Rome Vs. Carthage

This piece of writing was based on the Roman Republic which was recommended by a friend for something to draw and write about. This post is an analysis of the Punic War, - Rome vs. Carthage, and how the generals fought the battles. The Second Punic War was a make-or-break moment for the Roman Republic, which was a very difficult time for Rome. The Carthaginian General Hannibal outmaneuvered the Roman Army- even with less men and left the Republic with a major defeat.

The Roman Army was highly developed even in the time of the early Republic, the Carthaginians were also organized, and they clashed in the decisive clash called the Punic Wars (there were three). The Roman army was very strong and was divided into Legions which were further divided into Maniples which consisted of 120 men. Ancient Historian found out that at least during the Early Republic the battles were on and off with short breaks in between. The Carthaginians had a tiered Citizenship system. The Roman Army had a particular type of organization, they were highly effective, and the Carthaginians ruled most of northern Africa.              

              The Roman Legion was broken down into smaller groups called ‘Maniples.’ The Roman Legion was organized by the code of the triplex acies which included maniples. “Maniples. Literally meaning ‘a handful’, a maniple (maniples) consisted of two centuries; a century (centuria) was 60 men strong.” (Cambell 18.) The Roman legion was heavily organized, and the Roman Legion was broken down into ‘10 manipulus’- 120 men each for the Hastati and Princepes- 60 each for Triarii. They included a centurion ‘centurio’ who was the leader of that group. There also was a younger officer called an Optio who also led the Maniples. The Maniples were used to cover the gaps in the first line of the legion. Ancient Roman Battles were very complex- and probably very scary for the enemy.

              Ancient Historians wrote that the enemies of Rome were quite scared of the Roman Empires’ fighting force, which only became more effective over time until the very end. According to historians, during the early republic period of the Roman Empire the ancient battles lasted from a few to many hours. Cambell wrote, “The lines of infantry was dominated by pauses and lulls, both natural and deliberate, during which the two sides would pull back from one another to recuperate (or swap out exhausted maniples for fresh ones in the Roman Case.” (Cambell 19.) The Roman army fought in brief pieces and went back to fighting after short breaks which is typically how battles were fought. Roman battles were extremely grueling pieces of affairs.

              The Carthaginians were one of the strongest rivals that the Romans ever fought and it was one of the biggest makes or break times of Roman history until the very end. The Carthaginians were descendants of the Libyo-Phoenicians who were originally from the Atlantic Coast of Morrocco through the borders of Egypt.  The author wrote about the Carthaginians, “they were at one full remove from full Carthaginian citizens and proved to be extremely useful as a source of manpower (Cambell 19.)” This shows that the Carthaginians valued army manpower, and they had a tiered citizenship system.

              The Carthaginians were Rome’s biggest threat until the very end of the Roman Empire-after 340AD- they caused the most significant reforms and winning the Punic Wars protected Rome from most of its troubles for the next ~500 years giving it a solid foundation. The Roman Empire gained a lot of safety by winning the Punic Wars defeating its biggest threat for much of its reign. The Roman Empire became a world-renowned power by successfully winning the Punic Wars and transitioned from a local power to being a great power.

 Citation:

 Cambell, D. (2018a). Roman Legionary Versus Carthaginian Warrior. Osprey Publishing.