Abstract
Although the Second Punic War was fought by the Romans in defence of past conquests it brought them extensive new acquisitions, and finally established their supremacy in the western Mediterranean. At the same time their copious man-power and military efficiency led them, often somewhat reluctantly, to action in the eastern Mediterranean. The result was that in little more than half a century they were the dominant power throughout the whole Mediterranean area, into which they introduced a unifying ecumenical influence for the first time in history, a process on which the contemporary Greek historian Polybius pondered with amazement.
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Notes and References
On the early colonisation of Cisalpine Gaul see U. Ewins, PBSR 1952, 54 ff. On the Roman conquest see A. J. Toynbee, Hannibal’s Legacy, ii. 252 ff., and for its population and resources see Brunt, Manpower, ch. xiii.
On the early colonisation of Cisalpine Gaul see U. Ewins, PBSR 1952, 54 ff. On the Roman conquest see A. J. Toynbee, Hannibal’s Legacy, ii. 252 ff., and for its population and resources see Brunt, Manpower, ch. xiii.
The main sources for the Spanish Wars are Polybius, xxxv. 1–5; Livy (various passages in xxxii, xxxv, xxxix, xl, xli); and Appian, Iberica, viii. 39—xvi. 98, depending in part on the lost books of Polybius, who also wrote a monograph on the Numantine War; Diodorus, xxxi. ff., with fragments from Poseidonius. The sources are collected in Fontes Hispaniae Antiquae, iii (1935), iv (1937), edited by A. Schulten. For modern accounts see A. Schulten, Numantia, ii. 261 ff., Geschichte von Numantia (1933); H. Simon, Roms Kriege in Spanien, 154–133 v. Chr. (1962); and (for 154–133) A. E. Astin, Scipio Aemilianus (1967), 35 ff., 137 ff. It is interesting that many Roman camps of these campaigns survive, especially in and around Numantia: see Schulten, op. cit.
The main sources for the Spanish Wars are Polybius, xxxv. 1–5; Livy (various passages in xxxii, xxxv, xxxix, xl, xli); and Appian, Iberica, viii. 39—xvi. 98, depending in part on the lost books of Polybius, who also wrote a monograph on the Numantine War; Diodorus, xxxi. ff., with fragments from Poseidonius. The sources are collected in Fontes Hispaniae Antiquae, iii (1935), iv (1937), edited by A. Schulten. For modern accounts see A. Schulten, Numantia, ii. 261 ff., Geschichte von Numantia (1933); H. Simon, Roms Kriege in Spanien, 154–133 v. Chr. (1962); and (for 154–133) A. E. Astin, Scipio Aemilianus (1967), 35 ff., 137 ff. It is interesting that many Roman camps of these campaigns survive, especially in and around Numantia: see Schulten, op. cit.
The main sources for the Spanish Wars are Polybius, xxxv. 1–5; Livy (various passages in xxxii, xxxv, xxxix, xl, xli); and Appian, Iberica, viii. 39—xvi. 98, depending in part on the lost books of Polybius, who also wrote a monograph on the Numantine War; Diodorus, xxxi. ff., with fragments from Poseidonius. The sources are collected in Fontes Hispaniae Antiquae, iii (1935), iv (1937), edited by A. Schulten. For modern accounts see A. Schulten, Numantia, ii. 261 ff., Geschichte von Numantia (1933); H. Simon, Roms Kriege in Spanien, 154–133 v. Chr. (1962); and (for 154–133) A. E. Astin, Scipio Aemilianus (1967), 35 ff., 137 ff. It is interesting that many Roman camps of these campaigns survive, especially in and around Numantia: see Schulten, op. cit.
The only extant specimen of Punic literature is an account of an exploration of the coast of West Africa by one Hanno, part of which survives in a Greek translation (C. Müller, Geographi Graeci Minores, i. 1 ff.). See M. Cary and E. H. Warmington, The Ancient Explorers (1929), 47 ff., with translation. For a history of the wars with Rome the Carthaginians had to rely on contemporary Greek authors (Philinus and Silenus).
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© 1975 The representatives of the estate of the late M. Cary and H. H. Scullard
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Cary, M., Scullard, H.H. (1975). The Conquest of the Western Mediterranean. In: A History of Rome. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-02415-5_14
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