The Punic Wars: Rome and Carthage in ancient conflict

Carthage and Rome

Comparing Carthage and Rome

One of the greatest wars Rome ever fought was against Carthage -- and it was actually a war that happened three times. Called the Punic Wars (Punic another name for Phoenician -- the nationality of the men who founded Carthage), the contests revealed much about both nations, and created heroes and legends for all antiquity to marvel over. This paper will compare and contrast the two civilizations of Rome and Carthage from the standpoint of "persons within the community," showing just how such persons helped both powers came to be and how they went on to fare when they both began to war with one another.

Beginnings

Started near Tunis at around the end of the ninth century BC, Carthage took over the rule of "leader" amongst the colonies of Phoenicia nearly three hundred years later when in the sixth century BC Tyre fell. In Phoenician, Carthage meant, literally, "New City," (Lendering 2004). As the myth goes, King Pygmalion slew the husband of his sister Elissa, causing her to flew their home in Tyre for Carthage, where she took her own life to keep her brother's wrath from following and putting the natives there at risk. The myth, as Jona Lendering states, is so unusual for the time that there me both some truth to it. However, it is just as likely that Carthage was the product of the gathering of two types of individuals: those who worked the land and those who sold goods and services. One thing is certain: Carthage "controlled trade between the eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean" -- a fact which would eventually cause it to come head to head with the mightiest Empire of ancient times (Lendering).

The founding of Rome, likewise, has its own myth. Its story was recorded by Virgil in the early first century AD for the Roman Emperor Augustus and tells of the trials of Aeneas, Trojan survivor of the battle of Troy. Desiring to appeal to the Emperor, Virgil drew comparisons between the founding of Rome and its new Empire, declared under Caesar and now ruled by Augustus. It made references to Rome's past glories and its wars with Carthage and would even go on to influence the scholastics of the Middle Age, who polished their Latin by studying Virgil's text and its famous first line: "I sing of arms and a man."

According to legend, Aeneas established his new home in Italy after the fall of Troy. From his lineage came the twins Romulus and Remus (in the eighth century BC), who won back the kingdom from a wicked uncle and then fought bitterly amongst themselves over who would rule. Romulus finally took the life of Remus when the latter insulted him for building a city wall so low that it could be leapt over. And to increase the numbers of his city (now named after himself, Rome), he invited all the outcasts and exiles of other civilizations, who in turn snatched their wives from a neighboring tribe. Romulus, it is said, finally was taken up to sit with the gods, leaving Rome to build a tradition of forming the greatest warriors around, from Junius Brutus (ancestor of the Brutus who would betray Caesar) to Horatius to Mucius the Left-Handed to Coriolanus (memorialized forever by Shakespeare) and Cincinnatus (the golden-haired) -- and that is all before the heroes of the Punic Wars even arrive.

The First Punic War

As E.L. Knox states, the First Punic War was largely due to the fact that Carthage controlled the island of Sicily. Ironically, Sicily was of no importance to Rome -- but that is not what precipitated the conflict. The port of Messana allowed Carthage to place a fleet of ships there, and Rome, naturally, "felt it had to respond in some way" (Knox). Rome sent its own fleet, Carthage responded, and before anyone new it, a show of power was underway that would quickly lead into outright aggression, fighting, death, and heroism.

The war was mainly fought at sea, which favored the Carthaginians since their naval power was one of the greatest in the Mediterranean. However, the wars were also fought on land, and here the Romans excelled.

The fighting at sea almost always went to the Carthaginians -- but the lesson learned in the loss brought it to the attention of the Romans that for their Empire to succeed it would need to overcome its deficiencies at sea. The battles of the first Punic War went on for some twenty years (for which Rome had a seemingly endless supply of men, thanks to its many alliances) till Carthage finally "sued for peace" -- unbeaten but tired, apparently, of continuing the conflict (Knox).

As has been stated, the Romans learned a great lesson in the conflict with Carthage: they learned "how to make war at sea. It is too much to say they learned to be sailors -- even at the end of the Republic, they were still hiring Greeks to captain their ships -- but they learned how to conduct naval warfare in an eminently Roman fashion" (Knox). They devised new weapons for boarding enemy ships (such as the corvus), and "how to conduct war on a massive scale. The Senate learned how to finance such a war, how to find the men for the armies, how to find the supplies, how to build fleets (over and over), how to conduct politics on the home front in times of war" (Knox). All of these lessons would be applied in the next conflict with Carthage, which was soon to arise.

The Second Punic War

The father of the military master Hannibal, Hamilcar Barca (another Carthaginian military hero and the man who taught his son to hate the Romans) vowed to avenge Carthage for its defeat at the hands of the Roman army. The treaty that Carthage had signed had essentially consigned the nation to oblivion for it gave to much away to the Roman Republic.

Hannibal, sensing that the Roman allies felt mistreated by the Romans, sailed to Italy and began the march on Rome, anticipating that her allies would defect and join the Carthaginian crusade. The war began, the famous tale of Hannibal crossing the Alps was the fruit; for years the battles raged, with Hannibal outwitting the Romans on numerous occasions and proving his mastery of strategy at war.

Finally, the Romans were convinced to take the war to Carthage. Scipio and Hannibal met head to head at the Battle of Zama. Aware of Hannibal's tactics with elephants, Scipio proved his own mastery and skill when he commanded his men to form into columns when the elephants charged and to make noises with their shields to ward them off. Hannibal's forces were routed completely by the Roman general, and the Carthaginian whose contempt was unrivaled was forced to return to Carthage and advise it to surrender.

The Third Punic War

The Third Punic War brought out another characteristic of Rome: its powers of oration. One of the greatest and strictest Senators of the time, Cato the Censor, proved this ability when he urged the third war against Carthage, which ultimately reduced it to rubble. Cato had been a young man when Hannibal had marched his elephants over the Alps and since then the very ascetic Cato had seen the discipline and morality of Rome decline. By the time he was an old man, he was determined to restore Rome to its glorious height of dignity, discipline and duty. He pursued this course by speaking again and again against Carthage. Giving the Romans an enemy to fight was one reason to regain discipline in the Republic.

Cato had, it must be said, himself traveled to Carthage and seen with his own eyes its spectacular regeneration only a quarter of a century after Scipio Africanus brought it into submission. What he saw astonished him: Carthage was well again and re-arming itself before his very eyes. For this reason and from that point on, whenever he gave a speech in the Senate, he ended it with the words, "And my opinion is that Carthage must be destroyed" (Haaren, p. 138). Such emphatic pronouncements repeated over and over no matter whether they suited his topic or not, had their effect on Rome.

In 146 BC, having authorized force against Carthage (which had been told that it must move away from the coastline), the Senate received word that the walls of Carthage had been pulled down by the Roman army. It was here that Scipio received the title Africanus. Carthage was now rubble.

That rubble, however, would be revisited years later by another famous Roman named Marius, whose exploits caused him to have to flee from Rome and hide himself among the enemy's ruins. The details of that story say much regarding the theme of "person in community," but the story actually begins with the social works of the Gracchi -- two brothers whose love for the plebeians of Rome caused a great conflict among the upper classes.

The Gracchi were from an aristocratic family but their love for the commoners of the community prompted them to speak out in favor of them. For instance, they recommended that the ancient custom of dividing up public lands won in war. In their time, only the aristocracy received the spoils, but the Gracchi were determined to revive the practice of dividing the land among everyone, even the poor.

Like the Gracchi, Marius promised to look after the people of Rome. In fact, he was elected to the Consul several times, proving his worth over and over again. Marius was not only a leader in politics, he was also a leader in battle. When a Social War broke out among the conquered people of Italy, who demanded a right to vote in Roman affairs, Marius was prepared to lead an army against them. But a new general had emerged -- one younger and just as strong, named Sulla. The Senate chose Sulla to lead the campaign and Marius was insulted.

To make matters worse, the decision was then reversed, granting Marius command. Marius was pacified but now Sulla was enraged. A battle ensued in which Marius just barely managed to escape with this life. Forced to flee Rome and the wrath of Sulla, Marius worked his way south and into hiding. However, he was soon discovered. Yet, the pride of the Roman was evinced when the horsemen who captured him, too afraid to face him themselves, sent a slave in to finish the job. Marius boldly pronounced, "Slave, will you dare to kill Caius Marius?" (Haaren, p. 159). Of course, the slave turned and ran and Marius was exiled to Africa, where he announced to those who saw him amongst the ruins that it was he, Marius, sitting on the ruins of Carthage.

Marius had his vengeance, however. The wars among the Italians continued and Marius was asked to take charge of the Italian tribes against Rome. Marius agreed, assaulted his homeland and took Rome. Then he took retribution, causing the streets to run with the blood of Sulla's family and friends. The victory was short-lived (Marius died soon after), but it is a perfect example of the proud, fierce character of the Roman person. Carthage was not very much different. But the vastness of the Roman Republic, soon to be an Empire, and the effort with which it pursued its ends tells all.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Rome and Carthage had much in common -- but their differences are apparent: Carthage had at first excelled in war at sea, while Rome excelled on land. But Rome was determined to learn from its mistakes: its national character and long lineage of heroes made anything else unlikely. From the viewpoint of "persons within the community," both nations evinced men of marvelous will, strength, fortitude, and determination. But in the end, it was Rome's manpower and unstoppable drive that finally drove Carthage into the ground. Duty, honor, and discipline, as Cato insisted upon, are what built the Roman Republic and what brought Carthage to ruins.

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