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Quinqueremes, meaning "five-oarsmen", [57] provided the workhorses of the Roman and Carthaginian fleets throughout the Punic Wars. [58] So ubiquitous was the type that Polybius uses it as a shorthand for "warship" in general. [59] A quinquereme carried a crew of 300: 280 oarsmen and 20 deck crew and officers. [60]
The Romans had already withdrawn to their winter quarters and were astonished by Hannibal's appearance. His surprise entry into the Italian peninsula led to the cancellation of Rome's planned invasion of Africa by an army under Longus. [34] The Carthaginians needed to obtain supplies of food, as they had exhausted their reserves.
The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Italy and Iberia, but also on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia and, towards the end of the war, in North Africa.
[79] He also reports that 3,000 Roman and allied infantry and 1,500 Roman and allied cavalry were taken prisoner by the Carthaginians. [79] Another 2,000 Roman fugitives were rounded up at the unfortified village of Cannae by Carthaginian cavalry commanded by Carthalo, 7,000 fell prisoner in the smaller Roman camp and 5,800 in the larger. [ 79 ]
The Roman and Carthaginian infantry engaged in the centre, while the cavalry fought on the flanks. However, the Romans gained the upper hand, and the Carthaginians retreated. [ 4 ] After this victory, the Romans marched south and in turn besieged Syracuse, but they had neither a strong enough force nor the secure supply lines to prosecute a ...
[5] [77] [78] In 206 BC, at the battle of Ilipa, Scipio with 48,000 men, half Italian and half Iberian, defeated a Carthaginian army of 54,500 men and 32 elephants. This sealed the fate of the Carthaginians in Iberia [5] [79] and the last Carthaginian-held city in the peninsula, Gades, defected to the Romans. [80]
The Carthaginians hoped to appease the Romans, but despite the Carthaginians surrendering all of their weapons, the Romans pressed on to besiege the city of Carthage. The Roman campaign suffered repeated setbacks through 149 BC, only alleviated by Scipio Aemilianus, a middle-ranking officer, distinguishing himself several times. A new Roman ...
However, it is possible that this number was larger than 103, thanks to captured ships and the assistance of Roman allies. [9] The Carthaginians anticipated victory, especially because of their superior experience at sea. [10] The corvi helped the Romans seize the first 30 Carthaginian ships that got close enough, including the Carthaginian ...