How did Rome win the First Punic War?

In 264 BC, Rome and Carthage went to war for the first time. This conflict, known as the First Punic War, would rage for over twenty years and have a significant impact on the course of Roman history.

The First Punic War was fought between Rome and Carthage, two powerful empires that dominated the western Mediterranean region.

Rome was a republic located in present-day Italy, while Carthage was an empire based in present-day Tunisia. 

The two states had different cultures, religions, and political systems. However, they were both expansionist powers with a strong desire to control important Mediterranean trade routes.

Rome and Carthage had been at peace for many years. However, as their spheres of influence grew close to each other, both sides became suspicious.

During the 3rd century BC, the Romans became had become concerned that Carthage might want control over southern Italy, while the Carthaginians feared Roman interference in their economic interests in Sicily.

The two cultures had made a series of treaties to protect their own regional power bases as a way to maintain the positive relations. 

However, this peace was threatened by Rome's and Carthage's increasing expansion into the Mediterranean.

In particular, both states began to expand their spheres of power in Sicily. 

There were a number of factors that led to the outbreak of war between Rome and Carthage.

One of the main causes was the issue of control over Sicily. This large island was located in a strategic position in the Mediterranean, and both Rome and Carthage had ambitions to rule it. 

Another cause was a series of disputes between Rome and Carthage over the city of Messana (now known as Messina) in Sicily. 

In 289 BC, a group of Italian mercenaries, called the Mamertines captured Messana, who then attacked other settlements in the area and capture ships sailing through the nearby strait in order to gain wealth.

The disruption in trade and the threat to regional stability angered the most powerful city in Sicily, called, who then attacked them.

The Mamertines, who were at a significant disadvantage, asked both Rome and Carthage for help in 265 BC.

Carthage accepted the request and, through diplomatic means, convinced Syracuse to back down.

As part of the agreement, Carthage sent a garrison of troops to control Messina.

Meanwhile, back in Rome, the Senate debated for considerable time over whether to accept the call for help from the Mamertines.

Some did not want to enter into conflict with the Carthaginians, while other saw an opportunity to gain wealth and expand Rome's territories.

The Senate could not reach an agreement, so they asked the Assembly to vote on what to do in 264 BC.

When hearing both sides, the Assembly voted to accept the Mamertines' request for help.

Two Roman armies landed in Sicily in 264 BC under the command of Appius Claudius Caudex. 

When the Mamertines heard of their arrival, they forced the Carthaginian garrison from the city and accepted the Roman forces.

The arrival of Roman troops in Sicily was seen as a clear act of war against both the Carthaginians and the Syracusans. The First Punic War had begun.

With the outbreak of the conflict the two sides had clear strengths and weaknesses, which they each tried to exploit.

Rome had a lot of experience in land warfare during their expansion across Italy for the last 200 years.

However, they had no real navy to speak of, and were vulnerable on the oceans.

In comparison, Carthage had centuries of experience on the seas and boasted a formidable fleet which had been protecting its trade routes for centuries.

However, they did not have a standing army and relied on paid mercenaries to fight on land on their behalf.

Realising their disadvantage on land, the Carthaginians marched their Sicilian forces back to the west of Sicily, which left the Romans to march on Syracuse.

Abandoned by his Carthaginian allies, the ruler of Syracuse, Hiero II, declare peace with Rome in 263 BC and joined their side in the war.

In the same year, Rome sent 40,000 more soldiers to Sicily where they captured more Carthaginian territory as they marched towards the west of the island.

In preparation for the Roman land attack, Carthage had increased its mercenary forces at the key city of Agrigentum.

However, at the Battle of Agrigentum in 262 BC, the Carthaginians were defeated by the Romans and the city was captured.

This was the first large-scale land battle of the war and Rome's superiority on land combat was evident.

After their capture of Agrigentum, the Romans sacked the city, which was used as a warning to other Sicilian cities to defect from Carthage if they didn't want the same treatment.

This tactic had some success, as the major city of Segesta decided to join the Romans. 

However, the war entered a stalemate by 261 BC because Carthage realised that, despite the losses on land, Rome remained at a disadvantage.

Carthage's ships still dominated on the waters, which meant that Roman troops would never be able to land in north Africa and threaten them.

All Carthage needed to do was to continually supply their remaining garrisons in Sicily through constant food convoys and reinforcements, and Rome would simply be contained on the island.

However, Rome also realised that the war would not progress unless they could cut off Carthage's supply route to its army from the sea.

In order to do this, the Roman people knew that they had to invest in a new navy. They had to learn the skills required to build a massive fleet, capable of rivaling Carthage's, as well as train thousands of men to operate the vessels.

The Romans, lacking much naval combat experience at this point, copied Carthaginian ship design from a vessel that had been wrecked on a beach during the war. 

By 260 BC, the Romans had created a fleet of 20 triremes and 100 quinquereme warships in only 60 days. Quinqueremes were the most advance craft of their time, and Carthage had been using them for decades. 

These ships had about 300 rowers, arranged in five groups, and could carry an additional 120 soldiers on board for attacking enemy crews in hand-to-hand combat.

Despite copying the ship design, the Romans did add an innovation to their new ships called a corvus.

A corvus was a large wooden plank with a metal spike on the end that was used to board enemy ships.

It was to be used when two ships were next to each other. The corvus could be dropped down and the metal spike would pin them together, allowing Rome's superior soldiers to rush onto the enemy vessel and capture it.

Essentially, the corvus allowed the Romans to turn sea combat into land combat, thereby playing to their strengths. 

The use of this new innovation helped the Romans to gain an advantage in naval battles.

Unfortunately, the additional weight added by a corvus made Roman ships top-heavy and increased the chances that they would sink in rough and windy weather.

With their new ships and crew ready, the Romans sailed out to match the Carthaginians at their own game.

The Battle of Mylae was an important naval engagement that took place in 260 BC.

The Roman fleet, under consul Gaius Duilius, defeated the Carthaginian navy. It was a significant moment in the war as it marked both the successful introduction of the corvus in battle and the first time Rome had beaten the Carthaginians in naval combat.

The next significant battle was the Battle of Ecnomus, which was fought in 256 BC. Still considered one of the largest naval battles in history, it saw 300 Roman ships face off against 350 Carthaginian ships.

The Romans were victorious, defeating a Carthaginian fleet off the coast of Sicily by sinking 30 enemy ships and capturing another 64. The last two battles showed that Carthaginians did not know how to counteract the corvus.

Following this achievement, the Romans now had some control over the oceans and could begin to consider ferrying land troops to north Africa, where they could threaten the Carthaginian homelands.

Roman consul Marcus Regulus Atilius landed with 15,000 soldiers and 500 cavalry on in North Africa where he quickly won a major land battle south of Tunis.

The Roman commander took control of the city and, in 255 BC, peace talks between the two sides began.

However, they quickly broke down after the Roman commander made excessive demands, including for Carthage to give up Sicily entirely.

Following the fall of Tunis to the Romans, Carthage realised that they were not as strong on land as the Romans and sought outside help to rectify this.

They hired a Spartan commander called Xanthippus to lead their land troops. Xanthippus used his experience to train the Carthaginian troops and change their tactics.

He also incorporated elephants into the army for the first time

In 255 BC, a Carthaginian army led by Xanthippus defeated the Romans under Regulus at the Battle of Bagradas River, driving them out of Africa.

The use of elephants was devastating against the Roman soldiers and only 2000 of the 15,000 soldiers managed to escape the slaughter.

This victory proved that the Carthaginians could adapt to warfare in the same way that the Romans had. Carthage now had a formidable land strategy. 

As Regulus' remaining men tried to escape on their ships, the fleet was hit by a storm and over 100,000 Roman men, both soldiers and sailors, died.

This was considered to be one of the worst naval disasters in Roman history. 

Marcus Atilius Regulus had been captured following the defeat at Bagradas River. However, the Carthaginians thought they could use him to negotiate an end to the war.

They made him promise that if they allowed him to travel back to Rome and convince the Senate to agree to a ceasefire, then he had to return to Carthage as a prisoner.

Regulus agreed, but when he returned to Rome, he encouraged the Senate to not give up on the war.

Then, as an example of Roman integrity, he remained true to his promise to Carthage, and returned to captivity in northern Africa. 

As punishment for his actions, the Carthaginians put him to death.

With the failure to invade north Africa, Rome shifted its focus back to Sicily. The Carthaginians were still cornered on the western edge of the island, but held the important cities of Drepana and Lilybaeum.

However, the Romans faced supply issues after a series of naval disasters. Firstly, they lost another fleet due to a storm at Cape Palinurus in 253 BC, and they suffered a naval defeat off Drepana in 249 BC.

Without control of the seas, the Romans could not capture the key Carthaginian cities in Sicily. Once more, the war was at a stalemate with neither side able to get the upper hand.

Then, in 247 BC, a new Carthaginian commander, called Hamilcar Barca, was placed in command and he began achieving more victories for his forces.

He used guerilla tactics to raid Roman territories in southern Italy before landing back in Sicily.

By 242 BC, the Roman government was running out of money and could no longer afford the high cost of maintaining their fleets.

The attacks in southern Italy had also devastated some income streams and they were at genuine risk of having to surrender.

To avoid this outcome, the Senate turned to the wealthy citizens of Rome and asked for private donations.

Surprisingly, a lot of wealthy families did contribute, and Rome was able to build another brand new 200-ship fleet. This new fleet was under the command of Gaius Lutatius Catulus.

This new naval force proved to be the decisive factor late in the war. The Roman fleet sailed to the western coast of Sicily and blockaded the ports of Drepana and Lilybaeum.

This effectively cut off the Carthaginian forces from crucial reinforcements and supplies.

Rome now had to simply starve the defenders out to capture the final enemy positions in Sicily.

In 241 BC, Carthage made one last attempt to break the blockade and get supplies to their soldiers by sending a massive fleet to Sicily.

However, the Roman ships intercepted them and won a brilliant naval victory at the Aegates Islands.

The Romans destroyed 50 Carthaginian ships, captured 70 more, and took 10,000 Carthaginian soldiers prisoner.

The size of this loss after decades of constant warfare, meant that the Carthaginians had to surrender. The First Punic War was over.

In the aftermath of the war, Rome demanded that Carthage had to give up Sicily entirely. Sicily also became the Romans' first foreign colony.

Corsica and Sardinia soon fell under Roman domination as well when Rome seized these islands in 238 BC, after a revolt in Carthage.

They also had to agree to pay a large fine, paid in silver. Over the next decade, Carthage was forced to pay Rome 3200 talents of silver as payment for the war. 

This was a huge blow to Carthage, both economically and militarily.

Over the following decades, the devastating economic position the Carthaginians were left in caused uprisings and revolts in their territories.

There would be ongoing struggles in Carthaginian society as they tried to find ways to regain their power and influence to avoid further conflicts with Rome.