For more than a hundred years two cities fought for mastery of the western Mediterranean. Carthage was the older, richer sea power1; Rome the rising land power of Italy. Their rivalry, the three Punic Wars, produced one of history's greatest generals and ended with one of the two cities wiped from the earth.
| Rome | Carthage | |
|---|---|---|
| Home | Central Italy | North Africa, near modern Tunis |
| Strength | Citizen legions and deep reserves of manpower | A great navy and mercenary armies |
| The wars | The three Punic Wars, 264 to 146 BC | The three Punic Wars, 264 to 146 BC |
| Turning point | Won the decisive battle at Zama, 202 BC | Came close under Hannibal, then lost at Zama |
| Outcome | Victor, and the Mediterranean superpower | Destroyed; the city was razed in 146 BC |
| Lasting legacy | An empire that shaped Europe | A warning of a great power undone |
Key points
- The two powers fought three Punic Wars between 264 and 146 BC.2
- Carthage was the great naval and trading power; Rome's strength was its citizen legions and manpower.
- Hannibal invaded Italy and crushed Rome at Cannae, yet could not win the war.
- Rome ended the rivalry by razing Carthage to the ground in 146 BC.
Carthage: the sea power
Carthage, founded by Phoenician settlers in North Africa3, was the dominant trading and naval power of the western Mediterranean, rich enough to hire large mercenary armies and field war fleets. Its greatest weapon was Hannibal, who marched an army over the Alps into Italy and destroyed Roman armies at the Trebia, Lake Trasimene and, above all, Cannae in 216 BC, one of the worst defeats Rome ever suffered. Yet Carthage struggled to reinforce him4, and its reliance on paid troops and distant campaigns left it vulnerable when the war turned.
Rome: the land power
Rome's strength was different: a deep pool of citizen and allied manpower that let it raise army after army even after catastrophic losses. Refusing to surrender after Cannae, Rome largely avoided pitched battle with Hannibal, wore him down in Italy, and carried the war to Spain and then Africa. Under Scipio it beat Hannibal at last on his own soil at Zama in 202 BC. Rome also learned to fight at sea, building fleets from scratch5 to break Carthaginian naval power.
Why Rome won
Carthage produced the greater single general, but Rome had the greater staying power. It could absorb defeats that would have ended most states, out-recruit its enemy, and turn the whole society to war. After two wars had broken Carthage's power, a fearful and vengeful Rome found a pretext for a third6 and destroyed the city utterly in 146 BC, selling the survivors into slavery7 and leaving the western Mediterranean wholly Roman.
Carthage had the better general; Rome had the deeper reserves, and reserves won.
The verdict
Rome won because it could lose battles and still not lose the war. Hannibal's brilliance at Cannae was answered by Roman manpower and persistence, and sealed by Scipio at Zama. Explore the clash among the greatest ancient battles.