Historiae Romanorum

The First Punic War

264-241 BC

Rome now controlled all of Italy, and it was the dominant power in the western Mediterranean on land.  Carthage controlled the territory to the south, including northern Africa and Sicily.  The power base of Carthage was far different than Rome's, however.  The Carthaginian Empire had been built upon her merchant fleet, and so Carthage's military strength was her navy.

Carthage's naval strength had further been increased when Rome and Carthage were fighting against Pyrrhus.  He was using the latest in naval technology, a larger version of the classic trireme.  The Carthaginians learned to copy this design and used it to make their own fleet much more formidable.  As powerful as the Romans were on land, the Carthaginians were every bit as powerful on sea.

The two empires first came into conflict in Sicily.  The Sicilian town of Messina had been taken over by a piratical gang from southern Italy, called the Mamertines.  The Mamertines began to raid Carthaginians merchant ships and soon had incurred the wrath of Carthage.  The Carthaginians laid siege to Messina.  Being Italian, the Mamertines turned to the Romans for help.  Many in Rome were anxious to expand their territory into Italy, and so they made an alliance with the pirates.

When a Roman army appeared at Messina in 264 BC, the confused Carthaginian army retreated back to Carthage.  The Carthaginians were humiliated; the general in charge of the army was killed, and a larger force was sent to take Messina.  This force was also defeated by the Romans.  The Romans then began a series of conquests in Sicily.  On land, the Carthaginians no longer opposed the Romans.  Instead, they used their powerful fleet to avoid the Romans and make hit and run raids upon their supply lines.

In order to defeat the Carthaginians, the Romans realized that they needed a fleet of their own.  In 260 BC, they built their own fleet of triremes (technically, quinqueremes), using a beached Carthaginian ship as a blueprint.  They were also heavily aided by their Greek allies in Syracuse.  The Romans, however, lacked experience in naval warfare, and they did not fare very well in several battles off the coast of Sicily.  The Romans then decided to employ tactics at sea which were better suited to their strengths.  Instead of attempting to ram enemy ships, the Romans packed their ships with marines and used a device called a corvus to board enemy ships.  With these tactics, the Romans were at least able to hole their own at sea.

With their new navy, the Romans take over most of Sicily.  Then, in 256 BC, a Roman army led by the consul Regulus invades Africa.  Within sight of the walls of Carthage, the Romans encountered a far superior army to those they had defeated in Sicily.  A large army, led by the Spartan Xanthipus, defeated the Romans and captured Regulus.  The rest of the army retreated, and while sailing back towards Sicily a large storm came and destroyed the rest of the fleet. The Romans lost an entire army.  Still, the resilient Romans sent a new invasion fleet in 254, which was also sunk by a storm.

By 250 BC, the Carthaginians were weary of war and had lost a great deal of their previous wealth and resources.  They sent Regulus, who had now been a prisoner for five years, back to Rome to negotiate the terms of peace.  Regulus on his part swore that he would return to Carthage upon the completion of his mission.  When he arrived in Rome, he went before the Senate and told them to continue the war and not make peace.  Then, he held true to his word and returned to Carthage, where he was tortured to death.

The Romans during the war so far had lost two fleets, and in 249 BC they lost their third.  Claudius Pulcher, now in charge of the Roman fleet, caught sight of a Carthaginian squadron.  As was the custom for the Romans, he performed the necessary auguries before battle.  At sea, this was to offer grain to chickens, and see if they would eat.  When this was performed, the chickens refused to eat.  Angry, Claudius Pulcher took the chickens and tossed them overboard, saying "If they will not eat, then let them drink!"  Claudius' fleet was then defeated by the Carthaginians.  When he returned to Rome, he was put on trial and fined heavily, not for losing the battle but for ignoring the will of the gods.

As the war dragged on, a new leader emerged for the Carthaginians in Syracuse.  Leading a predominately mercenary force, the general Hamilcar Barca begins to hold his own against the Roman armies.  Still, much like Pyrrhus before him, Hamilcar could not sustain his losses.  Rome had suffered many defeats (a Roman census indicates that Rome's population of males had decreased 20%), but still managed to field more armies and naval fleets.  Using a mercenary army, Hamilcar could not sustain his losses, and in 241 BC he was driven out of Sicily.

Hamilcar wanted to continue to fight in Africa, but with the native Africans revolting, as well as Carthage's own mercenary forces, he and the Carthaginians were forced to sue for peace.  Carthage was forced by Rome to pay a huge indemnity, as well as surrender all of western Sicily to the Romans.

This page was last updated on July 21, 2004.