Hannibal And The Punic Wars

1
Hannibal And The Punic Wars
2
The Punic Wars

• The Punic Wars were a series or wars that were
  fought between Rome and Carthage from 264-146
  BCE.

3
The Punic Wars

• By the time that the wars started Rome had firm
  control of the Italian peninsula, while the North
  African city-state of Carthage had established
  itself as the leading maritime (sea) power in the
  world.

4
The Punic Wars
5
The First Punic War

• Tensions between the two great powers came to a
  head over the island of Sicily.
• The First Punic War lasted almost 20 years. Rome
  ultimately won the war by rebuilding its navy and
  defeating the Carthaginians at sea.

6
The Second Punic War

• Humiliated by the first war, Carthage dedicated
  itself to expanding into Spain.
• It was during this period that the great
  Carthaginian general Hannibal was born. It is
  said that Hannibal was made to swear a blood oath
  against Rome while he was still a young boy.

7
Hannibal
8
The Second Punic War

• Shortly after taking control of the Carthaginian
  army, Hannibal declared war on Rome.
• He proceeded to march his army of over 100,000
  men, cavalry and elephants across the Alps in
  order to catch the Romans unprepared.

9
The Second Punic War

• After a string of impressive victories,
  Hannibals army was defeated and forced out of
  Italy by a Roman army led by Scipio Africanus.

10
The Second Punic War

• Scipio chased Hannibal back to Carthage and
  defeated him at the Battle of Zama, which marked
  the end of Carthage as a major power.

11
(No Transcript)
12
The Third Punic War

• Despite no longer being a major threat to Rome,
  many senators called for the total destruction of
  Carthage.

13
The End of Carthage

• In 149 BCE Rome returned to battle Carthage, one
  last time. At the end of a two year siege,
  Carthage was totally destroyed and any remaining
  citizens were sold into slavery.