The conquest of Italy made Rome one of the five leading
states of the Mediterranean world. In the East there were the kingdoms of
Macedonia, Syria, and Egypt, which had inherited the dominions of Alexander the
Great. In the West there were Carthage and Rome, once in friendly alliance, but
now to become the bitterest foes. Rome had scarcely reached the headship of
united Italy before she was involved in a life-and-death struggle with this
rival power. The three wars between them are known as the Punic wars; they are
the most famous contests that ancient history records; and they ended in the
complete destruction of Carthage.
FOUNDATION OF CARTHAGE
More than a century before the traditional date at which
Rome rose upon her seven hills, Phoenician colonists laid the foundations of a
second Tyre. The new city occupied an admirable site, for it bordered on rich
farming land and had the largest harbor of the north African coast. A position
at the junction of the eastern and western basins of the Mediterranean gave it
unsurpassed opportunities for trade. At the same time Carthage was far enough
away to be out of the reach of Persian or Macedonian conquerors.