what advantages did the carthaginians have? Of a city population that may have exceeded a quarter of a million, only 50,000 remained at the final surrender. The failure of the elephant charge can likely be explained by a trio of factors, with the first two being well documented and most important. This victory, by giving the Romans undisputed command of the sea, rendered certain the ultimate fall of the Punic strongholds in Sicily. Express the thought of each sentence below in no more than four words. First Punic War | Definition, Summary, & Facts | Britannica stable before this time, with Carthage being most powerfull, the romans wanted more power and recognition, so they used war to get this. In land battles, after an initial round of skirmishes involving light cavalry, the Carthaginian army attacked the enemy head-on with heavy infantry, much like the Greeks had been doing for centuries with the phalanx (a line of tightly grouped hoplites protecting each other with their shields). Why did Carthage want Sicily? - Heimduo Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Corbita SailingJan van der Crabben (CC BY-NC-SA). The Mamertini, a band of Campanian mercenaries, had forcibly established themselves within the town and were being hard pressed in 264 by Hieron II of Syracuse. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. if you were a roman citizen reading this description, how would you feel? Carthage was a sea power so therefore it had a naval advantage over Rome, until the Romans caught up, that is. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. There was a small elite Carthaginian army known as the Sacred Band and composed of 2,000 hoplites, but most of the city's military requirements were met by mercenary armies. Hannibal, he gathered 46,000 men, many horses, and 37 elephants. Temples were built in their honour, ceremonies were overseen by a priestly class, sacrifices were made to appease them, and their imagery appeared on ships, coins, and in the arts. The most important Carthaginian deity was Melqart, patron and protector of the city of Tyre and perhaps given a similar role in early Carthage. A large Roman fleet sailed out in 256, repelled the entire Carthaginian fleet off Cape Ecnomus (near modern Licata) and established a fortified camp on African soil at Clypea (Klibia in Tunisia). Carthage was founded by the Phoenician city of Tyre in 813 BCE as a handy location along western Mediterranean trade routes, and the colony would go on to prosper and found its own colonies, eventually taking over the old Phoenician network too. The only noteworthy feature of the ensuing campaigns is the skillful guerrilla war waged by a new Carthaginian commander, Hamilcar Barca, from his strong positions on Mt. Baal had many other incarnations, or perhaps even separate deities under that name: Baal Iddir, Baal Marqod, Baal Oz, Baal Qarnem, Baal Sapon, and Baal Shamin. Punic Stele with Goddess TanitCarole Raddato (CC BY-NC-SA). This strategy could be countered by spreading one's ships as wide as possible but not too much so as to allow a diekplous attack. Some of Scipios Roman forces were reinvigorated veterans from Cannae who sought redemption from that disgraceful defeat. crossing the alps with 40,000men and 37 elephants, almost all died. We contribute a share of our revenue to remove carbon from the atmosphere and we offset our team's carbon footprint. Nevertheless, its commercial enterprises expanded rapidly in the 2nd century bce, exciting the envy of Romes growing mercantile community. Scipio was awarded the surname Africanus in tribute of his victory. A committee of 10 senators was responsible for state religious matters. War could not be conducted without divine sanction. what advantages did the carthaginians have - Brainly.com Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. To avoid complete humiliation Carthage had no resource but to humiliate its adversary. World History Encyclopedia, 16 Jun 2016. Some revisions are not of actual mistakes, but will improve the clarity of the writing. They didn't revolt. In addition, the Carthaginians were not averse to equipping themselves with the arms and armour of their fallen enemies. The prolonged prosperity of the city during much of its history, based as it was on the labour of others, was probably the most significant reason why the citizens of Carthage acquiesced to rule by an elite aristocracy. Roman Empire(Summer Assignment) Flashcards | Quizlet This was an elite group of 2,500-3,000 infantry soldiers identified by their white shields and known as the Sacred Band. Aubet also notes that the cemeteries of Punic cities do not contain the remains of young children, suggesting that all children, no matter the cause of death, were buried within the tophet. His defiant policy was too popular to be disavowed, however. -the laws showed the internal flaws of the government In practice just how many ordinary citizens could afford not to work and participate in politics is debatable, and there may even have been a minimum wealth qualification. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Priests may have controlled education, of which we know very little, and also the libraries we know existed at the time of Carthage's destruction in 146 BCE. Further, on closer inspection, it is notable that all of the literary references to human sacrifice suggest that it was necessary only in times of great danger to the state such as wars, plagues, and natural disasters, and was not an everyday practice. Scipio made the blockade stringent by walling off the isthmus on which the town lay and by cutting off its sources of supplies from overseas. One particular inscription, which notes a slave paying for his own dedication at a temple, implies that some slaves, at least, were able to accumulate their own money from their activities. In the ancient world, the Phoenicians and Carthaginians earned a bloody reputation for frequent child sacrifice, but some historians have questioned the scale of this practice. Cartwright, M. (2016, July 13). Third, the loud shouts and blaring trumpets of the Romans may have disconcerted the elephants, some of which swerved to the side early in the battle and instead attacked their own infantry, causing chaos on the front line of Hannibals recruits. As part of the city beautification project, residents were asked to remove litter and___ from the roadsides and vacant lots. Positioning a fleet with one flank protected by a shoreline could also help counter a periplous manoeuvre, especially from a more numerous enemy. In 264 the Carthaginians intervened in a dispute between the two principal cities on the . Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Carthaginian_Religion/. There are also tales of prisoners being executed en masse, sometimes imaginatively as in one case where elephants were used to trample the unarmed captives. Accordingly, sacrifices were made to the Punic gods before key battles in order to ensure their favour and ultimate victory. In response to this threat hundreds of noble children were sacrificed. The Romans crushed the soldiers of the first line and then those of the second. Operations began with a joint attack upon Messana, which the Romans easily repelled. Even in Phoenician/Punic mythology, where the god El sacrifices his son Ieud, it is to save his country from collapse. Hannibal Barca BustCarole Raddato (CC BY-SA). Aside from naval battles, the Carthaginian fleet was also vital for transporting armies, resupplying them by providing an escort for transport ships, coastal raids, attacking enemy supply ships, blockading enemy ports, and relieving Carthaginian forces when they were themselves besieged. The origin of these conflicts is to be found in the position which Rome acquired, about 275 bce, as leader and protector of all Italy. Accordingly they equipped a new army in which, by the advice of a Greek captain of mercenaries named Xanthippus, cavalry and elephants formed the strongest arm. More certain is that the Carthaginian religion continued, beyond the Roman destruction of the city, to be practised, sometimes under different names, perhaps more clandestinely than previously, but very often at the same temple sites as before. (barricades; debris). The First Punic War was fought to establish control over the strategic islands of Corsica and Sicily. Similarly, the Phoenician gods Eshmun (an equivalent of Adonis but also identified as Asclepius by the Greeks, suggesting he had an association with healing at Carthage), Reshef (the god of fire and lightning, linked to Apollo by the Greeks), and Rasap (associated with warfare) were worshipped at Carthage but again with slightly different connotations such as Reshef (a form of Rasap) and Shadrap (associated with snakes and healing). Tanit, Carthaginian Electrum CoinThe British Museum (Copyright). In another example, Diodorus describes the Carthaginian general Hamilcar sacrificing a child during the siege of Agrigento in the 5th century BCE when the defenders were suffering from a fatal outbreak of disease. Attempts to ram enemy ships could be made in two ways. Conclusively ending the Second Punic War with a decisive Roman victory, the Battle of Zama must be considered one of the most important battles in ancient history. It is a debatable point whether his attack contravened the new treaty. Polytheistic in nature, such important Phoenician gods as Melqart and Baal were worshipped in the colony alongside new ones such as Tanit. The Carthaginians had the advantage in skill and numbers at sea. It was one of the greatest military feats in history. are there any other examples to support his claim? World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. Why did the carthaginians create a powerful navy? World History Encyclopedia. Hannibal escaped from the battle and went to his estates in the east near Hadrumetum for some time before he returned to Carthage. Carthaginian Society. Just how many slaves were at Carthage can only be guessed at as richer citizens would have had many and poor citizens probably not even one. Child sacrifice did occur at Carthage, as it did in many other ancient cultures, but the physical evidence of the scale of such a practice does not seem to match the long-held infamous reputation the Phoenicians and Carthaginians have suffered from since antiquity. what advantages did the carthaginians have? Cartwright, Mark. The Roman fleet of 145 ships defeated the Carthaginian fleet of 130 ships which had not even bothered to form battle lines, so confident were they of victory against the untested Roman sailors. (like the persian emipire) its how the earth balances itself out, writing and publicly displaying laws (twelve tables), republican government, but the plebeians demanded it. In 242 Rome resumed operations at sea. Although both countries were comparable in military power and economic strength the two nations had different military advantages: Carthage had a strong naval power while Rome had almost no naval power, but had a stronger ground force.