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Punicus=Carthaginian

Carthage occupied the Sicilian town of Massana in 264 BC, after the Mamertines, a group of mercenaries, appealed to Carthage for help against Hiero II, king of Syracuse (a Sicilian city-state). This concerned Rome, since Massana is in the northeast corner of Sicili, very near the Greek towns of Italy which fell under Roman protection. Once the problem with Heiro II was solved, the Mamertines appealed to Rome for aid in fighting off the Carthaginians. Although the Senate was reluctant to oppose Carthage, the people pressed for action. So, when Appius Clodius Caudex crossed over into Sicily in 264, the First Punic War began.

Both Rome and Carthage had a desire to hold Messana; for Carthage, it would be an ideal port in their continuing dominance of the Mediterranean. For Rome, it would be an outpost in a strengthening land defense policy. Although the two powers had no quarrel before, they also had no shared racial or cultural heritage. Also, it would be inevitable that one nation would dominate.

In the first part of the war, Rome won the alliance of the town Hieron in north-east Sicili. This offensive was led by Claudius and Marcus Valerius Messalla in 263 BC. The Romans won further in 262 BC with the towns of Segesta and Agrigentum. Agrigentum was won after a long and costly siege. Since the Carthaginians fought fiercely at every stop, Rome decided that victory could only be achieved by controlling all of Sicili.

In order to control Sicili, Rome would have to win battles at sea; up to this point, Rome had no working navy. Unfortunately for Rome, the Carthaginians were descendants of the Phoenicians, who were masters of the seas. Rome nonetheless built 160 ships equipped with land bridges (corvi) that dropped onto enemy ships. This helped thwart naval skill of the enemy, and allowed Rome to use soldiers in a land battle on a ship. Rome managed to win supremacy of the seas, despite having many of their ships destroyed by storms- Rome had yet to figure out where to harbor ships. The Carthaginian leader, Hamilcar Barca, was cornered in Sicili, and surrendered in 241 BC. Before the next outbreak of war between the two states, Rome became involved with the Gauls in northern Italy, and Hamilcar Barca and Carthage had to quell a revolt of their own mercenaries.

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1. The First Punic War 264-241 BC
2. The Second Punic War 218-201 BC
3. The Third Punic War 149-146 BC