The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC. Carthage was originally a Phoenician colony and the dominant naval power in the Mediterranean. The First Punic War began as a dispute over Sicily and resulted in Rome building a strong navy to defeat Carthage. The Second Punic War saw Hannibal invade Italy by crossing the Alps with elephants but was eventually defeated by Scipio at Zama in North Africa. The Third Punic War ended with Rome destroying the city of Carthage after it had existed for 700 years, marking the dominance of Rome in the Mediterranean.

1. The Punic Wars

2. Naval Power
In its early years,
Rome was not a
naval power.
The dominant naval power in the Mediterranean
was Carthage

3. Carthage was originally a Phoenician
colony.
The word: Punic is
the Latin word for
Phoenician.

4. The First Punic War
The First Punic War began in
Sicily, which was a
Carthaginian colony. In a
dispute between Syracuse and
Messina, Rome interfered on
the side of Messina and the
argument became a war.
Rome built up its navy so that
it could defeat Carthage and
won the war, gaining Sicily for
Rome.

5. The Second Punic War
The Second Punic
war began in what
is now Spain,
where Carthage
had built up a
base of power.

6. Hannibal Barca
The Carthaginian general Hannibal
Barca declared war on Rome and left
Spain with thousands of soldiers
and elephants and crossed the Alps
into Italy.
He met the Romans at the Battle of
Cannae and defeated them.

7. Rome invaded North
Africa, forcing Hannibal
to leave Italy to protect
Carthage’s North
African territories.
Hannibal met the
Roman General Scipio
at the Battle of Zama,
where the
Carthaginians were
defeated, losing the
Second Punic War and
placing Carthage in a
weak positions in
Rome.

8. The Third Punic War

9. The Third Punic War began in Numidia
Carthage declared
war on its neighbor
Numidia which
violated its treaty
with Rome.

10. Cato
The Roman Senator Cato
called for Carthage’s
destruction for many years.
When Carthage broke their
treaty with Rome he
influenced what became the
final defeat of Carthage.

11. The end of Carthage
Rome’s ships
surrounded Carthage
and its soldiers invaded
the city.
Carthage was defeated,
Rome seized its lands,
its citizens were made
slaves and the city of
Carthage that had
existed for 700 years
was destroyed.