The Punic Wars were three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the Phoenician-founded power of North Africa, between 264 and 146 BCE. The first, mostly a naval struggle over Sicily, ended with Rome gaining the island and building its first great fleet. In the second, Hannibal led a Carthaginian army from Spain across the Alps into Italy and inflicted heavy defeats such as Cannae, before Scipio Africanus defeated him at Zama in 202 BCE. After a third war, Rome besieged and destroyed the city of Carthage in 146 BCE. The victory left Rome as the dominant power of the western Mediterranean and set it on the path to empire. The name Punic comes from the Latin word for Phoenician.
Before and after
- 276 BCEBirth of Eratosthenes
- from 274 BCE to 168 BCESyrian Wars
- c. 270s BCEAristarchus of Samos proposes that the Earth orbits the Sun
- from 267 BCE to 261 BCEChremonidean War
- from 264 BCE to 146 BCEPunic Wars
- from 264 BCE to 241 BCEFirst Punic War
- 261 BCEBattle of Agrigentum
- 259 BCEBirth of Qin Shi Huang
- 258 BCEBattle of Sulci
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 499 BCE to 449 BCEGreco-Persian Wars
- from 431 BCE to 404 BCEPeloponnesian War
- 335 BCEAlexander the Great crosses into Asia
- from 218 BCE to 201 BCESecond Punic War
- 217 BCEHannibal destroys the Roman army at Cannae
- from 59 BCE to 51 BCECaesar begins the conquest of Gaul
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 3rd century BCE.