The Punic Wars in world history textbooks are the wars between Rome and Carthage in BC.
I don't think most people think of Carthage as a pinch.
Carthage is the name of the nation that was around Tunisia today, and held the hegemony of the Mediterranean Sea in place of Greece, which had been weakened since the Peloponnese War.
Its prints were broader than any nation that existed in the 3rd century BC and were the richest nations of the time.
National Carthage built by Phoenicians
The state of the Mediterranean Sea before the Punic Wars
English, French, Italian, German and Spanish all use the alphabet. I use it as a matter of course.
Was it the American who developed the alphabet? Or is it French? Or Greek or Roman?
The alphabet is said to have been created by the Phoenicians.
The Phoenicians have been good at maritime trade since ancient times. At that time, it was said that the cargo was marked so that the cargo would not be lost, and that mark became the later alphabet.
The Phoenicians were also agricultural people. It seems that the land of North Africa was not so desertified at this time, and the land of Carthage was a fertile land, and it was possible to harvest a lot of agricultural products.
As a result, the country was rich and its territory was expanded, covering most of the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, southern Spain, San Ludenha, Corsica and western Sicily.
The profits from abundant marine products, agricultural products and trade were all at once.
Alexander the Great created a large empire from what is now Greece to India, but was not hostile to the Phoenicians.
Instead, it was the Greek colonial cities that were hostile to the Phoenicians.
The Greeks tended to make a lot of small police. As represented by the development of the Laureion silver mine in Athens, it is rich in silver and sometimes competes with Carthage in terms of Mediterranean trade.
The presence of the Greeks, especially in Sicily, was a hindrance to Carthage.
Carthage controlled the western part of Sicily, but the eastern part was dominated by the Greek colonial city of Syracuse.
Rome unifying the Italian peninsula
Rome took about 500 years from its founding to unify the Italian peninsula.
For a while, the Gauls (Celts) were about to be destroyed, and it was difficult to fight the Samniums, and after the Pyrrhic War, Southern Italy managed to get it in their hands.
The so-called Italian Unification War Is.
The Punic War is a war between Carthage, which holds the hegemony of the Mediterranean Sea, and Rome, which has just unified Italy.
The trigger was Sicily, the stage was also Sicily
It all started when the Greek city of Syracuse on Sicily put pressure on Messina in northern Sicily.
At that time Rome was in an alliance with the city of Reggio in front of Messina.
Although not in an alliance with Messina, the people of Messina sought protection from Siracusa's pressure from Rome.
Rome decided to protect Messina. It is said that the reason was to prevent the growth of the Carthaginian forces. If Messina were to be acquired by Carthage, the command of the sea in southern Italy would be transferred to Carthage.
246 BC The Senate dispatches Consul Claudius Appius to protect Messina.
The Carthaginian fleet had already arrived at Messina by the time this prestigious consul, a descendant of Claudius Appius, who maintained the famous Appian Way, arrived at Reggio.
Claudius begins his journey to Messina with the Carthaginian fleet sideways. He formed an alliance with Messina, which stimulated Syracuse and Carthage at the same time.
Syracuse and Carthage joined hands to declare war on Rome.
Rome, on the other hand, swiftly attacked Syracuse like a lightning-fast fire. Syracuse was destroyed in an instant. And Rome will clash with the Carthaginian army in western Sicily.
Rome also destroys the Carthaginian army in an instant, but here it is the winter vacation.
It seems that it was customary in Rome not to engage in military operations in winter.
During this time, the Consul was replaced by Claudius with Manius Valerianus and Otatius Crassus.
What's a little interesting here is that Otatius Crassus wasn't from the prestigious Roman aristocrats, but from the Samnium tribe, who had been hostile to them a while ago. Rome's strength lies in its lack of racial discrimination. It doesn't matter what the ethnic origin is if it is a talented person.
After winter, the two consuls attacked Syracuse with almost all the power of Rome. Syracuse's tyrant, Hieron, did not choose to fight and exhaust his power.
Syracuse offers peace to Rome, and the two reach an alliance.
The purpose of Rome has been achieved. Messina and Syracuse became allies, and the command of the sea in the southern part of the Italian peninsula became that of Rome. Rome has begun preparing for the withdrawal.
But Carthage was not. It is not a Carthaginian that abandons Rome, which has a new base in Sicily. Carthage has sent as many as 40,000 troops to Sicily's Agrigento (now Agrigento).
Image source:http://italying.zening.info/map/Sicily-Island-Map.htm
Rome and Carthage came here and clashed. Famous overseas Battle of Agrigentum Is.
As a result, Rome won. The Carthaginian mercenaries fled.
Rome gains citizenship and is obliged to serve in the military. In other words, the army is its own.
On the other hand, in Carthage, its own people do not fight and are mainly mercenaries. It can be said that this divided the victory and defeat of the Punic Wars.
Rome will engage in large-scale looting in Agrigento. The inhabitants were enslaved from the edge and sold.
The limits of land battles and maritime battles
Rome took advantage of this momentum to attack Carthage, but it didn't work. This is because the Carthaginian side has the command of the sea in the Mediterranean Sea, and supplies and troops continue to be supplied from the sea.
The Roman side realized the limits of land warfare and decided to embark on a maritime war to cut off the supply of Carthage.
However, there was a big problem on the Roman side.
Although Rome boasts unrivaled strength in land battles, it has no experience in maritime battles.
It is not known exactly how much naval power was different between Carthage and Rome at that time.
One theory is that the Roman army could only build up to a three-tiered warship.
Three-tiered warship
On the other hand, it is said that the Carthaginian side could even build a five-tiered warship.
Simply put, the naval power was completely different. Rome was completely beaten up ( Battle of the Lipari Islands ).
The commander at this time was Gneus Cornelius Scipio, the grandfather of the legendary Scipio Africanus.
The Roman side was not just defeated. As a result of thinking about how to win, he developed a new weapon "Crow (Corvus)".
This allows the other party to invade the ship. The operation seemed to be a great success, and the Roman army succeeded in defeating Carthage greatly.
Rome won the battle off Mille, the Battle of Ecnomos, and the sea battles in quick succession.
As it is, the Roman side again invades the Carthaginian territory on the African continent and greatly defeats the Carthaginian army.
One-sided Roman dominance can be seen, but the Carthaginian side has not ended up losing. Organized a mercenary corps with Kusantipo from Sparta, who once became the champion of the Greek world as a military power, and succeeded in defeating the Roman side greatly (Battle of the Bagradas) ..
Regulus, the Roman consul at the time, was captured and taken prisoner.
Furthermore, the Roman army will experience a marine accident, which is said to be the worst marine accident in the history of the Mediterranean Sea. The crow had the drawback that the head of the ship became too heavy. Therefore, the ship was easy to overturn. It is said that 230 ships in Rome were 80 ships due to the marine accident, and 60,000 people were killed.
In the winter of the same year, the captive Regulus came to Rome as a peace messenger from the Carthaginian side. The peace condition on the Carthaginian side is that the entire Sicily island be a Carthaginian territory. Regulus was a proud man. Regulus insists on a thorough fight against Carthage at the Senate, and the Senate also decides to fight.
Regulus returns to Carthage and is executed.
It seems that his last moment was to be trapped in a barrel with a nail and let an elephant kick it.
A picture of Regils held by his family
Carthage's defeat
Carthage already felt like he had won. Kusantipo, who contributed to the victory, was also dismissed early.
One Rome was different. After rushing to build a ship and recovering troops, he attacked Panormus (now Palermo), an important base in Sicily, with the humiliating battle of defeat and the desperate Cornelius Scipio as consul. After a fierce battle, the Roman side wins.
As a result, the Carthaginian side lost an important base, leaving only three cities, Selinunte, Marsala, and Trapani, on Sicily. Somehow it gets dirty.
However, Rome causes a second marine accident here. This time I lost 150 ships.
Carthage is now on the offensive against Rome, which is depressed by this. Carthage greatly dispels Rome when it organizes elephant troops. However, after that, the Roman consul Metels, who planned the runaway of the elephant, got stuck and the elephant troops turned upside down to the moat.
The Sicilian front became muddy and fierce battles continued.
The Roman side lost momentum when it was defeated in the naval battle off Drepana. By this time, the population of Rome as a whole was declining, so we can see the magnitude of the damage on the Roman side.
In addition, the Carthaginian side will put the famous general Hamilcar Barca on the front line.
Hamilcar was a genius general, but at that time Carthage was not given enough troops because the non-war faction Hannon came into power. He must have been disgusted by the long-running war.
Hamilcar devised a strategy to bring it to peace in a long-term battle. The Hamilcar faction did not engage in a large-scale battle and continued to defend itself, finally losing to the Roman army.
After all, the Roman army stopped fighting Hamilcar on the way.
Hamilcar was on land, but Rome succeeded in attacking and defeating Marsala from the sea. Hamilcar had few troops and he was not enough to capture the city.
Carthage took command of Hannon himself and dispatched a large fleet of about 250 ships to regain Marsala, but the Roman army won the battle ( Battle off the Aegadian Islands ). ).
Carthage lost.
After the First Punic War
In the postwar peace treaty, the representative of Carthage is Hamilcar, and the representative of Rome is Consul Catullus. The contents of the peace are as follows.
・ Cartago permanently abandons sovereignty in Sicily
・ Cartago does not invade Roman friendly countries including Siracusa
・ Unconditional release of prisoners in both countries
Pay money
・ Rome guarantees Carthage's autonomy and independence
It was a total defeat of Carthage.
However, Rome at this time did not yet know that Carthage's failure to hold its breath here would later afflict the Roman side.
Thinking about the First Punic War
At the beginning of the battle, Carthage had an overwhelming advantage. Military power, economic power, technology.
It may have been the politics of both parties that decided the victory or defeat.
Rome was always coherent and commanded during the Punic Wars. The people were united and headed for Carthage.
On the other hand, in Carthage, the internal affairs led by Hannon and the main war sect led by Hamilcar could not unite. As a result, they pulled each other's legs, and the defeat on the Carthaginian side became decisive in the battle off the Aegadian Islands.
If Hamilcar was able to lead enough troops, the winner of the Punic Wars would have been Carthage and history might have changed.
But I think.
Carthage at that time was like a big Japanese company. It's a lot like a Japanese company that can't pull each other and create something new.