50 Fun Facts About The Punic Wars

Between which years were the three Punic Wars fought?

That is 43 years of actual fighting spread over more than a century, plus a four-year revolt against Carthage.

The word 'Punic' comes from a Latin adjective meaning what?

Carthage began as a Phoenician colony and grew into an empire.

Who is the most reliable ancient source for the Punic Wars?

The Greek was sent to Rome as a hostage in 167 BC and interviewed participants on both sides; Livy relied heavily on him.

At the start of the First Punic War, what did Rome conspicuously lack?

Carthage, by contrast, was the dominant maritime power of the western Mediterranean.

Control of which Sicilian city-state sparked the First Punic War in 264 BC?

Modern Messina; the Romans gained a foothold there and then pressed Syracuse into alliance.

What did the Romans use as a blueprint for their first fleet of quinqueremes in 260 BC?

Their early copies were heavier, slower and less manoeuvrable than the originals.

What was the corvus?

The 11-metre bridge let legionaries board enemy ships instead of ramming, but made ships top-heavy in rough seas.

How large was the crew of a quinquereme?

That was 280 oarsmen and 20 deck crew and officers, plus 40 marines, or up to 120 if battle loomed.

The Romans' first major naval victory, using the corvus, came at which battle in 260 BC?

They then seized a base on Corsica but were repulsed from Sardinia.

Which 256 BC battle is possibly the largest naval battle in history by number of combatants?

It was fought off the island's south coast as the Carthaginians tried to intercept the Roman invasion of Africa.

Which Spartan mercenary led the Carthaginian force that crushed the Romans at Tunis in 255 BC?

He had been put in charge of training the Carthaginian army; infantry, cavalry and elephants routed the invaders.

How many men did Rome lose when a storm wrecked its fleet returning from Africa in 255 BC?

The corvus may have made the ships unseaworthy; there is no record of it being used again.

Why did the Romans avoid battle on the island in 252 and 251 BC, according to the main source?

In 250 BC they drove the elephants off with javelins outside Panormus and the beasts routed through their own infantry.

Which battle was Carthage's greatest naval victory of the First Punic War?

After it and Phintias, Rome was all but swept from the sea for seven years.

How did Rome finance the fleet that won the First Punic War in 243 BC?

The loans were repayable from the reparations Carthage would owe once the war was won.

The First Punic War ended with a Carthaginian naval defeat where in 241 BC?

The Treaty of Lutatius followed: 3,200 talents of silver and Rome's first overseas province.

What became Rome's first province under the treaty ending the First Punic War?

The Greek historian who is our main source called it the longest, most continuous and most severely contested war known to him.

By how much had Rome's adult male citizen population fallen during the First Punic War?

Goldsworthy calls the manpower losses appalling; Carthage was refused a 2,000-talent loan by Egypt.

What was the Mercenary War that broke out in 241 BC?

It began over wages owed to 20,000 troops; 70,000 oppressed Africans joined them, and it turned savage.

Which two islands did Rome seize from Carthage in 237 BC, an act called 'contrary to all justice'?

Rome also demanded a further 1,200 talents; the grievance helped cause the Second Punic War.

Which Carthaginian general built a new power base in Iberia from 237 BC?

Hannibal's father won silver mines, manpower and shipyards; his son-in-law Hasdrubal and then Hannibal succeeded him.

Which river did the 226 BC treaty set as the northern limit of Carthaginian Iberia?

Rome then made a separate deal with a city well south of the line, which Hannibal would attack in 219 BC.

Hannibal's capture of which city in 219 BC led Rome to declare war?

Historians still debate whether he was deliberately provoking Rome or Rome was seeking a pretext.

How many days did Hannibal's army take to cross the Alps?

It arrived in Piedmont in early November 218 BC with 20,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and the surviving elephants.

How many elephants did Hannibal set out from Iberia with?

An unknown number survived the Alps; at Zama, years later, Carthage fielded 80.

Hannibal set out in 218 BC from New Carthage, which is which modern Spanish city?

Scipio would capture the lightly defended city in a carefully planned assault in 209 BC.

How did Hannibal lose the sight of his right eye in 217 BC?

He also lost a large part of his force in the marshy lowlands.

At which lake did Hannibal ambush and destroy a Roman army in 217 BC?

15,000 Romans died including their commander, and 15,000 were captured; allied prisoners were released.

Whom did Rome appoint dictator in 217 BC, with a strategy of avoiding battle?

His surname Cunctator means the Delayer; the strategy was unpopular while Italy was being devastated.

How large was the Roman force raised for the Cannae campaign in 216 BC?

It was the largest army in Roman history to that point.

At Cannae, how did Hannibal trap the Roman legions?

The cavalry under another Hasdrubal then hit the legions from behind; at least 67,500 Romans were killed or captured.

At least how many Romans were killed or captured at Cannae?

Richard Miles calls it Rome's greatest military disaster.

Which large city and which major port defected to Hannibal after Cannae?

By 214 BC most of southern Italy had turned, but the new allies supplied few troops.

Which Macedonian king allied with Hannibal in 216 BC?

The First Macedonian War ended in a negotiated peace in 205 BC after Rome allied with the Aetolian League.

Which famous inventor was killed when the Romans took Syracuse in 212 BC?

His war machines had frustrated Roman siege methods; the city had defected to Carthage after Hiero II died.

How did the Romans raise new legions after Cannae?

By 212 BC they were fielding 22 legions, well over a hundred thousand men plus as many allies.

Which battle in 207 BC killed Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal after his own Alpine crossing?

The consul Claudius Nero marched north in secret while Hannibal was tricked into thinking his army had stayed put.

Which Roman captured New Carthage in 209 BC and later won at Ilipa?

He seized gold, silver and siege artillery, released the population and freed the Iberian hostages.

Which Numidian prince, disinherited by Carthage, joined Scipio in Africa?

His cavalry proved decisive, and he later captured the rival king Syphax at Cirta.

In what month and year was the battle of Zama fought?

Unusually, Rome had the better cavalry and Carthage the more infantry.

How many elephants did Hannibal use at Zama?

The Romans countered them and they routed back through the Carthaginian ranks.

To how many warships was Carthage limited by the 201 BC treaty?

It also paid 10,000 talents over 50 years, gave up its elephants and needed Rome's permission to fight in Africa.

What agnomen did Scipio receive after defeating Hannibal?

He was also awarded a triumph.

Which Roman senator ended his speeches with 'Carthage must be destroyed'?

Carthago delenda est became his catchphrase in the years before the Third Punic War.

What did Rome demand of Carthage in 149 BC after it had handed over its weapons?

Carthage had already delivered 200,000 sets of armour and 2,000 catapults; it broke off talks and rearmed.

Who took command of the siege of Carthage in 147 BC?

The adopted grandson of Hannibal's conqueror built a mole to cut the city off from the sea.

How many days did it take the Romans to clear Carthage of resistance in 146 BC?

Only on the last day were prisoners taken; 50,000 survivors were sold into slavery.

What is the truth about the story that Rome sowed Carthage's ruins with salt?

The Senate did place a curse on anyone who tried to resettle the site.

What became the capital of the new Roman province of Africa?

Carthage itself was rebuilt as a Roman city a century later by Julius Caesar.

In which year did the mayors of Rome and Carthage sign a symbolic peace treaty?

The ruins of Carthage lie about 24 kilometres east of Tunis.