Greek and Roman historians did not exaggerate when they identified the first two Punic Wars (there were three in all) as the most important in history Ancient World. In the military confrontation between the two strongest powers of the Western Mediterranean, the fate of not only Rome and Carthage was decided, but also the future of European civilization:whether it should be based on the Greek-Latin culture or the culture of the Semitic East.
Foundation and Political Structure of Carthage
Carthage ("New City") was founded by settlers from the Phoenician city of Tyre, on the fertile land of North Africa on the shores of a large and convenient harbor. The Phoenicians, which in Greek means “catchers of purple”, or, as the Romans called them, the Puns, were famous among the ancient peoples of the Mediterranean as the most courageous and skillful seafarers and merchants. Extremely favorable conditions for the development of agriculture and maritime trade laid the foundation for the power and wealth of Carthage. By the 3rd century BC e. he became the most powerful power in the Western Mediterranean, subjugating not only the North African tribes, but also the Phoenician colonies in Africa, on the Iberian Peninsula, on the northwestern coast of Sicily and nearby islands.
Carthage was considered the richest city in the world. All maritime trade between the West and East of the Mediterranean went through its harbor. There were hundreds of ships carrying goods from all over the world. Built up with high-rise buildings, during its heyday the city had up to 700 thousand inhabitants. According to its political structure, Carthage was an oligarchic republic. All power belonged to a small circle of aristocratic families, from which a council of elders - the senate - and a council of one hundred and four were elected. The Senate had the highest legislative power, and the council of one hundred and four was the highest controlling body; all magistracies were subordinate to him. Executive power was exercised by the Suffets, whose main duty was to lead the army and navy. They were elected for a term of one year. There was also a popular assembly in Carthage, but it did not play a big role in governing the state. It was usually convened in cases where serious disagreements arose within the Carthaginian government.
The Opponents and Rivals of Carthage
Serious competition to the Carthaginians was only the Greek colonies in Sicily and Southern Italy, but, first in alliance with the Etruscans, and then with the Romans, Carthage managed to significantly limit the sea trade of the Greeks. From the end of the 5th century BC e. for a hundred years there was an uninterrupted struggle between Carthage and the Greeks of Sicily for possession of the island. The stronghold of the Greeks in this struggle was the largest Greek city of Sicily - Syracuse. Four times the Carthaginians captured almost the entire island, but they could not take the city. In turn, the Syracusans besieged their enemies in their fortresses on the northwestern coast of the island and in Carthage itself. In the III century. BC e. Carthage owned most of Sicily, and the Syracusan king Hieron II tried to live in peace with the Puns, realizing, however, that Carthage would not rest until it captured the entire island.
By this time, a third power had appeared on the political scene in the Mediterranean - Rome, watching with avid interest what was happening. Rome, subjugated by the 70s. 3rd century BC e. the territory of present-day Italy, felt already strong enough to measure his strength with the great Carthage, who looked down on Rome. Indeed, neither the Italian Greeks subordinate to Rome, nor the Romans themselves had either such high-speed five-deck ships - penter, which were built by the Carthaginian shipbuilders, or naval commanders equal to the Punas. True, in clashes on land, their forces turned out to be equal. Carthage had a well-trained mercenary army recruited from the warlike neighboring tribes, a magnificent Numidian cavalry, war elephants. But this army was unreliable. Mercenaries only served as long as they were paid. The slightest delay in the payment of money could turn the army into an enemy and put the state on the brink of death. The Roman militia, on the other hand, consisted of citizens for whom the interests of their city were their own. They themselves decided whether or not to be a war, and fought to the last with bitterness and firmness.
First Punic War
When the Sicilian city of Messana turned to Rome for help in the fight against Hieron II, the senators referred the matter to the popular assembly for consideration:after all, helping Messana turned into a war not so much with Syracuse as with Carthage. The citizens of Rome voted for war. So in 265 BC. e. The long and debilitating First Punic War began. Rome thereby declared claims to the role of a great power. He entered the world political arena.
The hostilities took place mainly in Sicily and lasted 24 years. At first things went well for Rome. Hieron II went over to his side, and in the third year of the war, the new allies besieged the Puns in their strongholds on the northwest coast of the island. But it was impossible to defeat the Carthaginians by the forces of the land army alone, and Rome set about creating a fleet. In one year, with the help of the Greek allies, 100 penteres and 30 triremes were built. The assertion that the Romans then plunged oars into the water for the first time is hardly an exaggeration. The navy throughout the history of Rome remained a stepchild. Service in the navy was less prestigious than in the legions. Naval officers were recruited for the most part from Italian Greeks, and the crews were recruited from allies and slaves.
The Romans didn't like the sea. Therefore, as far as possible, they tried to turn naval battles into land battles. To do this, they equipped their ships with flip bridges with iron spikes - "ravens". When approaching an enemy ship, the "raven" clung to its side, and the soldiers who got over it converged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy's crew. After a series of victories thus won at sea, Rome decided to attack Carthage itself. In the summer of 256 BC. e. a huge fleet of 330 ships with a total crew of 100 thousand people and a landing army of 40 thousand people was sent to the shores of Africa. Off the southeastern coast of Sicily, near Cape Ecnomus, the Romans were met by a Carthaginian fleet of 350 ships. The most grandiose naval battle in the history of the Ancient World took place here. Having lost about 100 ships, the Puns were forced to retreat, and the Roman army landed unhindered on the coast of Africa. However, the successfully launched operation failed. The Senate withdrew most of the army to Italy, leaving only 15,000 infantry and 500 horsemen in Africa. The mediocre and self-confident consul Regulus in the spring of 255 BC. e. killed the army and himself was captured.
After this defeat, the Romans limited the fighting to the territory of Sicily and its coastal waters. Over the next 12 years, the war went on with varying success and heavy losses for both sides. In total, Rome lost 4 fleets, on board which were three ground forces. The fourth land army fell under the walls of Carthage. Carthage was also exhausted. The war began to be waged sluggishly and reached a stalemate. Some revival in its course was brought by the one appointed in 247 BC. e. commander-in-chief of the young and energetic Carthaginian commander Hamilcar Barca ("Lightning"). He clung with a death grip to a piece of land remaining in the power of Carthage, fortifying himself on the mountain plateau of Eirkte.
In the 23rd year of the war, Rome made a decisive leap towards victory. With the money collected from citizens, 200 new penthers were built. The appearance of the Roman fleet in the waters of Sicily came as a complete surprise to Carthage. Held in March 241 BC. e. The naval battle of the Aegates Islands finally brought Rome a decisive victory. Carthage requested peace, entrusting its conclusion to Hamilcar Barca, a supporter of the continuation of the war. He managed to get out of this situation with dignity. Under the terms of the peace treaty, Sicily went to Rome, and Carthage had to pay an indemnity of 3.2 thousand talents. However, Hamilcar categorically rejected the demand to hand over his weapons, saying that he would rather die than return home in disgrace. He took his army out of Sicily with weapons in hand and with the firm intention of continuing the war with Rome in the future.
Political factions are fighting in Carthage. Hamilcar gained the upper hand and received the powers of the perpetual commander of the army, becoming almost a dictator. He immediately set about preparing a bridgehead for waging war with Rome in the Iberian Peninsula. Together with his son-in-law Hasdrubal, he expanded there the boundaries of the possessions of Carthage to the Ebro River. But in 228 BC. e. Hamilcar died in battle, and seven years later his son-in-law Hasdrubal fell at the hands of an assassin. The army unanimously elected as its commander-in-chief the 28-year-old son of Hamilcar, Hannibal. He inherited from his father all the power of hatred for Rome, as a nine-year-old boy he swore to destroy the arrogant city. From childhood, Hannibal was brought up in a military camp. He was skilled both as a general and as a soldier. This man, according to the Roman historian Titus Livius, combined the most opposite qualities:prudence and inspiration, caution and energy.
Second Punic War
The reason for the start of a new, Second Punic War was Hannibal's siege of Sagunta, an allied city of Rome, on the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Carthage refused to lift the siege and hand over Hannibal to Rome, and the "eternal city" began to prepare for war. The Romans hoped to land in Africa, but their plans were destroyed by Hannibal, who made an unprecedented transition through Gaul and the seemingly impregnable Alps. The mountains swallowed up half of his army, but he was able to replenish his forces with friendly Gauls.
Starting the fight against Rome in Italy, Hannibal was well aware of both its difficulties and advantages. He hoped for a swift end to the war. To do this, it was necessary in several major battles to destroy the main enemy forces and achieve the falling away from Rome of its Italian allies. In the first battles, which took place on the wide Podanian plain and near Lake Trasimene, Hannibal brilliantly carried out the first part of his plan. He teased the Roman generals, provoking them into battle at a time that suited him. He also left the choice of location to himself. After the defeat at Lake Trasimene, where an entire army died along with the consul Gaius Flaminius, the cold of death breathed on Rome. However, Quintus Fabius Maximus, elected dictator, proved to be a worthy adversary. He refused decisive battles with Hannibal, followed on his heels, hanging like a cloud and exhausting his army with small skirmishes. No tricks of Hannibal could unbalance Fabius. The tactics he chose earned him the nickname Kunktator - "Slower", as well as the contempt of allies and compatriots.
Resolute warfare advocates insisted that Gaius Terentius Varro be elected consul. Titus Livius characterizes him as a man not only of "vile"—that is, of low birth—but also mediocre and self-confident. Varro declared that as soon as he saw the enemy, he would end the war. The experienced commander Emilius Pavel became the second consul.
Two consular armies under impetuous Varro and cautious Aemilius Paulus in the summer of 216 BC. e. camped against the army of Hannibal near the village of Cannes. Aemilius Paul did not want a battle on a wide plain, where Hannibal's cavalry would have clear advantages. But on the day when the turn to command the army passed to Varro, that battle began ... The victory at Cannae brought glory to Hannibal, which many commanders later dreamed of:45 thousand Roman infantrymen and 2700 horsemen remained lying on the battlefield. Among them are the consul Aemilius Paul, many former senior magistrates and 80 senators. Varro with 50 horsemen managed to break out of the encirclement and flee. 4 thousand infantrymen and 200 horsemen managed to save the 19-year-old Publius Cornelius Scipio, the future winner of Hannibal.
When news of the defeat reached Rome, fear and despair reigned. An embassy was urgently sent to Delphi to find out from the oracle what fate was in store for the city. Human lives were sacrificed to the gods. Waiting for Hannibal. But the great commander did not hasten to Rome. Then the Romans, overcoming their confusion, recruited a new army of citizens of all ages, including even teenagers and freed slaves. The war began to take on a protracted character, which could be disastrous for Hannibal both militarily and politically - in Carthage, the party of peace could prevail. Rome slowly but surely went on the offensive. True, the allies of Rome, having lost faith in its power, began to go over to the side of Hannibal. A number of Greek cities in southern Italy and Syracuse also fell away. The Romans fought successfully in the Pyrenees, preventing the Punas from helping Hannibal from there. Fabius Maxim pressed him in southern Italy. In Campania, the Romans besieged Capua, and Hannibal could not save the city allied to him, even appearing under the walls of Rome. The townspeople did not flinch, and, standing under the walls of the city, Hannibal left, leaving Capua to the mercy of fate. In Sicily, after a long siege, Marcellus took Syracuse.
The brothers Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio and Publius Cornelius Scipio were quite successful in the Iberian Peninsula. After their death in 211 BC. e. the conduct of the war there was entrusted to the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio - Publius Cornelius Scipio. Having cleared the peninsula of Carthaginian troops in four years (210-206 BC), he proposed moving the war under the walls of Carthage. After some hesitation - after all, Hannibal was still in Italy - the Senate allowed Scipio to recruit volunteers and lead a campaign in Africa. In the summer of 204 BC. e. Roman troops appeared on the land of their enemy, and a year later Hannibal was recalled to his homeland. In the spring of 202 BC. e. Scipio and Hannibal entered the final battle of the Second Punic War. Near the small town of Zama, the Puns suffered a crushing defeat. Carthage ceased to be a great power and became completely dependent on Rome. He lost all his possessions, the navy and the ability to independently wage wars.
Hannibal, fearing extradition, fled his hometown. He did not reconcile himself and tried in the East to resume the struggle against the hated Rome, but failed. In 183 BC. e. in Bithynia, surrounded by vengeful Romans, he took poison so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy.
Third Punic War
The Third Punic War (149-146 BC) brought no glory to Rome. If in the first two wars equal opponents fought, then in the third, the all-powerful Rome dealt with the defenseless Carthage. In 153 BC. e. Cato the Censor, one of the largest politicians of Rome, visited Carthage. Seeing a rich and flourishing city, he was inflamed with a desire to wipe it off the face of the earth. The words with which, after this trip, he ended all speeches in the Senate:“However, I think that Carthage must be destroyed” (in Latin:“Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam”), received wide support in Rome.
Chailing that Carthage had started a defensive war with its neighbor, the Numidian king Masinissa, Rome began to issue one ultimatum after another to the city, seeking a casus belli. The demand to destroy the city and move to another place overwhelmed the patience of the Carthaginians, and they decided to fight to the last. For three years, unarmed, surrounded on all sides, the city did not surrender to the enemy. Only in the winter of 146 BC. e. Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilian was able to storm Carthage. For six days and nights there were battles in the streets, each multi-storey building became a fortress. The brutalized warriors spared no one. The surviving inhabitants were sold into slavery, and the city itself was razed to the ground, and the place on which it stood was cursed. The territories belonging to Carthage were turned into Roman provinces. Rome remained the sole and sovereign master of the entire Western Mediterranean and already confidently ruled in its eastern part.
From the encyclopedia.