Why Did Rome and Carthage Fight?

A long time ago, over 2,000 years back, two big powers were growing stronger in the Mediterranean region: Rome and Carthage. Rome was expanding across Italy with its citizen army, while Carthage—founded by sea traders from Tyre (in today’s Lebanon)—had become rich and powerful thanks to its ships and overseas trade. Carthage controlled land in North Africa (now Tunisia), parts of Spain, and islands like Corsica and Sardinia. But soon, both Rome and Carthage became interested in the same place: Sicily.

Sicily was a very important island, and both sides wanted influence there. At first, Rome and Carthage had a few peace treaties to avoid trouble. But then came a group of wild warriors called the Mamertines—former soldiers who had taken over the city of Messina in northeastern Sicily. They were causing trouble for Syracuse, a strong city in the south. When the Syracusans attacked the Mamertines, the Mamertines first asked Carthage for help. But soon they feared the Carthaginians might take over, so they also asked Rome for help.

The Roman Senate wasn’t sure what to do. Some didn’t want to help such a sneaky group. But others said that if they didn’t act, Carthage could control all of Sicily and threaten Italy too. In the end, a Roman leader named Appius Claudius convinced the people that Rome should step in—partly because there could be lots of treasure and glory in it.

And so, in 264 BCE, Rome sent its army across the sea for the first time ever. This started a war that would last 23 years. It’s called the First Punic War (the people of Carthage were also known as Punics).

The fighting happened in many places:

• Around Messina and Agrigentum in Sicily.

• At Mylae, where Rome won its first naval victory thanks to a clever invention called the corvus—a kind of bridge that let Roman soldiers board enemy ships.

• In Africa, where a Roman general named Regulus led a daring but unlucky attack.

• At sea again, including the big defeat at Drepana in 249, and later the final victory at the Aegates Islands in 241.

The war ended with a peace treaty. Carthage had to leave Sicily and pay a lot of money. Rome now controlled most of Sicily, making it their first province outside Italy. Carthage also had to deal with a revolt from its own angry soldiers and lost Sardinia to Rome too.

Carthage wasn’t finished though. A great general named Hamilcar Barca went to Spain to rebuild their power. He started conquering land there and passed it on to his son—Hannibal—who would later become one of Rome’s greatest enemies in the Second Punic War.

One huge result of this war was that Rome became a sea power. Before this, they didn’t have a strong navy. But to beat Carthage, they built hundreds of warships. Their engineers even turned sea battles into land battles by letting soldiers fight on ships as if they were on land. This change helped Rome begin its journey to becoming the most powerful force in the Mediterranean.

So, the First Punic War was more than just a long fight—it was the beginning of Rome’s rise as a superpower, with ships, soldiers, and a hunger to conquer even more.