The Punic Wars (264-146 BC) marked the beginning of Rome as a major political power. These three wars took place as a battle between the powerful Phoenician city-state Carthage and the “dominant power of the Italian peninsula” Rome (Punica 2015). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Before the start of the Punic Wars, Carthage, a Phoenician city-state located in North Africa, was a major military power, particularly in the navy. Carthage fought mainly against Greece and was peaceful with Rome at the time. They had several peace treaties between them and all was well until Rome overstepped its borders into the territory of Carthage (Punic 2015). The First Punic War (264-261 BC) began when Rome decided to get involved in a skirmish in Sicily, which was currently underway. Territory of Carthage. Rome brought in an army to resolve the dispute and Carthage interpreted it as an act of war. This war was over who would control the island of Sicily. Neither Carthage nor Rome successfully won the battle over Sicily by land, but Rome managed to reverse a naval defeat and take control of Sicily. Three years later, Rome attacked again before Carthage could recover and took control of two more Carthaginian territories, Sardinia and Corsica, ending the First Punic War. This angered General Hamilcar Barca of Carthage so much that he taught his son, Hannibal, to hate the Romans (SpeilVogel 2015). Decades passed before Rome and Carthage recovered enough to start again. Carthage replaced the territory it had lost by taking control of Spain under the general Hamilcar Barca. When Hamilcar died, he appointed his son Hannibal as general. The Second Punic War (218-201 BC) began two years later when Hannibal declared war on the Roman territory of Saguntum. Hannibal brought vast numbers of troops, horses, and elephants to wage war on the Romans. The Romans were vastly outnumbered and outmaneuvered as Hannibal remained undefeated in many battles. Rome, however, resisted and attacked Spain and North Africa under the general Scipio, reclaiming these territories and absorbing them into the Roman Republic. Hannibal had to turn back to defend these territories and suffered great losses in the process (Punico 2015). Hannibal killed himself rather than be captured and tortured to death by the Romans. The Second Punic War was over and the Carthaginian empire no longer existed. There was, however, a small skirmish started by the Romans which completely destroyed the Carthaginians. This was known as the Third Punic War (149-146 BC) even though it was not really a war. Carthage and Rome had signed a peace treaty and were in a period of rest until a politician named Cato began stirring the pot and arguing that Rome must destroy Carthage one and all. So the Romans looked for something to use against the Carthaginians to start another war and found a small skirmish being fought between Carthage and one of Rome's allies in North Africa. Rome used this dispute to say that Carthage broke the peace treaty and declared the third war on Carthage. Carthage was completely destroyed, even the soil was salted so that nothing could grow there anymore (SpeilVogel 2015). The Punic Wars were over. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The three Punic Wars, started by the Carthaginians and won by the Romans, ushered in a new political era in which the Roman Republic gradually transformed into the Roman Empire. Rome became next.