A Companion to the Punic Wars

A Companion to the Punic Wars offers a comprehensive new survey of the three wars fought between Rome and Carthage between 264 and 146 BC.

• Offers a broad survey of the Punic Wars from a variety of perspectives
• Features contributions from an outstanding cast of international scholars with unrivalled expertise
• Includes chapters on military and naval techniques, strategies, logistics, and Hannibal as a charismatic general and leader
• Gives balanced coverage of both Carthage and Rome

List of Tables viii

List of Maps ix

Notes on Contributors x

List of Abbreviations xvi

Introduction: The Punic Wars 1
Dexter Hoyos

Part I Background and Sources 7

1 The Rise of Rome to 264 9
John Serrati

2 Early Relations between Rome and Carthage 28
Barbara Scardigli

3 The Rise of Carthage to 264 39
Walter Ameling

4 Manpower and Food Supply in the First and Second Punic Wars 58
Paul Erdkamp

5 Phalanx and Legion: the “Face” of Punic War Battle 77
Sam Koon

6 Polybius and the Punic Wars 95
Craige B. Champion

7 Principal Literary Sources for the Punic Wars (apart from Polybius) 111
Bernard Mineo

PART II T he First Punic War and Aftermath 129

8 The Outbreak of war 131
Dexter Hoyos

9 A War of Phases: Strategies and Stalemates 264–241 149
Boris Rankov

10 Roman Politics in the First Punic War 167
Bruno Bleckmann

11 Roman Politics and Expansion, 241–219 184
Luigi Loreto

12 Carthage in Africa and Spain, 241–218 204
Dexter Hoyos

PART III T he Second Punic War 223

13 The Reasons for the War 225
Hans Beck

14 Hannibal: Tactics, Strategy, and Geostrategy 242
Michael P. Fronda

15 Hannibal and Propaganda 260
Richard Miles

16 Roman Strategy and Aims in the Second Punic War 280
Klaus Zimmermann

17 The War in Italy, 218–203 299
Louis Rawlings

18 War Abroad: Spain, Sicily, Macedon, Africa 320
Peter Edwell

19 Rome, Latins, and Italians in the Second Punic War 339
Kathryn Lomas

20 Punic Politics, Economy, and Alliances, 218–201 357
Pedro Barceló

21 Roman Economy, Finance, and Politics in the Second Punic War 376
Toni Ñaco del Hoyo

PART IV T he Last Half-Century of Carthage 393

22 Carthage and Numidia, 201–149 395
Claudia Kunze

23 Italy: Economy and Demography after Hannibal’s War 412
Nathan Rosenstein

24 The “Third Punic War”: The Siege of Carthage (148–146 bc) 430
Yann Le Bohec

PART V Conclusions 447

25 Death and Transfiguration: Punic Culture after 146 449
M’hamed-Hassine Fantar

26 Spain, Africa, and Rome after Carthage 467
John Richardson

27 Carthage and Hannibal in Roman and Greek Memory 483
Giovanni Brizzi

References 499

Index 531

“My cavils in the previous paragraph notwithstanding, Hoyos and his team are to be complimented for their success in bringing the multifaceted “action history” of the wars to life in a striking and sophisticated way.” (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 1 January 2013)

Dexter Hoyos is retired Associate Professor in Classics and Ancient History from the University of Sydney, Australia. He has published extensively on Latin teaching and aspects of Roman and Carthaginian history (including on Hannibal’s actual route over the Alps). His books include Unplanned Wars (1998), Hannibal’s Dynasty (2003), Truceless War (2007), and Hannibal: Rome’s Greatest Enemy (2008). Widely considered the greatest conflicts of antiquity, the Punic Wars irrevocably changed the course of world history. A Companion to the Punic Wars provides a comprehensive new survey of the three wars fought by Rome and Carthage between 264 and 146 BC. Featuring a series of thought provoking essays from a community of distinguished international scholars, the collection provides a unique portrayal of the bloody “hundred years’ war” that created a legend out of Hannibal and left Rome with a world empire.

The three wars are covered comprehensively from the Roman and Carthaginian military and naval strategies to diplomacy, economic and social factors, historiography, and the achievements of the charismatic Carthaginian general Hannibal. A Companion to the Punic Wars offers invaluable new insights to students and scholars alike into an epic struggle that had far reaching impacts on the Western world.