Third Punic War

Lore & Background

When the Second Punic War ended in 201 BC, one of the terms of the peace treaty prohibited Carthage from waging war without Rome's permission. Rome's ally, King Masinissa of Numidia, exploited this to repeatedly raid and seize Carthaginian territory with impunity. In 149 BC Carthage sent an army, under Hasdrubal, against Masinissa, the treaty notwithstanding. The campaign ended in disaster as the Battle of Oroscopa ended with a Carthaginian defeat and the surrender of the Carthaginian army. Anti-Carthaginian factions in Rome used the illicit military action as a pretext to prepare a punitive expedition. Later in 149 BC a large Roman army landed at Utica in North Africa. 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 commander took over in 148 BC and fared equally badly. At the annual election of Roman magistrates in the spring of 147 BC the public support for Scipio was so great that the usual age restrictions were lifted to allow him to be appointed consul and commander in Africa. Scipio's term commenced with two Carthaginian successes, but he tightened the siege and started to build a large mole to prevent supplies from getting into Carthage via blockade runners. The Carthaginians had partially rebuilt their fleet, and it sortied, to the Romans' surprise. After an indecisive engagement, the Carthaginians mismanaged their withdrawal and lost many ships. The Romans then built a large brick structure in the harbour area that dominated the city wall. Once this was complete, Scipio led a strong force that stormed the camp of Carthage's field army and forced most of the towns and cities still supporting Carthage to surrender. In early 146 BC the Romans launched their final assault and, over six days, systematically destroyed the city and killed its inhabitants; only on the last day did they take prisoners, 50,000 of them, who were sold into slavery. The conquered Carthaginian territories became the Roman province of Africa, with Utica as its capital. It was a century before the site of Carthage was rebuilt as a Roman city.

Reader's Guide

The main source for most aspects of the Punic Wars is the historian Polybius, a Greek sent to Rome in 167 BC as a hostage. His works include a now-lost manual on military tactics, but he is best known for The Histories, written sometime after 146 BC. He accompanied his patron and friend, the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus, in North Africa during the Third Punic War; this causes the normally reliable Polybius to recount Scipio's actions in a favourable light. In addition, significant portions of The Histories account of the Third Punic War have been lost. The account of the Roman annalist Livy, who relied heavily on Polybius, is much used by modern historians of the Punic Wars, but all that survives of his account of events after 167 BC is a list of contents. Other ancient accounts of the Third Punic War or its participants which have also been largely lost include those of Plutarch, Dio Cassius and the Greek Diodorus Siculus. Modern historians also use the account of the 2nd-century AD Greek Appian. The modern historian Bernard Mineo states that it 'is the only complete and continuous account of this war'. It is thought to have been largely based on Polybius's account, but several problems with it have been identified. These issues mean that of the three Punic Wars, the third is the one about which the least is reliably known. Other sources include coins, inscriptions, archaeological evidence and empirical evidence from reconstructions.

Did You Know?

• The dislike of Carthage by the senior senator Cato was so well known that since the 18th century (AD), he has been credited with ending all of his speeches with 'Carthage must be destroyed'.
• Carthage paid off its indemnity in 151 BC and was prospering economically but was no military threat to Rome.
• The Carthaginians surrendered 200,000 sets of armour and 2,000 catapults before the Romans demanded they abandon their city.

The Three-Year Siege and the Fall of a City

The siege of Carthage was the central military operation of the Third Punic War, a nearly three-year campaign that culminated in the complete destruction of one of the Mediterranean's great powers. In 149 BC, a large Roman force under consuls Manius Manilius and Lucius Censorius landed at the North African port of Utica. The Carthaginians, desperate to avert annihilation, surrendered their entire arsenal—surviving records cite some 200,000 sets of armour and 2,000 catapults hauled out in great convoys, while their warships were burned in the harbour. The Romans then demanded the inhabitants abandon their city and resettle at least sixteen kilometres from the sea. The early months brought repeated setbacks to the Roman army, and a replacement commander in 148 BC fared no better. In early 146 BC the Romans launched their final assault, spending a full week systematically destroying the city and killing its inhabitants. Only on the last day did they take prisoners—50,000 people who were sold into slavery. The former Carthaginian territories became the Roman province of Africa, with Utica as its capital, and the site of Carthage would remain unrebuilt for a century.

Scipio Aemilianus and the Breaking of the Siege

When the Roman siege of Carthage stalled through 149 and 148 BC, a middle-ranking officer named Scipio Aemilianus began distinguishing himself repeatedly on the battlefield. By early 147 BC, public enthusiasm for his leadership was so overwhelming that the Roman assembly lifted the usual age restrictions to appoint him commander in Africa. His tenure opened with two Carthaginian successes, but he quickly tightened the noose around the city. His most significant engineering achievement was the construction of a large mole designed to block blockade runners from delivering supplies. The Carthaginians, who had partially rebuilt their fleet, sortied in a surprise move; the ensuing naval engagement was indecisive, but the Carthaginians mismanaged their withdrawal and lost a large number of ships. Scipio then oversaw the construction of a massive brick structure in the harbour area, a fortification that dominated the city wall and gave the Romans a commanding position for the final assault. The Greek historian Polybius, who accompanied Scipio throughout the North African campaign, provided the most detailed account of these operations.

The Long Road to War: Subjugation and Pretext

The Third Punic War did not arise from a single provocation but from decades of deliberate subjugation. The peace terms imposed after the Second Punic War stripped Carthage of its overseas possessions and several African territories, exacted an indemnity of 10,000 silver talents payable over fifty years, and confined its navy to ten warships. Carthage was forbidden to wage war outside Africa and could act militarily within Africa only with Rome's consent. Over the following half-century, the Numidian king Masinissa, Rome's ally, repeatedly seized Carthaginian land and raided its territory. Every time Carthage petitioned Rome for redress, the Senate sided with Masinissa. In 151 BC, Carthage finally raised a large army under Hasdrubal to counterattack, but the campaign collapsed in disaster and the army was massacred. Hasdrubal was condemned to death at home to appease Rome. By 149 BC, Carthage had paid its indemnity in full and was economically prosperous yet militarily impotent. Elements in the Roman Senate, who had long desired Carthage's destruction, used the 151 BC action as a pretext. When the port city of Utica defected to Rome, the Senate and centuriate assembly declared war.

Polybius and the Fragments of Memory

Almost every detail we possess about the Third Punic War flows from a single source: the Greek historian Polybius, who arrived in Rome in 167 BC as a hostage and later composed his Histories after 146 BC. What makes his account remarkable is his method—he was an analytical historian who, wherever possible, personally interviewed participants from both the Roman and Carthaginian sides. He even accompanied Scipio Aemilianus during the North African campaign that ended in the storming of Carthage. His work is regarded as broadly objective, taking a largely neutral stance between the two belligerents. Over the past century and a half, scholars have debated the accuracy of his narrative, yet the modern consensus accepts it largely at face value. The historian Andrew Curry calls him 'fairly reliable,' while Craige Champion describes him as 'a remarkably well-informed, industrious, and insightful historian.' Later ancient writers—Appian, Diodorus Siculus, Livy, Plutarch, and Dio Cassius—offer supplementary or fragmentary accounts, but when their versions conflict with Polybius, modern classicists such as Adrian Goldsworthy generally prefer his testimony. Coins, inscriptions, archaeological findings, and empirical reconstructions like the trireme Olympias round out the evidentiary picture.