquered some Greek city-states in southern Italy. This brought them in contact with the Phoenician city of Carthage controlled most of North and West Africa, most of Spain, some islands off the coast of Italy, and half of Sicily. The Romans felt threatened by the Carthaginians and they wanted Sicily’s granaries.

First Punic War: 264 -- 241 B. C. Carthage (navy) vs. Rome (army) 1. Rome defeated Carthage. 2. Rome gained control of Sicily and its granaries. 3. Rome became a power at sea by building warships modeled after Carthaginian warships. - the Romans added the corvus or movable bridge which allowed them to board the enemy’s ship and fight hand-to-hand turning a sea war into a land war.

Second Punic War: 218 B. C. 1. Hannibal marched from Carthage into Spain, across the Alps, and then into the Italian peninsula with elephants! 2. Hannibal’s army was unable to break down the Roman city walls. - couldn’t get the heavy equipment from Carthage because Rome controlled the sea. 3. Carthaginian soldiers roamed the countryside for 15 years. - towns were burned and farmland destroyed. 4. Romans attacked Carthage, and Hannibal was called home. - Hannibal was defeated and Carthage lost the war

5. Rome got: - money from Carthage - control of North Africa & Spain with its rich metal resources.

Third Punic War: 1. Carthage was showing signs of regaining strength, so Rome attacked and defeated Carthage. 2. Romans burned Carthage, plowed salt into the fields so no crops would grow, and sold the people as slaves. 3. Rome attacked the Greek city-state of Corinth and burned it to the ground for not following Roman orders.

4. Rome became the leading power in the Mediterranean World by controlling Macedonia, Syria, and Greece.