Phase 7

The First Punic War

  The First Punic War (264 to 241 BCE) was the first war fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic.  This was the first in a series of wars  fought  between Rome and Carthage called by the Romans the “Punic Wars” because of the Latin name for the Carthaginians: “Punici” is derived from the word Phoenici. The Punici (from Latin punicus, pl. punici) were a group of western Semitic-speaking peoples from Carthage in North Africa who traced their origins to a group of Phoenician settlers, but also to North African Berber Punic language ancestry ( Sidwell, Keith C.; Jones, Peter V. (1997). The World of Rome: An Introduction to Roman Culture). 

  By the mid 3rd century BC, the Romans had secured the whole of the Italian peninsula, except Gallia Cisalpina (the Po Valley). Over the course of the preceding one hundred years, Rome had defeated every rival that stood in the way of her domination on the Italian peninsula. First, they forcefully dissolved the Latin League during the Latin War, then the power of the Samnites was broken during the three prolonged Samnite wars, and the Greek cities of Greater Greece in Italy became theirs after Pyrrhus of Epirus returned home. When he left Italy, the Greek cities in southern Italy had to submit to Roman authority. (Starr, Chester G. (1965). A History of the Ancient World).

Location of Cisalpine Gaul ( or Gallia Cisalpina)

  By this time, Carthage considered itself the dominant naval power in the western Mediterranean. It had gradually became the center of a civilization whose influence reached along the North African coast and deep in its hinterland; it also included the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Corsica, a limited area in southern Spain, and the western half of Sicily (Starr, Chester G. (1965). A History of the Ancient World).

Map of Rome Before and After the Pyrrhic War

  At the start of the First Punic War Carthage was the dominant power of the western Mediterranean, with an extensive maritime empire, while Rome was the rapidly ascending power in Italy, but it lacked the naval power of Carthage.  While Carthage’s navy was the largest in the ancient world at that time, it did not maintain a large permanent standing army.  Instead, Carthage relied mostly on mercenaries, especially the indigenous Numidians, to fight its wars.  However most of the officers that commanded their army were citizens of Carthage  On the other hand Rome had a large disciplined army, yet had no navy and were at a disadvantage until they began to construct their own huge fleets during this war. 

  When Agathocles died in 288 BCE, a group of Italian (Campanian) mercenaries originally hired by Agathocles of Syracuse—occupied the city of Messana (modern Messina) in the northeastern tip of Sicily, killing all the men and taking the women as their wives (Warmington, Brian Herbert (1993) [1960]. Carthage).

Ancient Messana (Messina)

  They called themselves the Mamertines (or “Sons of Mars”).  They became a law unto themselves terrorizing the surrounding countryside.  At the same time, a group of Roman troops made up of Campanian "citizens without the vote" also seized control of Rhegium, which lies across the straits on the mainland of Italy. In 270 BCE, the Romans regained control of Rhegium and severely punished the survivors of that revolt. In Sicily, the Mamertines ravaged the countryside and collided with the expanding regional empire of the independent city-state of Syracuse. Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse took action and in 265 BCE and defeated the Mamertines near Mylae on the Longanus River (Polybius. The Histories, 1:9.7-9.8).  

The Major Powers in the Western Mediterranean ca. 264 BCE.

  Faced with a vastly superior force, the Mamertines divided into two factions, one advocating surrender to Carthage, the other preferred to seek the aid from Rome. As a result, they sent embassies to both cities- so one faction appealed for help from Carthage and the other faction appealed for help from Rome. Acting first, the Carthaginians approached Hiero to take no further action and convinced the Mamertines to accept a Carthaginian garrison in Messana possibly to end in peace. The issue here is that the Carthaginians owned half the island and so should have known all about the Mamertines. That they had acquired territory illegally.  What we may have here is competition among empires.  Carthage did nothing wrong by placing a garrison in the city so that peace was ensured. The garrison was allowed to enter the city, and the Carthaginian fleet sailed into their harbor. They became alarmed when they discovered that Carthage was negotiating with Hiero II, and some were unhappy with the prospect of a Carthaginian garrison in the city. The Mamertines petitioned Rome for an alliance, asking them to expel the Carthaginians, hoping for protection that is more reliable. However, the rivalry between Rome and Carthage had grown since the war with Pyrrhus; therefore, according to Warmington, an alliance with both powers was simply no longer feasible (Warmington, Brian Herbert (1993) [1960]. Carthage).  Hiero II’s intervention had placed Carthage’s military forces directly across the narrow channel of water that separated Sicily from Italy.   Moreover, the presence of the Carthaginian fleet gave them effective control over this channel, the Strait of Messina, and demonstrated a clear and present danger to nearby Rome and her interests.

    According to the historian Polybius, considerable debate took place in Rome on the question as to whether to accept the Mamertines' appeal for help, and thus likely enter into a war with Carthage. While the Romans did not wish to come to the aid of soldiers who had unjustly stolen a city from its rightful owners, and although they were still recovering from the insurrection of Campanian troops at Battle of Rhegium in 271 BCE, many were also unwilling to see Carthaginian power in Sicily expand even further. Leaving the Carthaginians alone at Messana would give them a free hand to deal with Syracuse; after the Syracusans had been defeated, the Carthaginian takeover of Sicily would essentially be complete and become a possible serious threat (Polybius. The Histories, 1:10.7-10.9). A deadlocked senate put the matter before the popular assembly. (Polybius. The Histories, 1:11.3).  

  However, it was the Consul Appius Claudius Caudex who really managed to persuade the Roman citizens to support him in leading a military force to Sicily.  It appears Rome was looking for a reason or pretense to become an intermediary so they could get into the war in order to capture all of Sicily themselves.

Rome’s Arrival in Sicily 264-262 BCE

 Therefore, they gave him orders to do so. Upon his arrival in 264 BCE, the Carthaginians withdrew and he met with only symbolic resistance and although worried about the closeness of Carthage to Roman land, Claudius tried to send ambassadors to both the Carthaginians and the Syracusans. However, they ignored him because he had no business being there as far as they were concerned. He then led his troops outside the city, defeated the Syracusans in battle, and Hiero retreated to Syracuse. The next day Claudius also defeated the Carthaginians. Following these victories Claudius laid siege to Echetla but after the loss of many troops returned to Messana (Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, 23.3).  

   Sicily is a semi-hilly island, with geographical obstacles and rough terrain making lines of communication difficult to maintain. For this reason, land warfare played a secondary role in the First Punic War. Land operations for the most part were small-scale raids and skirmishes, with few pitched battles.   The main blockade targets were the important ports, since neither Carthage nor Rome were based in Sicily and both needed continuous reinforcements and communication with the mainland (Niebuhr, Barthold Georg (1844) Lectures on the history of Rome from the first Punic war to the death of Constantine).

  At first Hanno, the Messana garrison commander was the Carthaginian general//admiral prominent in the events at the start of the First Punic War. Hanno was a very common name amongst the Carthaginians hence the need to refer to him in this way, his surname being unknown.  After a brief siege, with no Greek help in sight, Syracuse made peace with the Romans. According to the terms of the treaty, Syracuse would become a Roman ally, would pay a somewhat light indemnity of 100 talents of silver to Rome, and, perhaps most importantly, would agree to help supply the Roman army in Sicily. This solved the Roman problem of having to keep an overseas army provisioned while facing an enemy with a superior navy. Following the defection of Syracuse, several other smaller Carthaginian dependencies in Sicily also switched to the Roman side. The Carthaginians subsequently crucified Hanno for what they considered as cowardice and lack of judgment in leaving the citadel of Messana ( Polybius, The Histories, 1:11.5). These actions outraged the Carthaginians who had lent aid to Syracuse.  With the two powers embroiled in the conflict, tension quickly built up into a full-scale war between the two empires for control of Sicily.

    Meanwhile, Carthage had begun to build a mercenary army in Africa, which was intended to go to Sicily to meet the Romans. According to the historian Philinus, this army was composed of 50,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and 60 elephants. According to Polybius, this army was partly composed of Ligurians, Celts and Iberians (Polybius. The Histories, 1:17.4) In past wars on the island of Sicily, Carthage had won out by relying on certain fortified strong-points throughout the island, and their plan was to conduct the land war in the same fashion. The mercenary army would operate in the open against the Romans, while the strongly fortified cities would provide a defensive base from which to operate (Warmington, Brian Herbert (1993) [1960]. Carthage.). Therefore, that was their basic planned strategy.  It had worked in the past why not again. 

  At the beginning of the First Punic War, Rome had virtually no experience in naval warfare, whereas the strong and powerful Carthage had a great deal of experience on the seas thanks to its centuries of sea-based trade. Nevertheless, the growing Roman Republic soon understood the importance of control of the Mediterranean in the outcome of the conflict  (Zoch, Paul A. (2000). Ancient Rome: An Introductory History).

  The Romans intended to send two legions to Sicily in 262 BCE, probably willing to negotiate peace with Carthage. Since 264 BCE, when they had declared war on Carthage, there had not been much serious fighting between the two except for a small fight in the straits of Messana. The Carthaginians also made conciliatory gestures at the start of the war, but in 262 BCE, they started to increase their forces in Sicily. Once the Carthaginians started increasing their forces on the island, the Romans sent more consuls there. The consuls were generals of the Roman army, and with the consuls traveled several legions.  The Carthaginians hired Ligurian, Celtic, and Spanish mercenaries to induce their enemies in Sicily to attack the Romans on the half of the island that the Romans controlled. Agrigentum at this point became the main base for the Carthaginians.  

(Lazenby, John Francis (1996). The First Punic War: a military history). 

Temple in Agrigentum

  Agrigentum (known to the Greeks as Akragas), would be the next Roman objective. In 262 BCE, Rome besieged Agrigentum, an operation that involved both consular armies—a total of four Roman legions—and took several months to resolve. The garrison of Agrigentum managed to call for reinforcements and the Carthaginian relief force commanded by Hanno came to the rescue and destroyed the Roman supply base at Erbessus. With supplies from Syracuse cut, the Romans became the besieged and constructed a line of contravallation (Polybius. The Histories, 1:19).  A line of circumvallation is a line of fortifications, built by the attackers around the besieged fortification facing towards an enemy fort (to protect the besiegers from sorties by its defenders and to enhance the blockade). The resulting fortifications are known as ‘lines of circumvallation. (Oxford English Dictionary: circumvallation, n. Second edition, 1989); online version December 2011).   After a few skirmishes, disease struck the Roman army while supplies in Agrigentum were running low, and both sides saw an open battle as preferable to the current situation. Although the Romans won a clear victory over the Carthaginian relief force at the Battle of Agrigentum, the Carthaginian army defending the city managed to escape. Agrigentum, now lacking any real defenses, fell easily to the Romans, who then sacked the city and enslaved the populace (Polybius. The Histories).

    At the beginning of the First Punic War, Rome had virtually no experience in naval warfare.  After their victory of Agrigentum in 261 BCE, the, Romans constructed their first fleet. Some historians have speculated that, since Rome lacked advanced naval technology, the design of the warships was either copied from captured Carthaginian triremes and quinqueremes or from ships that had beached on Roman shores due to storms (Lazenby, John Francis (1996). The First Punic War: A Military History). Other historians have pointed out that Rome did have experience with naval technology, as she patrolled her coasts against piracy. Another possibility is that Rome received technical assistance from its seafaring Sicilian ally, Syracuse (Reynolds, Clark G. (1998). Navies in History). Regardless of the state of their naval technology at the start of the war, Rome quickly adapted (Roberts, Peter (2006). Ancient History, Book 2.).

 The leadership of Carthage decided to avoid direct land-based engagements with the powerful Roman legions, and concentrate on the sea where they believed they had the advantage.  Initially the navy of Carthage prevailed.  However, in 260 BC they were defeated by the fledgling Roman navy at the Battle of the Lipori Islands.

Battle of the Lipari Islands

  Rome had responded by drastically expanding its navy in a very short time.  Because the Romans knew, they could not defeat the Carthaginians with conventional tactics of ramming.  They devised a way to board the Carthaginian ships at sea with soldiers from their ships over an assault bridge called a “covus.”  Apparently they had devised a way to grapple the side of a Carthaginian ship to theirs swing the bridge around to board the enemy ship over which Roman infantry boarded the Carthaginian ship to capture it.  This allowed Rome’s superior infantry to board an enemy ship in a military battle at sea.  However, the “covus” did offer some problems when navigating the Roman ships at sea.

The Covus (Naval Assault Bridge)

    The Roman advance continued westward from Agrigentum to relieve in 260 BCE the besieged city of Macella. In the north, the Romans, with their northern sea flank secured by their naval victory at Battle of Mylae, advanced toward Thermae. They were defeated there by the Carthaginians under Hamilcar (a popular Carthaginian name, not to be confused with Hannibal Barca's father, with the same name) in 260 BCE. (Polybius. The Histories, 1:24.3-24.4.). The Carthaginians took advantage of this victory by counterattacking, in 259 BCE, and seizing Enna. Hamilcar continued south to Camarina, in Syracusan territory, presumably with the intent to convince the Syracusans to rejoin the Carthaginian side (Lazenby, John Francis (1996). The First Punic War: A Military History).

  In 258 BCE, the Romans proceeded to attack the forces of Carthage on Sicily.  First they 

were able to retake Enna and Camarina.  Then the Romans marched along the north coast of the island and attacked Panormus, but were not able to take the city (Polybius. The Histories, 1:24.10-24.13).  Seeking a swifter end to the war rather than  long sieges in Sicily would have provided, Rome decided to invade the Carthaginian colonies of Africa and usurp Carthage's supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea, consequently forcing Carthage to accept its terms (Warmington, Brian Herbert (1993) [1960]. Carthage).

    In order to initiate its invasion of Africa, the Roman Republic constructed a major fleet, comprising transports for the army and its equipment, and warships for protection. 

A Roman Quinererme

  Carthage attempted to intervene with a fleet of 350 ships (according to Polybius) (Polybius. The Histories, 1:25.9), but was defeated in the Battle of Cape Ecnomus(Warmington, Brian Herbert (1993) [1960]. Carthage).  Because of the battle, the Roman army, commanded by Marcus Atilius Regulus, landed in Africa and began ravaging the Carthaginian countryside. At first, Regulus was victorious, winning the Battle of Adys and forcing Carthage to sue for peace. The terms were so heavy that negotiations failed and, in response, the Carthaginians hired Xanthippus, a Spartan mercenary, to reorganize the army. Xanthippus defeated the Roman army and captured Regulus at the Battle of Tunis,  and then managed to cut off what remained of the Roman army from its base by re-establishing Carthaginian naval supremacy (Warmington, Brian Herbert (1993) [1960]. Carthage).  Like the Straits of Messina separating Roman Italy from Sicily, Cape Bon in Tunis was also a location that separated Carthage from Sicily by a small distance and a Roman fleet in that area would have been just as much a threat to Carthage.

Cape Bon

  The Romans, meanwhile, had sent a new fleet to pick up the survivors of its African expedition. Although the Romans defeated the Carthaginian fleet and were successful in rescuing its army in Africa, a storm destroyed nearly the entire Roman fleet on the trip home; the number of casualties in the disaster may have exceeded 90,000 men (Warmington, Brian Herbert (1993) [1960]).The Carthaginians took advantage of this to attack Agrigentum. They did not believe that they could hold the city, so they burned it and left (Smith, William (1854). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (PDF).

  Once again, Rome returned to the strategy of taking the Carthaginian cities in Sicily one by one.  Attacks began with naval assaults on Lilybaeum, the center of Carthaginian power on Sicily, and a raid on Africa.

Ruins of Lilybaeum

  Both efforts ended in failure. The Romans retreated from Lilybaeum, and the African force was 

caught in another storm and destroyed (Warmington, Brian Herbert (1993) [1960]. Carthage).

  The Romans, however, made great progress in the north. They captured the city of Thermae in 252 BC, and advanced on the port city of Panormus. The Romans attacked this city after taking Kephalodon in 251 BC. After fierce fighting, the Carthaginians were defeated and the city fell. With Panormus captured, much of western inland of Sicily fell with it. The cities of Ietas, Solous, Petra, and Tyndaris agreed to peace with the Romans that same year (Lazenby, John Francis (1996). The First Punic War: A Military History).

  In 247 BC, Carthage sent General Hamilcar Barca (Hannibal's father) to Sicily. His landing at Heirkte (near Panormus) drew the Romans away to defend that port city and re-supply point and gave the city of Drepana some breathing room. Subsequent guerilla warfare kept the Roman legions pinned down and preserved Carthage's toehold in Sicily, although Roman forces which bypassed Hamilcar forced him to relocate to Eryx, to better defend Drepana (Smith, William (1854). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (PDF).

Ruins of Eryx

  Perhaps in response to Hamilcar's raids, Rome built another fleet (paid for with donations from wealthy citizens). This fleet rendered the Carthaginian success in Sicily futile, as the stalemate Hamilcar produced in Sicily became irrelevant following the Roman naval victory at the Battle of the Aegadian Islands in 241 BCE.  The new Roman fleet under consul Gaius Lutatius Catulus was victorious over an undermanned and hastily built Carthaginian fleet. 

Battle for the Aegadian Islands

  Carthage lost most of its fleet and was economically incapable of funding another, or of finding new crews (Mokhtar, Gamal (1981). Ancient Civilizations of Africa).  With the invention of the covus, the Roman infantry played a big part in the naval conflict and enabled the Romans to win most of their engagements except the Battle of Tunis and two other naval engagements at sea.

  Without naval support, Hamilcar Barca was cut off from Carthage, forced to negotiate peace, and agreed to evacuate Sicily (Bedford, Alfred S.; Bradford, Pamela M. (2001) With Arrow, Sword, and Spear: A History of Warfare in the Ancient World). It should be noted that Hamilcar Barca had a subordinate named Gisco conduct the negotiations with Lutatius, in order to create the impression that he had not really been defeated (Sidwell, Keith C.; Jones, Peter V. (1997). The World of Rome: An Introduction to Roman Culture).
  But the fact was Rome had kicked Carthage off the island of Sicily completely. The war had been bitter and 23 years long and in the end Rome became the dominant naval power in the Mediterranean Sea.   In the aftermath of the war, both states were financially and demographically exhausted (Bringmann, Klaus (2007). A History of the Roman Republic). Corsica, Sardinia and Africa remained Carthaginian, but they had to pay a high war indemnity. Rome’s persistence brought forth victory in Battle. Moreover, the Roman Republic's ability to attract private investments in the war effort to fund ships and crews was one of the deciding factors of the war, particularly when contrasted with the Carthaginian nobility's apparent unwillingness to risk their fortunes for the common war effort, which may have been typical for their way of thinking.  They were businesspersons first and warriors second.
  In 241 BCE, Carthage signed a peace treaty under the terms in which they evacuated Sicily and had to pay a large war indemnity.  This war had been costly to both powers.The terms of peace definitely did not make good business sense.  They were as follows:

Carthage evacuates Sicily and the small islands west of it (Aegadian Islands).

Carthage returns their prisoners of war without ransom, while paying a heavy ransom on their own

Carthage refrains from attacking Syracuse and her allies.

Carthage transfers a group of small islands north of Sicily (the Aeolian Islands and Ustica) to Rome.

Carthage evacuates all of the small islands between Sicily and Africa (Pantelleria, Linosa, Lampedusa, Lampione and Malta).

Carthage pays a 2,200 talent (66 tonnes/145,000 pounds) of silver indemnity in ten annual installments, plus an additional indemnity of 1,000 talents (30 tonnes/66,000 pounds) immediately.

  Carthage spent years after this war improving its finances and expanding its colonial empire in Iberia (Spain) under the militaristic Barcid family.  The Barcid family during the 3rd century BC was one of the leading families of the ruling oligarchy in Carthage.  Many of its members were fierce enemies of the Roman Republic.  The patriarch Hamilicar Barca (275-228 BCE) served as a Carthaginian general in the First Punic War. Respected by all, made his eldest son Hannibal swear a sacred oath upon the altar of the gods “to never be a friend of Rome.”  Hamilcar Barca and his wife (name unknown) had five children; he had two daughters one married Bomilcar the other Hasdrabal the Fair.  He had three sons Hannibal, Hasdrabal, and Mago.

  In the aftermath of the war, Carthage had insufficient state funds. Hanno the Great tried to induce the disbanded armies to accept diminished payment, but this kindled a movement that led to an internal conflict - the Mercenary War.

Go to Module 2

at alaudun2.blogspot.com