First Punic War facts for kids

War began in 264 BC

The First Punic War started in 264 BC. It lasted for 23 years, ending in 241 BC. It was the first of three wars fought between ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. They were rivals for trade and influence in the Mediterranean. For more than 20 years the two powers struggled for supremacy. Key areas were the island of Sicily and its surrounding waters, and also North Africa. Rome eventually won control of Sicily.

With the help of her own allies and rebels among the indigenous African allies of Carthage, Rome won the First Punic War after 23 years. In the end it became the dominant naval power of the Mediterranean. To get terms for peace, the Carthaginians had to pay a large amount of money (in silver), and give up a number of islands in the Mediterranean. They kept Sardinia and Corsica.

Images for kids

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  Polybius, ancient Greek historian
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  An aerial photograph of the remains of the naval base of the city of Carthage. The remains of the mercantile harbour are in the centre and those of the military harbour are bottom right. Before the war Carthage had the most powerful navy in the western Mediterranean.
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  Detail from the Ahenobarbus relief showing two Roman foot-soldiers from the second century BC
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  Continued Roman advance 260–256 BC

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  Roman attacks 253–251 BC
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  Denarius of C. Caecilius Metellus Caprarius, minted in 125 BC. The reverse depicts the triumph of his ancestor Lucius Caecilius Metellus, with the elephants he had captured at Panormus.

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  Roman attacks 250–249 BC
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  A fragment of the Fasti Triumphales, listing all of the Roman triumphators of the war.
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  Territory ceded to Rome by Carthage under the treaty is shown in pink

See also

In Spanish: Primera guerra púnica para niños