The Romans fought three wars against Carthage, a city on the north coast of Africa. The wars are known as the Punic Wars because Puncia was the Roman name for Carthage.
Sources of Information:
Human Heritage, pages 222-224
- Punic Wars Timeline: Timeline of the Punic Wars with links to addtional information listed for each date on the timeline.
- Punic War for Kids
- Punic Wars: Before the Punic Wars, Carthage controlled western Mediterranean commerce and part of Africa. After these conflicts, Rome had risen to become the greatest power in the ancient Western world. Examine the three wars between Carthage and Rome and the goals of each one. Investigate the quarrel that started these wars. Discover how the First Punic War broke Carthage's control in the Mediterranean. Examine how the Second Punic War was an ambitious battle for power. Learn how Carthage desperately...
- Rome--The Punic Wars: Carthage: The Punic Wars are completely explained as individual battles rather than one generalization. In order to understand how these wars broke out, some background on Carthage is first presented. A description of the Persians and a map of Carthage serve as appropriate visual aids. The wars are explained in chronological order beginning with the First, continuing with the Second, and finishing with the Third Punic War. While learning about the Second Punic War you can also access and article...
- Second Punic War: The Romans made the Carthaginians pay a lot of money in taxes after they lost the First Punic War so the Carthaginians invaded southern Spain to take over the silver mines there. As they battled over territory and control of Spain, the two groups went to war again. Since some liked Rome and others were afraid of Rome, nobody in Spain would help the Carthaginians. Hannibal still decided to fight the Romans and led an army with lots of horses and elephants. Learn about the Roman strategy....
- The Punic Wars The struggle between ancient Rome and Carthage is retold at this web site. Find out what caused these two cities to go from friends to enemies, and see how the Punic Wars shifted the power from Carthage to Rome. A map shows the area described. Learn what caused the first Punic War to begin. There is information about the military leaders of Carthage, including Hannibal, the leader of the Carthaginian army. The third Punic War is also described.http://www.dl.ket.org/latin2/historia/republic/punic1.htm
- The Punic Wars: The Mediterranean city of Carthage and the wars it endured are described here at this site from Boise State University. The origins of the first Punic War are explained. See how what appeared to be a small quarrel between Carthage and Rome turned into a twenty year war. You will find out how the victory for Rome was the first step in the creation of the Roman Empire. Maps and images help with the description. The second Punic War and Hannibal's legendary march are also described. Find facts...
- The Punic Wars: Rome conquered the Italian Peninsula and had the greatest army in the world. Carthage established colonies throughout the Mediterranean and had the best navy in the world. These two world powers clashed in 264 B.C. over the control of the Strait of Messina. For 25 years, Rome won land-based battles while Carthage won battles on the sea. Find out what happened when Rome built a fleet of war ships. Later, Carthage brought the battle to Rome and Rome brought the battle to Carthage. Discover who...
- The Punic Wars: Hannibal Crosses the Alps The crossing of the Alps represents Hannibal's troops marching into Italy. It is said that this accomplishment is overlooked in today's textbooks. Crossing the Alps was an incredible feat. You will be amazed at what physical demands were put upon the men that completed the march and the strategic mind of Hannibal, the general. Whether this event was a victory or a defeat is up to you, the reader. If you continue to navigate through this site you will find more information on the Punic War.
- The British Museum offers virtual tours, images of primary sources and information about ancient civilizations in an easy to understand format.
-Ancient Rome http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/world/rome/rome.html - These BBC sites contain easy to read information, virtual tours, and more.
-The Romans http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans - Cleopatra: A Multimedia Guide to the Ancient World http://www.artic.edu/cleo/index.html
An interactive guide to the Ancient Art Collection of The Art Institute of Chicago, this Web site is named after Cleopatra. She embodied the three great cultures of the ancient Mediterranean region: she was Greek by birth, ruled Egypt as its queen (from 51 to 30 B.C.), and lost her kingdom to Rome. - These PBS websites contain information on key events, timelines, virtual tours, and links to primary sources. Designed to complement popular PBS series by the same name, users do not need to see the series to find this site useful.
-The Roman Empire: In the First Century http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans