First Punic War (jan 1, 264 BC – jan 1, 241 BC)

Description:

"Historians debate the reasons [Romans] were so successful [in building an empire]. Some view them as pathological predators among more peaceful neighbors, but the many wars in the Hellenistic period suggest that Rome’s neighbors were also quite militaristic. A newer view is that Rome was one warlike state among many, successful primarily because it incorporated allies as citizens, thus maintaining a large population base despite losses in war."

ROMANS VS. CARTHAGINIANS
"By the fourth century B.C.E., the Carthaginians began to expand their holdings. They had one of the largest navies in the Mediterranean and were wealthy enough to hire mercenaries to do much of their fighting. At the end of a long string of wars, the Carthaginians had created and defended a mercantile empire that stretched from western Sicily to the western end of the Mediterranean"

"The First Punic War lasted for twenty-three years (264–241 B.C.E.) and ended with the Romans in possession of Sicily, which became their first real province."

"In 238 B.C.E., the Romans took advantage of Carthaginian weakness to seize Sardinia and Corsica. The Carthaginians responded by expanding their holdings in Spain under the leadership of the commander Hamilcar Barca."

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