Second Punic War Essay

50 years after the First Punic War, Carthage had paid off their entire 10,000 talent fee. They then believed that this meant that the treaty was expired. Numidia, an ally of Rome, had frequently raided Carthage because in the treaty Carthage had agreed not to retaliate. Carthage was outraged that the Numidians had been allowed to invade their nation, and in return, Carthage assembled a small army to attack Numidia without Roman permission. This was the opportunity Rome was waiting for. Though many Roman senators wanted harmony, or a good rationalization for confrontation, they couldn’t ignore the fact that Carthage had broken the treaty. This was the reason for war that they wanted. When Rome gained knowledge of this unauthorized violence they …show more content…
These two great generals fueled each others’ desire for victory. Both constantly plotted their tactics, honing them to what they thought was perfection, absolutely undefeatable. Their persistent aspirations pushed the war to a new intensity. The dreams of these commanders and others like them, such as Quintus Fabius, were a final reason that the Second Punic War begun.

The 17 year long explosion of unmatched brutality and genius that followed this bold proclamation smoldered to a halt in 201 BC. Rome, the champion for the second time, was able to tighten their already powerful grip over Carthage.

I feel that the Punic Wars were unnecessary and the outcome was appalling. On both the Roman and Carthaginian sides a myriad of presumably dignified, hardworking citizens were killed. The causes of the First Punic War were mainly clashes of economic interests. The main reasons for the Second or Hannibalic War were the ambition and pride of prominent military generals and a poorly configured political agreement. The Third Punic War was entirely avoidable was caused by Rome taking advantage of Carthage while they were weak. These were the main reasons for the Punic Wars.