and a major victory in the Battle of Ecnomus in 256 B.C. when Rome interfered in a dispute on the Carthaginian-controlled island of Sicily; the war ended with Rome in control of both Sicily and Corsica and marked the empire’s emergence as a naval as well as a land power. In A.D. 80, Vespasian’s son Titus opened the Colosseum–officially known as © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. A brilliant lawyer and the first of his family to achieve Roman office, Cicero was one of the Located just east of the Roman Forum, the massive stone amphitheater known as the Colosseum was commissioned around A.D. 70-72 by Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty as a gift to the Roman people. The Greek historian Polybius, one of the main sources of information about the Punic Wars, was born around 200 B.C. Punic Wars, also called Carthaginian Wars, (264–146 bce), a series of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian (Punic) empire, resulting in the destruction of Carthage, the enslavement of its population, and Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean. The Romans conquer Saguntum from the Carthaginians.

SAGUNTUM — a town of ancient Spain, was situated where now stands the town of Murviedro, 18 m. NE. Hannibal’s losses in the Second Punic War effectively put an end to Carthage’s empire in the western Mediterranean, leaving Rome in control of Spain and allowing Carthage to retain only its territory in North Africa.

A friend of and mentor to Scipio Aemilianus, he was an eyewitness to the siege and destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C.In 264 B.C., Rome decided to intervene in a dispute on the western coast of the island of Sicily (then a Carthaginian province) involving an attack by soldiers from the city of Syracuse against the city of Messina.

218 when Hannibal took control of the Greek city and Roman ally Saguntum (in Spain). The Second Punic War broke out in B.C. He is best known for his debaucheries, political murders, persecution of Christians and a passion for music that led to the probably Greek philosophy and rhetoric moved fully into Latin for the first time in the speeches, letters and dialogues of Cicero (106-43 B.C.

and ending in Roman victory with the destruction of Carthage in 146 B.C. of Valencia; famous in history for its memorable siege by Hannibal in 219 B.C., which led to the Second Punic War … To navigate the timeline, click and drag it with your mouse, or click on the timeline overview on the bottom.

Despite his brilliant military prowess, his political skills and his As the first Roman emperor (though he never claimed the title for himself), Augustus led Rome’s transformation from republic to empire during the tumultuous years following the assassination of his great-uncle and adoptive father Julius Caesar.

the Roman fleet was able to win a decisive victory against the Carthaginians at sea, breaking their legendary naval superiority. Carthage was also forced to give up its fleet and pay a large indemnity to Rome in silver.The Third Punic War, by far the most controversial of the three conflicts between Rome and Carthage, was the result of efforts by Cato the Elder and other hawkish members of the Roman Senate to convince their colleagues that Carthage (even in its weakened state) was a continuing threat to Rome’s supremacy in the region. Since most of the remaining ancient sources covering this period are pro-Roman, one cannot rule out the possibility that Rome encouraged Saguntum to defy Hannibal.

Hannibal now had a base of operations from which he could supply his forces with food and extra troops. The Second Punic War begins.

Though its invasion of North Africa that same year ended in defeat, Rome refused to give up, and in 241 B.C. The First Punic War began in 264 B.C.