At the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC, Hannibal inflicted on Rome the worst defeat in its military historyīetween 50,000 and 70,000 Roman soldiers were killed or captured by a much smaller force. Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps took place in the Second Punic War in 218 BCĪccording to contemporary accounts, he took 38,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry and 38 elephants into the mountains and descended into Italy with about 20,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry and a handful of elephants. Hannibal’s father, Hamilcar Barca, commanded the city’s forces in the First Punic War 16. The flash point for the wars was the island of SicilyĪ dispute between the cities of Syracuse and Messina in 264 BC saw the two powers taking sides and a small local conflict turn into a battle for dominance of the Mediterranean. The well-preserved remains that are now a UNESCO World Heritage site include the Roman city that was established on the ruins of the original. Carthage is about 10km from Tunis, capital of Tunisia Their trade routes along the North African and European coasts of the Mediterranean made them a rival of Rome. The Phoenicians, originally from Lebanon, were known as successful sea traders and naval warriors. 3 Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage were fought between 264 BC and 146 BC Plebeians, small landowners and tradesmen, had few rights, while the aristocratic Patricians ruled the city, until the Conflict of the Orders between 494 BC and 287 BCE saw the Plebs win concessions by using withdrawal of labour and sometimes evacuation of the city. Rome was already a deeply hierarchical society The North African city state was soon to be its foe in over a century’s struggle for Mediterranean dominance. In the Pyrrhic War Rome allied with Carthage By 264 BC all of Italy was under Roman control. Their defeated Greek opponents had been believed to be the best in the ancient world. Victory in the Pyrrhic War in 275 BC made Rome dominant in Italy This model for integrating vanquished peoples was followed for most of Roman history. After victory in the Latin War, Rome granted citizens’ rights, short of voting, to its conquered foes The last, Tarquin the Proud, was deposed in 509 BC in a revolt lead by Lucius Junius Brutus, the founder of the Roman Republic. Tradition has it that Rome had seven kings before it became a republic Some 200 years after the conquest of Italy had been completed, he wrote 142 books on Rome’s early history, but only 54 survive as complete volumes. Almost the only source on this period of Roman history is Titus Livius or Livy (59 BC – 17 AD) Regiments of 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry were called legions and their foundation was ascribed to Romulus himself. From the start Rome had an organised military Packed with immigrating young men, the Romans needed female inhabitants and kidnapped Sabine women, sparking a war that ended with a truce and the two sides joining forces. The new city’s first conflict was with the Sabine people The story was included in the first history of the city, by the Greek writer Diocles of Peparethus, and the twins and their wolf step-mother were depicted on Rome’s first coins.
By the fourth century BC, the story was accepted by Romans who were proud of their warrior founder The name Romulus was probably invented to fit the name of the city he was said to have founded on the Palatine Hill before killing his twin.
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