WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Punic Wars were a series of conflicts fought between Carthage and Rome between 264 BCE and 146 BCE. The name Punic comes from the word Phoenician (Phoinix in the Greek, Poenus from Punicus in Latin) as applied to the citizens of Carthage, who were of Phoenician ethnicity.

Detailed explanation-2: -They were called the Punic Wars after Punicus, the Roman word for Phoenician. The First Punic War lasted more than 20 years, from 264 to 241 BCE. When the war began, the Carthaginians had a navy of several hundred ships, and Rome had no navy at all.

Detailed explanation-3: -The First Punic War was fought to establish control over the strategic islands of Corsica and Sicily. In 264 the Carthaginians intervened in a dispute between the two principal cities on the Sicilian east coast, Messana and Syracuse, and so established a presence on the island.

Detailed explanation-4: -All three wars were won by Rome, which subsequently emerged as the greatest military power in the Mediterranean Sea. The enmity of Carthage impelled Rome to build up its large army and to create a strong navy. The great military leaders of the war for Carthage were Hamilcar Barca and his sons Hasdrubal and Hannibal.