In terms of the Iberian tribes, it probably was. Livy mentioned that in conquering New Carthage, Scipio acquired all of Carthage’s hostages, which he promptly returned to their respective tribes, and he also acquired a lot of gold and silver. He sent most of it to Rome for their treasury, and also paid bounties to […]
Was There Anything Carthage Could Have Done to Prevent its Destruction by Rome in the Third Punic War?
October 13, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Unfortunately for Carthage, there was no way to stop Rome from conquering and destroying Carthage. A year before the Romans declared war on Carthage, the Carthaginians had lost about 50,000 soldiers in a war with its Numidian neighbor Masinissa, so they were in a much-weakened position. The Romans were urged on by Marcus Porcius Cato, […]
What Happened to the Carthaginian Empire after The Battle of Zama?
August 26, 2022 By 2 Comments
After Hannibal’s defeat at Zama, Carthage was forced into a treaty on Roman terms. Scipio Africanus imposed an indemnity of ten thousand talents to be paid off over a fifty-year period. They lost all of their overseas territory and were confined to what is now Tunisia and perhaps part of what is now Libya. They […]
How Did Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Rise to Power
July 26, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus was born in 236 B.C., the scion of a family that had been influential in Roman politics for over two hundred years. In 218 B.C. his father was elected to Consul. His uncle Gneius had been Consul two years before. That year, Hannibal invaded Italy. The elder Scipio had gone to […]
What Happened to the Roman Aristocracy?
April 9, 2022 By Leave a Comment
Cornelius, Aemilius, Fabius, Claudius, Julius, Junius, Sempronius, and Livius were all prominent Romen gens until the first century B.C. What happened to them and why did they fade from prominence in Rome? Beginning with the conflict between Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Rome experienced intermittent civil wars throughout the first seventy years of the […]
Did Hannibal and Scipio Meet?
April 5, 2022 By Leave a Comment
According to Livy, Scipio and Hannibal met to negotiate just before the battle of Zama. Hannibal had sent spies to the Roman camp, and they were caught snooping around. Much to the shock of his underlings, Scipio told his tribune to release them and show them around the camp and answer any questions to their […]
Was The Third Punic War and the Destruction of Carthage Justified?
March 30, 2022 By Leave a Comment
I don’t feel that the genocide of Carthage was justified at the time. After the Battle of Zama at which Publius Cornelius Scipio defeated Hannibal, he imposed a treaty on Carthage which imposed a huge indemnity to be paid over a fifty-year period, and limited Carthage’s military activities to Africa and allowed them to make […]
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