Hannibal is one of the most famous and revered generals in military history. He led the Carthaginian army in the Second Punic War. Perhaps his most famous accomplishment occurred when he led an army, including a large regiment of war elephants, through the Alps to attack the Roman Republic. Hannibal was eventually defeated by Scipio Africanus, which forced the Carthaginian government to surrender to the demands of the Roman Republic.

There were three Punic wars, fought between the empires of Rome and Carthage from 264 BCE to 146 BCE. The Second Punic War is arguably the most well-known, involving Hannibal's infamous crossing of the Alps with his war elephants. The Third Punic War ended with Rome's victory and the destruction of Carthage.

The Battle of Zama was fought in Carthaginian North Africa in 202 BCE. It was the decisive battle of the Second Punic War. It ended in the complete destruction of Hannibal’s Carthaginian army and forced Carthage to sue for peace. This battle is incredibly important because it marks the end of the rivalry between Carthage and the Roman Republic for control over the Mediterranean.

In the First Punic War, Rome took control of Carthaginian territory on the island of Sicily. In the Second Punic War, Rome took control of Carthaginian territory in the Iberian Peninsula and southern Europe. In the Third Punic War, Rome took control of the rest of Carthaginian territory and destroyed the city of Carthage.

Rome, having defeated Carthage in the First and Second Punic Wars, waged the Third Punic War to finish off the Carthaginian Empire. The war was fought from 149 BCE to 146 BCE and ended in the complete destruction of Carthage, the enslavement or execution of the Carthaginian people, and the annexation of all Carthaginian territory by the Roman Republic. After victory in the Third Punic War, Roman hegemony was virtually unopposed in the Mediterranean.

At the beginning of the Punic Wars, Carthage was the dominant empire in the Mediterranean, whilst the Roman Republic was a relatively small state concentrated on the Italian peninsula. At the beginning of the Punic Wars, Carthage enjoyed several notable advantages over the Roman Republic, including the possession of a much larger and more powerful navy. Nevertheless, in a little over two decades, the Roman Republic would defeat the Carthaginian Empire and force them to sue for peace, bringing to an end the First Punic War. Over the next century, in the Second and Third Punic Wars, the same trend would be repeated as Rome gradually became more powerful at the expense of Carthage.

Scipio Africanus is remembered as one of the most accomplished military commanders of all time. He was a contemporary of Hannibal and the two fought against one another in Italy and North Africa. Scipio Africanus led the army of the Roman Republic against the Carthaginian army of Hannibal at the Battle of Zama. His brilliant military strategy led to the destruction of Hannibal’s army and forced the Carthaginian government to sue for peace.

The First Punic War was fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic for two decades in the middle of the third century BCE. The First Punic War was primarily fought for control over the island of Sicily. At the beginning of the war, Sicily (an island just off the southern coast of Italy), was under the control of the sprawling Carthaginian Empire. At the end of the First Punic War, Sicily was controlled by the Roman Republic.

The Achaean War was fought in 146 BCE in the wake of the Third Punic War, between the Roman Republic and an alliance of Greek city-states, called the Achaean League. It ended in total victory for the Roman Republic and the beginning of Roman dominance over formerly Greek lands.

The Roman name for the Mediterranean was Mare Nostrum, which means “Our Sea.” It reflects the Roman belief that they had the right to ownership of the entire Mediterranean Sea. After their victory over Carthage in the Punic Wars (and subsequent conquests of Greece, Anatolia, and Egypt), Rome did indeed come to control the entire Mediterranean.