It is said that the historian tells you what happened, and the historical novelist tells you what it felt like. Kevin Hardy, in his book The Scipios in Spain seeks to do both! Several times he asks the reader to imagine what it was like to be a velite or a hastatus in the […]
What Role Did the Berbers Have in the Punic Wars Between Rome and Carthage?
August 15, 2024 By Leave a Comment
The Romans called the Berbers, the native peoples of North Africa Numidians, which meant nomads. They were distinct from the Carthaginians who were descended from Phoenician colonists. The Numidians provided the Carthaginians with mercenaries, and at the start of the Second Punic War in 218 B.C. both major tribes, the Masaesyli under King Syphax and […]
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 […]
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 […]
Quora Question: Did Cato the Elder Believe that the Destruction Was the Most Important Thing For Rome?
July 20, 2021 By Leave a Comment
It would be hard to say whether Cato the Elder thought that the destruction of Carthage was more important than anything else for Rome, but it was certainly a top priority for him. Cato was in his 80s at the time of the Third Punic War which began in 149 B.C. He was a veteran […]
Why Did Rome Spare the City of Carthage after the Second Punic War and then Destroy it Fifty Years Later?
September 14, 2019 By Leave a Comment
It was Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus who finally defeated Hannibal at the end of the Second Punic war. He imposed Roman terms on the city. They were generous terms in that they allowed Carthage autonomy with their own laws and government. The treaty forced Carthage to destroy all but five of their battleships, stop training […]
What Role Did the Berbers (Numidians) Play in the Destruction of Carthage?
August 26, 2019 By Leave a Comment
The Romans called the native peoples of North Africa Numidians, which meant nomads. They were distinct from the Carthaginians who were descended from Phoenician colonists. The Numidians provided the Carthaginians with mercenaries, and at the start of the Second Punic War in 218 B.C. both major tribes, the Masaesyli under King Syphax and the Massylii […]
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