Romans And The Carthaginians example essay topic

First Punic War (264-241 BCE) Since the beginning of time, man has waged war on his neighbors, his friends and his enemies. In many cases these wars were caused by power-hungry nations that were in the process of expanding their empire and ended up stepping on the toes of another superpower or ally of a superpower. In the case of the first Punic War between Rome and Carthage, Carthage was extending its empire and they stepped on Rome's toes. During the course of this war the winner was unclear but at times victory seemed eminent for both sides until Rome finally won.

The Romans had control in the first part of the war but this would not last. After the Romans first win they decided that they needed a victory over the city of Carthage but this would turn the tides in favor of the Carthaginians. For some 15 years after this defeat of Rome the tides went back and forth between the two but would eventually lead to the Romans victory. After the victory, Rome made some very harsh demands and Carthage filled those demands even though some of them were very extreme. The first Punic War started with a request by the locals in Messana for the Romans to aid them in defeating the Carthaginians. Messana was at the southern tip of Italy and would be a great asset to the already superior naval fleet of Carthage.

Rome saw this to be a good opportunity to halt the expansion of the Carthaginian Empire and to stop the possible attack on Italy (which was controlled by Rome). Despite this fact the Roman council debated on whether to attack on these premises or not, but eventually it was decided that they would wage war on the Carthaginians. The Carthaginians were then told that they must halt their invasion or war would be waged. They did not stop and Rome declared war. The first battle was fought entirely in Sicily, in 263 BCE, and since the Romans were the superior fighters they took the ground battle and continued to prevail until 256 BCE. After the victory over Carthage, the Romans began besieging Greek cities that allied with the Carthaginians.

The Romans sacked these cities, which caused them to harden their resistance. Rome realized that to beat the Carthaginians they needed to build a fleet and in 261 BCE they began building. To counter the Romans inexperience at sea they used a device called a corvus (a large gangplank with a spike on the underside). With this device the Romans could connect their ships to the enemies and board it. In a sense this made the battle at sea a battle on land and it also meant that Rome would dominate.

By 256 BCE the Romans had made their way to the city of Carthage but they were not successful in defeating the enemy. The Carthaginians, did however, sue for peace. This was greeted with very harsh terms imposed by the Romans and the Carthaginians rejected them. The Romans then left about 20,000 soldiers and 40 ships there. In 255 BCE Carthage broke the Roman ranks and destroyed their army. 500 were captured and 3,000 escaped.

On the way home 184 ships were crushed against some rocks in a storm. For about 15 years the two sides went back and forth between win and lose. In 255 BCE the Romans built 140 more ships and went on a raid of the African coast and on the way back they lost 150 ships to another storm. Meanwhile back in Sicily the Romans took on of the Carthaginians major ports, Panormus, which led to the defect of five more Greek cities. This was meet by a fleet of 30,000 Carthaginian soldiers, 20,000 of which were killed in their defeat. The Romans now decided to use their fleet to take Lilybaeum.

The Romans lost 93 ships and were defeated. After seven years the Romans finally had a strong fleet of 200 ships and the training to back it up. By this time the Carthaginians had been out of practice and there ships were undermanned. The Romans captured 70 ships and sunk 50 of the 170 ships that were sent. This victory marked the end of the first Punic War. After the war was over Rome made some very harsh demands and the Carthaginians had to obey them because all of their resources were used up.

The Romans made them evacuate Sicily, pay 3200-talents, give up their captives, refrain from attacking Syracuse, give up the small islands near Sicily, and guarantee they wouldn't attack Rome's allies during the war. This war demonstrates very clearly that Rome was a malicious empire that had the determination, resources and men to spare during any long war. Rome adapted to their enemy by building a fleet and properly training their soldiers for sea battles. There is no doubt in my mind that Rome was one of the greatest military states that ever was. But to act as they did, so relentlessly, to me is going overboard. The extremely harsh demands they forced upon their enemy combined with the large amount of lost soldiers in this war seemed far greater an effort than was necessary to end the war.

In my opinion this war ended up being a crucial landmark in our timeline and at the same time, being almost completely unnecessary. To remember wars like this should be to learn not to repeat the same mistakes they did..