DBA Resource Page

Ancient Armies

Early & Later Carthaginians
(DBA 31a & 31b)
(550-146 BC)

Carthage (a.k.a. Kirjath-Hadeschath) began as a colony founded by the Phoenicians of Tyre in North Africa (near modern Tunis) in the 9th century BC. It quickly became one of the principal trading centers in the western Mediterranean due to its excellent port. After the Babylonians captured Tyre in the 6th century BC, Carthage became the center of the Phoenician (a.k.a. Punic) trading empire.

The Early Carthaginian DBA list begins in 550 BC, when the Phoenicians came into conflict with the Greeks, both prosperous and expanding cultures, over colonies in western Sicily. In 540 BC, the Carthaginians prevented a Greek attempt to land in Corsica. However, a Carthaginian campaign to conquer all of Sicily was blocked by the Greek tyrants Gelon and Theron at Himera in 480 BC. The scale of the defeat was so vast that the Carthaginian monarch was overthrown and a republic formed. During this period, the Rome was initially allied with Carthage against the Greeks, who were also colonizing Southern Italy. Treaties of cooperation were signed in 508 BC and 450 BC between Rome and Carthage. Gradually, however, Carthaginian successes prompted increasing Roman anxiety that eventually lead to confict.

In 410 BC, the Sicilian city of Segesta asked for Carthaginian aid against the Greek city of Selinius. In 408 BC, the general Hannibal (not the famous Hannibal) launched a Carthaginian blitzkreig that resulted in the destruction of the Greek cities of Selinius, Agrigento, and Himera, although the Carthaginians failed to reduce the principle Greek city of Syracuse, who employed several novel weapons of war designed by Archimedes including the catapult in their defense. A treaty was negotiated, but Dionysius of Syracusa broke it shortly thereafter by sacking the Punic city of Moyta, prompting another hundred years of large and small scale skirmishes between the Greeks and the Punics on Sicily and in southern Italy. The balance was tipped temporarily when the Greek King Pyrrhus of Epirus arrived at Taraunto (a.k.a. Tarentum) circa 300 BC to help rescue the Greeks of southern Italy and then Sicily from Rome and Carthage expansion. Again, Carthage and Rome allied in treaty against the Greeks, and despite (or perhaps because of) his costly "Pyhrric" victories, Pyrrhus was eventually forced to abandon the Greek city states in Italy and Sicily to their own devices around 272 BC.

The Later Carthaginian list begins in 275 BC. The first major milestone, however, occurred in 264 AD, when Heiro II of Syracuse sent an army to drive the Mamertines out of Messana. Out-of-work mercenaries, the Mamertines were notorious brigands who had seized that Sicilian city. The Mamertines appealed to both Rome and Carthage for aid, and both sent armies, who promptly squared off with each other. This prompted a 24 year conflict known as the first Punic War (264-241 AD).

Rome beseiged many of the Carthaginian cities on Sicily and using a wrecked Carthaginian galley as a model (possibly one abandoned by Pyrrhus), built a navy that was able to successfully destroy the Carthaginian relief fleet. A Roman army of invasion landed in North Africa and was defeated by superior Carthaginian cavalry, however, and Hamilcar Barca continued to raid Roman allies in Sicily and southern Italy from his mountain stronghold at Erice in north-west Sicily. Then, another catastrophe naval defeat in 241 BC coupled with the heavy cost of pursuing the war with their largely mercenary armies prompted the Carthagians to sue for peace. In 241 BC, Rome and Carthage signed a peace treaty in which Carthage relinquished claims to Sicily and granted Rome a heavy war indemnity. Shortly thereafter, large contingents of mercenaries in the Carthaginian army rebelled in the so-called "Truce-less War." Rome took advantage of the Carthaginians' distraction to seize Corsica in 238 BC and Sardinia as buffers.

With Rome having blocked their eastward expansion, Carthage looked north and west to Spain for new possessions and manpower. An army under Hamilcar Barca and his son-in-law, Hasdrubal landed in 237 BC to extend Carthaginian influence in the Iberian peninsula. Hamilcar took his young son, Hannibal Barca (born 247 BC) with him to learn the art of war. The Carthaginians quickly expanded their control over Spain through an effective combination of military force and diplomacy. Hamilcar died in 229 BC, leaving command to Hasdrubal, who focused on diplomatic initiatives including arranging for the marriage of young Hannibal to a local Spanish princess. Then Hasdrubal was murdered in 221 BC, and the army elected Hannibal as their commander.

Hannibal returned the army to active operations, securing Salamanca. Carthage's peace treaty with Rome had left Spain within the Carthaginian sphere; however, Carthaginian military success again roused Roman fear and suspicion. The Spanish city of Saguntum had allied itself with Rome, and when Hannibal captured the city in 219 BC after an eight month seige, Rome demanded Carthaginian concessions including the surrender of Hannibal to Roman authorities. While diplomatic negotiations were on-going, Hannibal made his brother-in-law Hamilcar governor of further Spain and then crossed the Ebro River with an army to complete the conquest of the Iberian peninsula. This was the last straw for Rome, who declared war and sent armies to recover Saguntum and to garrison Sicily in anticipation of a Carthaginian attack.

Hannibal took an unconvention approach, however, abandoning his campaign in Catalonia to launch a bold invasion of Italy from the North in 219 BC, beginning with his famous crossing of the Alps in winter with 37 elephants. The Cisalphine Gauls of the Po River valley flocked to join Hannibal's army while Rome scurried to respond to the threat from this unexpected quarter. Hannibal soundly defeated three Roman consular armies lead by Sempronius Longus at Trebbia (218 BC), Gaius Flaminius at Lake Trasimene (217 BC), and Terentius Varro at Cannae (216 BC). The Romans adopted a Fabian strategy of avoiding conflict while Hannibal established his capital at Capua and attempted to incite the Latin city-states to rebel against Roman authority. Sardinia and southern Italy pledged support to Hannibal, but the central Italian states remained firmly behind Rome.

In 212 BC, Rome threw off its Fabian policy and took the initiative again by sending armies to recapture Syracuse and Capua. His army considerably reduced and exhausted by constant campaigning, Hannibal could do no more than launch a diversionary attack toward the city of Rome in hopes of lifting the seige of Capua, but it proved unsuccessful. In 209 BC, the Romans had recaptured Tarentum and Hannibal, denied reenforcements by Carthage, was reduced to defensive operations against the Romans and their allies. He sent for his brother Hasdrubal to bring a fresh Carthaginian army from Spain following the original northern invasion route, but Hasdrubal was intercepted by a Roman army at the river Metaurus in Umbria in 207 BC and heavily defeated.

Despite his ultimate failure in Italy, Hannibal is remembered as one of history's greatest generals, in large part for his brilliant victories, but also because he was able to maintain a multi-national, trans-continental, poly-linguistic army behind enemy lines without any real line of supply for 17 years!

With Hannibal pinned down in Bruttium, a Roman army under Publius Scipio (later dubbed "Africanus") invaded Spain and decisively defeated the Carthaginians under Mago Barca (Hannibal's younger brother) and Hasdrubal Gisgo at Baecula (206 BC). Thereafter, Spanish cities defected to Rome in droves, prompted in part by fierce Roman reprisals against any who remained loyal to Carthage. Hannibal maintained a toe-hold in the boot of Italy and engaged in guerilla warfare. Meanwhile, a Roman invasion force lead by Publius Scipio landed in North Africa and destroyed the Carthaginian army under Hasdrubal Gisgo and their Numidian allies under Syphax in a night attack at the Bagradas Plains in 203 BC. Then, while engaged in beseiging Utica, Scipio send a large detachment under Laelius and the Numidian king Masinissa against Syphax, resulting in his capture and the defeat of Carthage's last allies.

Desperate, Carthage opened its coffers to assemble a new army of mercenaries and recalled Hannibal who slipped through the Roman blockade with 15,000 men to bolster the Carthaginian forces. After several minor skirmishes, the two armies fought a major battle at Zama (202 BC), which resulted in a decisive Roman victory. Hannibal escaped to Carthage and advised negotiations, which continued until 201 BC, when a peace treaty was signed bringing the second Punic War (218 BC - 201 BC) to a close. Carthage agreed to surrender its fleet and its remaining territories in Spain and promised to pay a war indemnity of 10,000 talents in fifty annual installments.

With their economy in ruins, the people of Carthage elected Hannibal as their "suffete" or consul. Hannibal negotiated a secret alliance with Antiochus the Great of Syria against Rome, and fled Carthage for exile in Syria in196 BC when Rome got wind of the treaty and sent a commission of inquiry to Carthage. Eventually, Hannibal committed suicide in Bithynia (182 BC) to avoid extradiction to Rome.

Over the next fifty years, Carthage was able to restore a large measure of her economic prosperity through vigorous trade, which again prompted Roman suspicion and jealously. Although not posing a military threat, the Roman Senate chose to make a series of demands on Carthage in 149 BC. The first two demands, that Carthage surrender all their generals and arms (including 2000 catalpults and 100,000 sets of armor) was agreed to. However, the third demand, that the Carthaginians abandon their city and resettle inland, was too much to swallow. When this demand was refused, as the Romans had anticipated, a Roman army of conquest under Scipio Aemilianus Major landed in North Africa. Defeated for a second time at Zama (149 BC), the Carthaginians weathered a Roman seige for three years behind the walls of their city until forced to capitulate in 146 BC. The city was dismantled stone by stone and the surviving inhabitants were forceably resettled. Defeat in the third Punic War (149-146 BC) marks the end of the Carthaginian DBA list.

Carthage the city, however, continued. Roman colonists were transplanted in the area around 45 BC, and the city was rejuvenated as the capital of the Roman Africa Province. It was a stronghold of the Western Roman empire under the Patrican Boniface circa 400 AD. In 439 AD, the new Carthage fell to the Vandals, who made it the capital of their African empire. Later, in 533 AD, it was conquered by the Byzantines, and then again by the Arabs in 698 AD.

Army Composition

Enemies

Both the Early and Later Carthaginians fought against the Later Libyans (14b) and Syracusans (34). The Early Carthaginians also fought Pyrrhus of Epireus (43) in Sicily. The Later Carthaginians ran afoul of Polybian Rome (46b) in the Punic Wars, conquered the Ancient Spanish (52) and skirmished constantly with the Numidians (53).

Tactics

The Carthaginian army is one of the best examples of a "combined-arms" army in the DBA army lists. The very diversity of element types, however, makes this a challenging army to fight. To win with consistency requires considerable experience and effective use of terrain to gain maximum advantage. The key is getting good deployments and match-ups; e.g. the Gallic warband versus Roman blades, the Elephant against enemy cavalry, the Spanish Auxilia fighting in/around rough terrain, etc. It is a fairly mobile army, which gives it an edge against less mobile opponents such as the Republican Romans.

Painting Tips

Tips on Painting Carthaginians have been collected from various contributors.

Writing of a battle between Carthaginian troops against Timoleon in Sicily, Plutarch notes that the 10,000 Carthaginian foot advanced in good order, at a slow pace, all bearing white shields.

Other Resources

Classical histories of Hannibal and the Punic Wars are recorded by Livy (History of Rome, books 21-39) and Polybius (Histories, books 3-16).

Here are some DBx-related on-line resources for Carthaginians:

• Battle of Ilpa (206 BC) (DBA scenario)
• Battle of Lake Trasimene (217 BC) (DBA scenario)
• Battle of Trebbia (218 BC) (DBA scenario)
• Duelling Republics (a DBA Rome-Carthage Punic War Campaign Game)
• Glenn Pruitt's Carthaginian Army (photo album)
• Rob Smith's Magna Graecia, a DBM campaign setting for the Wars for Sicily, 398 BC - 211 BC.
• Fredrik Thibblin's Carthaginian Spearmen.

The following websites provide interesting historical information on Carthage:

• African Armour on the Eve of the 2d Punic War
• Carthage University's Ancient Carthage page
• Hannibal (by Jona Lendering)
• The Punic Wars
• World Cultures page on Rome and the Punic Wars

The following titles are also available from the De Bellis Bookstore:

• Armies of the Carthaginian Wars, by Terence Wise (Stackpole, Dec. 1984). 48 pages, softcover.

• Hannibal's War With Rome, by Terrence Wise (Osprey, forthcoming June 1999). 144 pages, softcover.

• Hannibal : A History of the Art of War Among the Carthaginians and Romans Down to the Battle of Pydna, 168 B.C., by Theodore Ayrault Dodge (Da Capo Press, Sept. 1995). Softcover.

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Comments, questions or suggested additions to this page can be sent to Chris Brantley, brant@erols.com.