Long before the ancient Roman empire, a rival superpower looked set for supremacy
Before the Punic Wars, as Rome and Carthage edged towards conflict in the third century BC, the balance of power in the Mediterranean favoured the Carthaginians. But it was the upstart Romans who would be victorious
The ancient Romans would come to build one of the world’s mightiest empires, spanning continents and moulding the trajectory of much of Europe and the spaces around it.
But that wasn’t an outcome that always seemed likely. In the years before the start of the Punic Wars, which would eventually see the Romans emerge as the Mediterranean’s dominant force, it was a different power that seemed to hold the keys to the future: Carthage.
“In the middle of the third century BC, when the Punic Wars began, if you were going to take a bet on who was going to control the Mediterranean, you probably would not have bet on Rome.”
That’s the view of Professor Philip Freeman, stressing that the world Rome was emerging into was already crowded with established powers. How, then, did it take advantage of the situation? Speaking on the HistoryExtra podcast, Freeman set out the rivalry between Carthage and Rome and revealed how Rome’s imperial ambitions meant the Punic Wars were inevitable.
Ancient Carthage before Rome
“Carthage has a fascinating history,” explains Freeman.
“It was one of many different colonies that were founded by the Phoenicians, starting in about the year 1000 BC.”
The Phoenicians were expert sailors and merchants, and one of the earliest European powers. Rather than conquering large inland territories, they established a network of coastal settlements specifically designed to facilitate trade and spur commercial opportunities.
As Freeman emphasises, “they were not an empire in the sense of the Romans, or other empires. What they wanted to do was found trading posts.”
Over time, that strategy would go on to produce extraordinary wealth. Phoenician settlements spread along the north African coast, across southern Spain, and even beyond the Strait of Gibraltar. Their great cities included Rhodes, Leptis Magna, Tyre and Sidon. But it was Carthage that eclipsed its peers, transforming from a colony into what Freeman calls “the leading city of north Africa”.
By the third century BC, Carthage had become a hub of astonishing commerce, and a genuine Mediterranean superpower. Its strength lay in its maritime trade, financial prowess and control of key sea routes. It commanded colonies and client territories, and established long-standing treaties that bound much of the western Mediterranean into its economic orbit.
In contrast, Rome’s influence barely extended beyond the Italian peninsula.
Rome on the margins of the Mediterranean world
Rome was a different kind of power. It possessed formidable infantry armies but had little naval capacity – and no overseas empire.
From a contemporary perspective, Rome was just one power among many. Though it was arguably inferior to Carthage, there was a fundamental difference between the two.
“The Carthaginians, in general, did not have the great imperial ambitions that the Romans did,” explains Freeman.
Carthaginian power was commercial and strategic rather than territorial. Its leaders focused on protecting trade routes and ports rather than the permanent acquisition of new land.
On the other hand, “Rome was very much an expansive power. They were interested in empire and spreading their control over as much territory as they reasonably could.”
Sicily and the road to the Punic Wars
It was Sicily that would prove to be the flashpoint. Located between modern mainland Italy and north Africa, the island was of vital strategic importance – partly due to its abundant grain supplies.
“The Carthaginians controlled the north African coast, and they controlled Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica,” Freeman notes. “And that [Sicily] was next on the list for the Romans as they were expanding.”
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What began as a local dispute over control of Sicily escalated into Rome’s first major overseas war in 264 BC. This was unprecedented, and the Romans were forced to confront a maritime power that had already dominated Mediterranean waters for centuries.
By 146 BC, however, the picture was very different. Carthage had been destroyed and Rome stood as the leading power of the western Mediterranean.
But although Rome did achieve victory, it wasn’t inevitable. The Punic Wars oscillated between periods of ascendancy and advantage for both Rome and Carthage. The great Carthaginian war leader Hannibal, for example, nearly oversaw the complete destruction of Rome. At the battle of Cannae in 216 BC, his overwhelmed forces killed up to 50,000 Roman soldiers in a single day.
What was inevitable, says Freeman, was the outbreak of the wars themselves.
“I think the Punic Wars are an example of the ‘Thucydides Trap’.
“The concept, taken from the Greek historian Thucydides, says that when a rising power comes up against an older, established power, you are almost certainly going to have war. This is a situation that takes place again and again throughout history.”
Professor Philip Freeman was speaking to Rob Attar on the HistoryExtra podcast. Listen to the full conversation.
Authors
James Osborne is a digital content producer at HistoryExtra