The Third Punic War

The Third Punic War (149–146 BCE) stands as the conclusive chapter in the century-long rivalry between Rome and Carthage, a conflict orchestrated by Roman paranoia and executed with relentless precision to obliterate its once-formidable foe. Chronicled by Polybius, Appian, and Livy’s epitomes, this war saw Scipio Aemilianus dismantle Carthage’s remnants, erasing it from history and cementing Rome’s imperial ascendancy. Unlike the internal strife of Marius and Sulla, the Third Punic War unfolded in a Rome still unified by external ambition, its outcome echoing the triumphs of Scipio Africanus and prefiguring Julius Caesar’s empire. This article examines the war’s political dynamics and key strategies, illuminating Rome’s transformation into an unchallenged Mediterranean power.

 

 

Prelude: Political Pretexts and Escalation

150–149 BCE: Carthage’s Recovery and Roman Anxiety

The Third Punic War emerged from the shadow of the Second Punic War, which had left Carthage humbled but intact under the 201 BCE treaty - stripped of its empire, navy, and burdened with a 10,000-talent indemnity. By 150 BCE, Carthage had paid its debt and rebuilt its trade, prompting unease in Rome. A border dispute with Numidia, Rome’s ally under King Masinissa, flared when Carthage repelled a Numidian incursion in 151 BCE, violating the treaty’s ban on unsanctioned warfare. Cato the Elder, a hawkish senator, seized on this, famously concluding every speech with “Carthage must be destroyed.” Polybius notes Rome’s intent: “They sought a cause to end the Punic threat forever” (Histories, 36.2).

Politically, Rome’s Senate engineered a casus belli: in 149 BCE, consuls Lucius Marcius Censorinus and Manius Manilius demanded 300 noble hostages and Carthage’s disarmament, then escalated by ordering the city’s relocation inland - terms designed to provoke refusal. Appian captures Carthage’s dilemma: “They yielded arms, but not their home… war was inevitable” (Punic Wars, 76). Carthage’s Senate, isolated without allies, resisted, rallying 500,000 inhabitants for a doomed defense.