In 149 BC, the Senate asked for 300 Carthaginian noble children as hostages, but it quickly revealed its intentions by declaring war on Carthage. Ultimately, the war ended in a decisive Roman victory and the utter destruction of Carthage as an independent state. Because of the peace treaty made between Rome and Carthage after the Second Punic War, Carthage was paying Rome 200 silver talents(1 Roman talent = 32 kilograms) every year for 50 years. The Punic Wars were a series of three ancient wars (from 264 to 146 BC) between the sea and commercial power of Carthage and the young Roman Empire, which emerged victorious from this conflict. Punic Wars, also called Carthaginian Wars, (264–146 bce), a series of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) empire, resulting in the destruction of Carthage, the enslavement of its population, and Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean. This war is the shortest of the three and seems to have been the final nail in the coffin of the Carthage Empire. Rome didn’t agree and saw the treaty as a guarantee of permanent Carthaginian obedience. Manilius decided to launch an attack on the Carthaginian commander Hasdrubal and led an expedition to Nepheris. The Roman Senate was probably secretly delighted that Carthage provided an excuse to go to war. By 150 BC, the Carthaginians were fed up with Numidian expansion, which incorporated old Carthaginian territory, so they attacked Numidia. This list may not reflect recent changes . The Third Punic War was something else entirely. The Start of the First Punic War 264 BC. The Third Punic War was the last major armed conflict between Rome and Carthage. Cato the Elder regularly finished speeches in the Senate by saying: “Furthermore, it is my opinion that Carthage must be destroyed.” However, Rome initially offered the pretense of diplomacy, but its leading citizens were adamant that war was inevitable. The Start of the Third Punic War 149 BC. With his genius, Hannibal Barca, though, gained much ground, but eventually lost to the Romans in this war. This prevented supplies from reaching the city and enabled the Roman army, led by Scipio Aemilianus (later known as Scipio Africanus the younger), to take over the city street by street. According to Appian, Manilius expected the enemy to be unarmed and was shocked by the scale of the resistance. With nothing to lose, Carthage held firm and recalled its 30,000 man army from the Numidian border and freed slaves to fight in the war. Battle of Mylae 260 BC. By the end of the war, Hispania was now no longer under Carthaginian rule, and … The Aftermath. In the years between the Second and Third Punic War, Rome was engaged in the conquest of the Hellenistic empires to the east (see Macedonian Wars, Illyrian Wars, and the Roman-Syrian War) and ruthlessly suppressing the Hispanian peoples in the west, although they had been essential to the Roman success in the Second Punic War. By 151 BC, Carthage had fully repaid its debt to Rome and believed the treaty of 201 BC had expired. The Carthaginians were a long-established seafaring people that controlled the western Mediterranean. Along with his fellow consul, Marcius Censorinus, Manilius tried to break the siege without much success. Third Punic War (149–146 BC) The Third Punic War was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage and the Roman Republic. The Third Punic War happened between 149 BC and 146 BC and it was the Romans on the offensive again. For the previous half century, Carthage was required to take all border disputes with Numidia to the Roman Senate which always found for the Numidians. It began in 149 B.C., and ended in 146 B.C., with Carthage’s destruction by Roman armies led by Publius Cornelius Scipio Emilianus, grandson of Scipio “the African”. Carthage offered fertile lands and easy booty in the event of another victory so when it invaded Numidia, Rome had no hesitation in declaring war. Background. Appian suggests that the entire fleet was almost destroyed in one stroke. To Carthage this meant they had fulfilled their obligations and were therefore no longer bound by the treaty – in particular the condition that forbade Carthage from raising an army without permis- sion from Rome. It would decide who ruled the Mediterranean. Carthage even stayed friendly with Rome and declared Hannibal an enemy of the state when he went on the run and fled to Antiochus III. 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