Rome fought three Punic wars. The first war involved the Roman's outside of Italy, was the beginning of the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean, and lasted more than two decades. The second was a hard war that resulted in massive losses for the Romans in both material and manpower. The third was for vengeance and the Romans finally destroyed their bitter enemy.
The First Punic War started in 264 BC; it was entirely on the island of Sicily against Carthage. Carthage is an island and Rome has to create a navy to fight the Cathegians. Companion mercenaries who were brought in by the Greeks…
