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The military of Carthage was one of the largest military forces in the ancient world.Although Carthage's navy was always its main military force, the army acquired a key role in the spread of Carthaginian power over the native peoples of northern Africa and southern Iberian Peninsula from the 6th century BC and the 3rd century BC.
During this period the standard warship of the Carthaginian navy was the quinquereme, meaning "five-oared". [20] The quinquereme was a galley , c. 45 metres (150 ft) long, c. 5 metres (16 ft) wide at water level, with its deck standing c. 3 metres (10 ft) above the sea, and displacing around 100 tonnes (110 short tons ; 98 long tons ).
The term Punic comes from the Latin word Punicus (or Poenicus), meaning "Phoenician", and is a reference to the Carthaginians' Phoenician ancestry. [1] The main source for almost every aspect of the First Punic War is the historian Polybius (c. 200 – c. 118 BC), a Greek sent to Rome in 167 BC as a hostage.
In Chapters 1.22-4-11 of his History, Polybius describes this device as a bridge 1.2 m (4 ft) wide and 10.9 m (36 ft) long, with a small parapet on both sides. The engine was probably used in the prow of the ship, where a pole and a system of pulleys allowed the bridge to be raised and lowered.
Carthage was expanding her territory in Africa to secure tribute from the Numidians and Libyans to finance the war. Both Rome and Carthage were on their last legs economically; however, when Rome borrowed money from its private citizens to finance and train a fleet in 243 BC, Carthage's failure to train its navy led to its defeat.
The main source for almost every aspect of the First Punic War [note 1] is the historian Polybius (c. 200 – c.118 BC), a Greek sent to Rome in 167 BC as a hostage. [2] [3] His works include a now-lost manual on military tactics, [4] but he is known today for The Histories, written sometime after 146 BC, or about a century after the Battle of the Aegates.
P-281 104-foot crash boat. The largest of the crash boats, the 104-foot crash boats, are also called "Class I" boats or 104s. The 104-foot (32 m) used Design 235, and were built with emergency medical facilities which could accommodate up to 23 people. The crew of 12 were all cross-trained to operate any part of the boat.
The shapes of the remains of the ships complement each other, in particular with a ram, and provide a unique document of the Carthaginian navy during the First Punic War. [29] [16] The information supplied by the excavation and the study of the Marsala Punic shipwreck corroborated naval depictions in Punic numismatics and Carthage tophet steles ...