Carthage And The Punic Wars

Carthage was first founded as a trading post in the year of 814 BC.

Carthage was founded by the Phoenician Princess Elyssa-Dido on a peninsula from Africa which extends into the Mediterranean Sea. According to legend

Elyssa_Dido fled from her brother Pygmalion, the king of Tyre, after he killed her husband. The post benefited from the vast market for the goods that it traded and grew in importance quickly. It first had warehouses in which raw metals and finished metal products which the Phoenicians used and had made were stored. Carthage then started making metal products for Spain. These products were cheap due to they traded these cheap goods to Spain for the raw metals. Carthage soon became a huge trading empire, containing much of north Africa, Sicily, and Spain. In the fifth century BC, Carthage was the largest of all existing Mediterranean ports. Carthage soon minted its own coins. The Carthaginians soon developed high skills in the building of ships. They used this to dominate the seas for centuries. Their most important trading goods were silver, lead, ivory, gold, beds, bedding, pottery, jewelry, glassware, wild animals from Africa, fruit, and nuts.

Carthage had two first class ports. One was a trading port which was rectangular and the other was a man-made military port which was circular.

These two ports were connected by a canal. The Carthaginians also had great communication since they controlled the sea, the fastest way of communication at that time.

The Carthaginians began a 240 year long struggle for survival with the

Greeks then the Romans in the year 410 BC. It all started when the Sicily city of Segesta asked for help against its mortal Greek enemy of Selinius. Carthage, in a lightening fast campaign sacked both Selinius, and the large Greek city of

Agrigento. The Carthaginians failed in their attempt to siege Syracusa. After the siege upon Syracusa, the Syracusians built many weapons of war, including the catapult. They then sacked the important Carthaginian city of Moyta. For over the next one hundred years the Carthaginians battled the Syracusians. Rome and Carthage allied and eventually defeated the Syracusians’ army at that time ran by Phyrrus of Epirus.

Rome had signed three peace treaties with Carthage, however in 246 BC

Rome decided t...

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...nbsp; The Third Punic War was the shortest war of the three which only lasted from 149 BC to 146 BC. It was controled totally by the Romans. After the

Second Punic War, Carthage managed once again to return to much of its former glory. The economy began to prosper, and the fleet was rebuilt. The Romans remembered the previous wars very well, many of which hated Carthage, they wanted Carthage dead. Rome used their ally, Masinissa, to bring forward an excuse to go to war with Carthage. In 149 Carthage attacked Masinissa and

Rome came to aid for their ally and declaring war on Carthage. Rome had an advantage with their military force being stronger than ever. A few battles were fought to decide who was strongest. At first a peace treaty was agreed upon, but then the Romans increased their demands, wanting a total abandonment of Carthage. Facing these claims, Carthage renewed fighting, and soon entered a three year long siege. When the Romans finally breached the walls, one week of fighting occurred inside the walls of Carthage. Carthage was burned to the ground, the ground was sprinkled with salt so that nothing would grow, and the people were either killed or sold into slavery.