The three wars fought in the 3rd and 2nd century bc between Rome and Carthage, so named from ‘Poenicus’ (‘Dark skin’ or ‘Phoenician’). The contest was for control of the Mediterranean Sea. Rome emerged as victor from each war.

The First (264–241 bc) was fought largely at sea. Rome expanded its navy and took control of Sicily. Corsica and Sardinia were seized a few years later. Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, led the defeated side. The Second (218–201) arose from Hannibal’s invasion of Italy from Carthaginian bases in Spain via the Alps. He led a huge force including elephant squadrons. Rome suffered disastrous defeats, most notably in the mists by Lake Trasimene and at Cannae. Italy was overrun by Hannibal but the Italian tribes did not rise against Rome. The strategy of the dictator Fabius prevented further losses. In a long-drawn-out series of campaigns Hannibal’s extended lines of supply were threatened by defeats in Sicily and Spain and the brilliant generalship of Scipio Africanus. Hasdrubal, Hannibal’s brother, was defeated on the Italian mainland in 207. By 203 Hannibal, who had no effective siege engines, was summoned to withdraw to Africa to defend Carthage itself, now threatened by Scipio. Pursued by Scipio he was defeated at Zama in 202 and the Carthaginians were forced to accept humiliating terms the following year. Spain was acquired as a provincial territory by Rome.

In 149 bc at a peak of its territorial expansion and at the insistence of Cato, Rome intervened in an African dispute to side with Numidia against Carthage. In the Third War (149–146) Scipio Aemilianus besieged and destroyed Carthage utterly, sowed the site with symbolic salt, and declared Africa a Roman province.