Today we were asked to write about the Punic Wars. These wars lasted, in total, for more than 100 years. Obviously, the war was not continuous throughout this time, but the first war started in 264 BCE and the last war ended in 146 BCE. The Punic wars were fought between Rome and Carthage. The first Punic War was fought by the navy for control of the perfectly placed island of Sicily. This war lasted from 264-241 BCE and the eventually victor was Rome. The second Punic War was started by Hannibal who was a Carthaginian general. Hannibal's goal was to attack and capture Rome. He planned to do this by attacking Rome from the north and traveling over Iberia (Spain) and the Alps to reach Rome. For 15 years, Carthage held control over the peninsula but was never able to seize Rome. This second war was fought from 218-201 BCE. The third Punic War was started by Rome who wanted to permanently get rid of Carthage's constant threat. This war lasted from 149-146 BCE. Scipio, Tiberius Gracchus, and other Roman leaders attack Carthage ruthlessly. Carthage was burned for 17 days and everything in the city was destroyed. Those Carthaginian citizens who survive, about 50,000 of them, were sold into slavery by the Romans. Personally, I do not think this was the best thing for Rome to do, but I can't change history. All of those slaves poured into Italy along with Greek slaves. By the end of the second century there was about 1 million slaves in Italy. The rest of Carthage's territories were annexed into Roman rule and became the Roman province of Africa. The Punic Wars finally ended, with Rome as it's sole victor, in the end.
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