That they are... I'm cooking up the first post on the Carthaginian conflict now, and it promises to heat things up!
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That they are... I'm cooking up the first post on the Carthaginian conflict now, and it promises to heat things up!
Your Egyptian victory was impressive! Why not take more than their puny Greek holdings? Roleplay?
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A combination of roleplay and practical reasons. From a roleplay perspective, Rome was wary of fighting an extended campaign against the Egyptians and opted for the rapid shock approach to avoid the possibility of a big war with a country they deemed a true equal. From a personal practical perspective, I'd rather conserve my aggressive expansion for taking down Carthage as quickly as possible, rather than take some land in the Nile that I'd have to stretch my army and navy around to defend. Once I have more of Africa, I might feel differently.
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I agree with your approach to the Egyptian Problem and concur with the need to finish off Carthage first even if just for historical and roleplay reasons.
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Well, it's been a busy week but I'm hoping to get the posting regarding Carthage kicked off this weekend, and I've played ahead far enough to be able to do a few after that. Looking forward to getting into that leg of the story!
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Interesting, with some friends we are considering such kind of “campaign”!
(The title should be Ex Roma ad Stellas).
(The title should be Ex Roma ad Stellas).
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Chapter IV - The Punic Wars
511 AUC / 243 BC
511 AUC / 243 BC
Ch. IV.i: The First Punic War
The Roman Republic had conquered all of Corsica and most of Sicily by the 270's BC, but its expansion into the rest of what it considered its "back yard" was brought to a halt by Carthage's control over Sardinia and western Sicily. Though the Romans had defeated and subdued the powerful Etruscans and rapidly pushed their borders out in all directions, they were hesitant to challenge a significant regional power the size of Carthage. With is large navy and robust economy, the other great Mediterranean republic posed what many considered to be an equal match for Rome's own strength. So, while many senators protested leaving Sicily under divided occupation, Rome turned its attention to the east in an attempt to realize Postumus Cornelius Scipio's vision of a united Greco-Roman state and overcome Carthage's wealth and power.
Once Macedonia and Greece had been brought under Roman occupation and the Lepontic Gauls had bolstered the republic's levies, the Senate was finally ready to return to the task of securing Sardinia and Sicily. But Carthage had not sat idle as Rome grew larger; it, too, had expanded its power base in preparation for the inevitable conflict.
While Rome had spent the past six decades conquering the Italian Peninsula and annexing Cisalpine Gaul and Greece, Carthage had been busy expanding its own influence across northern Africa. They conquered the neighboring tribes of the Massylians and Musulamians, pushed the Massaesylians off the northern coast, and annexed the Punic colonies in Emporia and Tripolitania. As the borders of Carthage snaked out along the African coastline, new conquests in Iberia also led to a significant presence in the southern end of the peninsula.
This, combined with Carthage's control over Sardinia and western Sicily, made the Carthaginian Republic a true rival to Rome for control of the Mediterranean. The Carthaginians boasted a robust, thriving economy driven primarily by its extensive maritime trade networks. Their trade income dwarfed that of Rome, which had a larger internal tax base but could not compete economically with Carthage's mercantile dominance. With vast territory, significant wealth, and access to deadly mercenaries and a much-feared elephant corps, Carthage was the single greatest obstacle to Roman superiority in the western Mediterranean. And in 244 BC, Appius Claudius Russus was elected to a second term as Consul and was prepared to finally unleash the fury of Rome upon Carthage.
Appius, who had served once before as Consul in his 30's, was now a septuagenarian and had waited decades for the chance to strike at Carthage. During his first term, he had overseen the campaigns in Corsica and Cisalpine Gaul, and he sat in the Senate when the decision was made to prioritize conquering Greece over facing off with Carthage. Now, nearly four decades after he was denied his chance to strike at Rome's nearest rival, he had the opportunity to finish what he had started in his youth.
Early in Appius' term, while most of Carthage's army was engaged in a lengthy war of conquest in the Iberian peninsula, a revolt in Coracensia in northern Sardinia broke out. With the war in Iberia dragging on and an island rebellion to suppress, 'Abdo Magoni would be forced to fight a three-front war if Rome were to attack. In this, Appius saw the perfect opportunity to strike a swift and deadly blow, and he seized the opportunity at once.
The invasion began in November of 243 BC when, as the sun rose over Carthage, a fleet of over 125 Roman warships sailed toward the great Punic capital. Appius had chosen to mimic the successful strategy used against the Egyptians by making a rapid attack by sea at his enemy's capital city to destabilize their defenses.
The Carthaginians had built up fortresses surrounding the city to protect it against an attack by land, but they had never expected the crown jewel of their maritime trade empire to be assaulted by sea. Roman ships stormed into the Great Cothon, blockading its entryway and unloading wave after wave of troops into the city. Over 50,000 legionaries flooded the streets of Carthage, which was poorly fortified and extremely vulnerable to attack. They quickly locked down the city, placing it under occupation as Rome's invasion of Africa began in earnest.
Meanwhile, as Carthage fell to Rome's swift and unexpected naval assault, smaller forces -- mostly mercenaries and Greek levies -- commenced their marches into Sardinia and Sicily. The Coracensian rebels were swiftly dealt with, and Carthage had only small warbands of a few thousand men with which to defend their island holdings. It did not take long for the Romans to bring both islands under their full control, paving the way for the decisive confrontations in Africa that would decide the war -- both on land and, for the first time in significant numbers, at sea.
In July of 242 BC, the Roman navy intercepted a fleet of Carthaginian ships off the African coast attempting to sail westward toward Iberia. Carthage had long been renowned as a naval power, but Rome had built up a great fleet in preparation for the war, and held a clear numerical advantage. 'Abda'l Bodoni commanded a fleet of just 48 ships; he had not expected to come against a fleet of 117 Roman vessels commanded by Appius Sempronius Brutus. Not only was the Carthaginian fleet smaller in number, but it was also smaller in size -- it was comprised entirely of small liburnians and triremes. Rome, on the other hand, had begun producing heavier tetreres and hexeres in the large shipyards at Syracuse, giving the Roman navy a significant advantage in a head-on battle.
Aware of this, Bodoni attempted to outmaneuver the Romans and defeat them with finesse and evasive attacks, but Appius responded by boxing the Carthaginians in with his superior numbers and performing crushing raids and boarding actions to overwhelm the Punic sailors in close combat. All 48 Carthaginian ships were sunk or captured in the decisive battle; only a single Roman ship sunk. Bodoni was taken prisoner, and several captive Carthaginian warships were taken in as a trophy of Rome's first great naval victory. It was a historic battle, but an even bigger and more decisive fight was coming: the largest land battle in Roman history.
When Roman troops first landed in Carthage, they claimed the capital city unopposed and had free reign over the heartland of the republic, occupying a number of cities rapidly as Carthage scrambled to mount a defense. Most of Carthage's best soldiers -- including the entirety of its famed elephant corps -- were far away battling the tribes of southern Iberia. 'Eshmun' Bodoni, who was elected Consul during the war, reached out to Carthage's many client states and gathered their troops together in one place to make a concentrated counter-attack against the Romans. By combining these with a number of hired mercenary armies, he was able to field a force of 56,000 -- equal in number to the Roman force that had landed in Carthage at the start of the war.
For a moment, Carthage had managed to achieve military parity with Rome, able to match the legionaries man-for-man even as thousands of troops fought abroad in Iberia. These men marched toward Carthage, beginning the work of liberating cities to the east of the capital, while the Romans continued to lay new sieges in the north. But with Sardinia and Sicily now fully subjugated, Appius was able to bring another 22,000 men ashore as reinforcements. He was also just as willing to work with local mercenaries as 'Eshmun'. In early 241 BC, he contracted Melqartshamo’ Bodoni and his 24,500 warriors to join the Roman cause.
Pooling all of these armies together, Appius ordered a march to the south with the intention of breaking the Carthaginian reprisal in the field.
In August of 241 BC, Appius marched on an army of 32,000 men who had just liberated the city of Kirob from Roman occupation. The Carthaginian force was comprised primarily of mercenary infantry, supported by a small detachment of African cavalry. The mercenary commander Banno Alashayyi took control of the Carthaginian defense and, outnumbered by the Romans, ordered his men to take up a position near the city and begin to engage in a series of probing strikes, attempting to lure out small groups of legionaries in order to surround them and pick them off in carefully-chosen battles.
An exceptionally gifted military leader, Alashayyi was able to inflict substantial casualties on his Roman attackers even as his men were gradually pushed back closer to the city. Messengers were sent to rally nearby allied units, and more defenders came quickly to relieve his struggling warriors. Appius' position was flanked in mid-September as more than 10,000 soldiers from Carthage's African clients came to relieve their mercenary allies. This attack was successful, nearly collapsing Appius' left
flank; but it was also short-lived, as Roman reinforcements coming from Sardinia and Sicily, as well as the large mercenary company under Melqartshamo' Bodoni arrived the next week. Now, the Roman side of the battle swelled to nearly 100,000 men -- by far the largest force ever fielded by the republic. More than 160,000 men fought at Kirob across both sides, doubling the size of the great Battle of Alexandria that ended the Roman campaigns in Greece.
As September came to an end, the fighting became increasingly frequent and brutal. Alashayyi showed himself a fierce and cunning commander -- though outnumbered by almost two-to-one, he was still able to kill a quarter of the entire attacking Roman force. Some 26,000 Romans died in the month-and-a-half long battle, but the force of their numbers was still enough to win the day. With almost 25,000 of his own men dead, Alashayyi was defeated and the various mercenary bands and vassal armies scattered in a desperate retreat. With Carthage's best soldiers and all of its war elephants trapped in Iberia with no surviving navy to ferry them back home, 'Eshmun' had no choice but to accept Rome's demands for surrender -- and those demands were steep.
At the onset of the war, Appius had hoped simply to break the Carthaginian spirit and secure Sardinia and Sicily, much as Rome had done to Kleopatra in Egypt. But Rome's victory in the First Punic War turned out to be much more devastating than even he had anticipated. Not only did the Romans secure all of Sicily and Sardinia, thereby completing their control over the Italian islands, but they delivered a crippling blow by holding the Carthaginian capital city under continued occupation. The Carthaginians still retained large holdings in Africa and Iberia, but the republic was now decapitated with its great capital and world-renowned naval port under permanent Roman control.
For Carthage, this was an unspeakable insult and cried out for a war of revenge to undo Rome's conquests. For Rome, this was just the first step toward the ultimate goal of completely subduing and conquering Carthage -- the first of the many Punic Wars.
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Appreciate that -- been a long time since my high school Latin classes!
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Navally perhaps but it is far, far too late for Carthage to directly compete with Rome after they've taken over the Italian peninsula entirely plus Greece. They have what, three times the population compared to the north Africans?
Rome could literally throw army after army at carthage now.
Handily won victory though, and the decapitation means the carrhigian empire is already effectively dead.
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In terms of actual army size, things were pretty even. If they'd had all the elephants at home, while it still probably would've been a Roman victory, I think it would've been a smaller-scale one. Still, lots of Punic pops along Africa means they still field respectable levies, but yes taking Carthage itself is a huge step.
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With the Naval Superiority you and African Clay. You should have no problem eating Carthage. The only thing really slowing you down is AE.
Is it better to take Greece before fighting the Carthaginians? I always fight them for Sardinia and Sicily before really going after Greece. (You know the "Historical" route)
Is it better to take Greece before fighting the Carthaginians? I always fight them for Sardinia and Sicily before really going after Greece. (You know the "Historical" route)
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Seeing how little I've played I:R, it's hard to say what's 'better'. But in this case, by conquering & integrating both the Lepontic and Macedonian pops, I was able to field a much larger overall levy. Given the number of troops Carthage was able to throw at me, even while its main levies were engaged in Iberia, I'm not sure I could've won a head-on war if I'd gone for Carthage first.
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An impressive victory over Rome's greatest rival. I imagine Carthage will be unlikely to present as much a threat again, but may still prove a thorn in Rome's side now that Rome has moved into North Africa.
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Thank you for the new mega-campaign. Is Rome overpowered, have you had good RNG luck or is the AI bad? The troop numbers seem greater than CK2 and early game EU4. How does the number for each compare to the appropriate OTL time periods?
Especially with warscore being what it is in I:R, yes Carthage will be an issue for a good while yet. But with their capital in hand, I don't foresee too much of a major threat unless I get caught in a multi-front war. In that case, I'm sure they have enough to strike back.
Oh Rome is absolutely overpowered. The early game can be a little hard when Italy is fragmented between bunches of similarly-sized states, but once you unify Italy and integrate a foreign pop or two to boost your levies, it becomes a lot easier.
I'm very much looking forward to the late stage of the game when the Crisis of the 3rd Century mod kicks in. It's going to be a lot of fun to build our alt-history Rome, which is already diverging from historical Rome in some ways, then watch it crash down in flames in a few centuries. Then in future installments I'll have my pick of plenty of potentially interesting nations/dynasties to take into CK.
As far as the numbers go, from a quick google it seems like Hannibal's army for the Second Punic War numbered around the low six figures, so I don't -think- that the numbers are too terribly off. I think, if I recall, army size did shrink considerably in the early Middle Ages compared to the height of Rome. But, this isn't an area of history I'm intimately familiar with.
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So far Rome has achieved a great victory over Carthage and even occupied the capital, but given the heavy casualties that took, I suspect Carthage is not yet done.
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Ch. IV.ii: Aftermath of the First Punic War
The First Punic War ended in a humiliating defeat for the republic of Carthage. For years, the two powers had been wary of each other, esteeming one another as equals and avoiding direct military conflict. But when the two great Mediterranean powerhouses finally came to blows over the control of Sicily and Sardinia, Carthage found itself swiftly decapitated by a fast, violent, and decisive Roman assault. Not only did Carthage lose all of its presence on the two contested islands, but the great maritime republic lost control of Qart Hadasht, its prized capital city and the site of its legendary naval port.
But while the defeat was crushing to the Carthaginian leadership, the residents of Qart Hadasht -- Carthago in Latin -- were treated with surprising civility by their Roman conquerors. Just as they had done in Gaul and Macedonia, the Romans extended citizenship to the majority Punic population and protected them from violence and exploitation. Looting during the war was held in check. Roman soldiers were still free to carry off the spoils of their victory in taking the city, but the Consuls took great care to ensure that the city was not extensively damaged, to the ire of those who wished to see everything of value in Carthage dragged back to Rome or, even those most violent senators who called for the complete destruction of the entire city.
While a Roman governor was appointed over the region, Punic officials were permitted to hold lesser government positions within the city, and Punic men were eligible to be conscripted to serve in the legions. To govern the republic's new African territory, the Senate appointed a young Roman noble, Publius Cornelius Barbatus. Publius was just 25 years old when he was appointed governor, and the senate chose him precisely for his age -- he was promised a long reign as governor to enjoy the riches of Africa, provided that he governed it wisely. The senate hoped that this would encourage the young governor to work diligently and invest in building up Carthage to thrive, and in this they were rewarded -- he would serve as regional governor for almost fifty years, expanding the city greatly and reigning until his death at the age of 73.
The conclusion of the war and Publius' work to build up the city of Carthago marked the beginning of a thirteen-year peace for Rome, during which the republic turned its energy and wealth to internal matters. Another wave of subsidized farming expansions fueled greater production of food in the Italian peninsula, both for local use and for export to other provinces in need of provisions for their growing urban populations. A temple to Apollo was built in the Epirote city of Ambracia along the Ionian coast in honor of the god's increasing importance in the Roman pantheon, and a number of great sacrifices were offered imploring blessings for peace and good health.
But although Rome was at peace for over a decade, borders and balances of power were shifting in other parts of the world.
Across the Mediterranean in the Iberian peninsula, the Vasconians had spent years waging campaign after successful campaign to conquer their neighbors south of the Pyrenees, expanding from a local tribe into a sprawling Iberian regional power. Hoping to secure an ally that could threaten Carthage on a new front, Rome began to aggressively court favor with their elder chieftess, Aretaunin Amida. In particular, the senate decreed that Vasconia should be a favored trade partner of the republic; if Rome was in need of any imported goods, it should look first to Vasconia before any other. As a result, in the years following the First Punic War, Rome became the Vasconians' largest trade partner, exporting scores of goods from basic foodstuffs to luxury items at great expense, fueling the Vasconian economy with Roman gold in hopes of future cooperation.
In the north, the far-off isle of Albion, a region largely unknown to Rome at the time, was being fiercely fought over by two major rival tribes, the Trinovantians and Coriondians. The two tribes would soon come to blows with one another in a great war, in which the southern Trinovantians would come to dominate almost the entire isle within the next decade.
And to the east of Rome, the Parthians were locked in a long and deadly war against the Xenokratides, who had overthrown the Seleukid leadership some years earlier. The Parthians had become a menace in the region and had conquered great stretches of land, though in recent years, the Persians under the leadership of Thoas I had begun to reclaim some land from them. Thrace continued to hold strong, though the rising threat of the Getians and Galatians loomed large against them, and the remnants of Macedonia ruled over small territories in southern Anatolia. Of the Diadochi kingdoms, only Ptolemaic Egypt remained thriving, secure in its rule over eastern Africa and steadily expanding through conquest to the south.
Ch. IV.iii: The Second Punic War
Rome experienced more than a decade of peace after the conclusion of the First Punic War, but in 230 BC, Rome's Consul Agrippa Cornelius Violens declared that the time had come to move against Carthage once more. With the great city of Carthago under Roman rule, Agrippa's goal was to capture the other wealthy Punic cities scattered along the African coast, striking at Carthage's economic strength to further weaken the republic in future wars.
Early in 230 BC, the Roman navy delivered 80,000 men to assault the Punic cities of 'Adromet, 'Illapqi, and Tapsor -- all three feudatory allies of Carthage -- and 'Akol, another fortified coastal town. While each of these cities boasted strong walls and required an extended siege to capture, they were without reinforcements; Carthage's military power was concentrated in the west, and the troops marching to meet the Romans had a great distance to cover.
By the summer of 230 BC, the first of these Carthaginian soldiers began to arrive, but these forces were small in number and generally attempted to avoid direct battle with the Romans, instead focusing their efforts on liberating captured cities to halt the progress of the Romans' expansion to the west. Small battles saw early Roman victories, but 'Arish Ybbarq, who was leading Carthage as Shopet at that time, had rallied a much larger force that was soon to come to their aid.
It was in the summer of 229 BC that the main Punic army came east prepared for battle, but they came far too late. Although they were over 40,000 strong and a mix of hardened mercenaries and elite elephant troops, their attempts to break past the Romans' western front was a failure. The Carthaginians advanced on the Roman forces at Thibilis and Zattara, where they attempted to pin the Roman soldiers against the mountains to isolate and destroy them. But while the heavy elephant units were able to inflict some significant casualties in the early phases of the battle, Rome's disciplined formations eventually won out, and the defeat broke the last vestiges of Carthaginian resistance.
With the Romans free to conquer as they wished, Carthage was compelled to accept a second demoralizing defeat. In 228 BC, Rome formally took possession of all Punic cities south and west of Carthago, from Hadrumentum all the way down to Tripolitania. These cities were populous, wealthy trade centers with heavy Punic populations. Their loss dealt a severe blow to Carthage's stability -- while the republic still controlled expansive stretches of land in Africa and Iberia, the loss of so many of its most prosperous cities meant that contending with Rome would only become harder as their economic disparity grew over time.
Having suffered two great defeats at the hands of the Roman invasion, Carthage was becoming desperate to hold on to its place in the Mediterranean world -- but their next Shopet, Milkiram Bodoni, had a plan to halt Rome's ambitions in Africa.
The First Punic War ended in a humiliating defeat for the republic of Carthage. For years, the two powers had been wary of each other, esteeming one another as equals and avoiding direct military conflict. But when the two great Mediterranean powerhouses finally came to blows over the control of Sicily and Sardinia, Carthage found itself swiftly decapitated by a fast, violent, and decisive Roman assault. Not only did Carthage lose all of its presence on the two contested islands, but the great maritime republic lost control of Qart Hadasht, its prized capital city and the site of its legendary naval port.
But while the defeat was crushing to the Carthaginian leadership, the residents of Qart Hadasht -- Carthago in Latin -- were treated with surprising civility by their Roman conquerors. Just as they had done in Gaul and Macedonia, the Romans extended citizenship to the majority Punic population and protected them from violence and exploitation. Looting during the war was held in check. Roman soldiers were still free to carry off the spoils of their victory in taking the city, but the Consuls took great care to ensure that the city was not extensively damaged, to the ire of those who wished to see everything of value in Carthage dragged back to Rome or, even those most violent senators who called for the complete destruction of the entire city.
While a Roman governor was appointed over the region, Punic officials were permitted to hold lesser government positions within the city, and Punic men were eligible to be conscripted to serve in the legions. To govern the republic's new African territory, the Senate appointed a young Roman noble, Publius Cornelius Barbatus. Publius was just 25 years old when he was appointed governor, and the senate chose him precisely for his age -- he was promised a long reign as governor to enjoy the riches of Africa, provided that he governed it wisely. The senate hoped that this would encourage the young governor to work diligently and invest in building up Carthage to thrive, and in this they were rewarded -- he would serve as regional governor for almost fifty years, expanding the city greatly and reigning until his death at the age of 73.
The conclusion of the war and Publius' work to build up the city of Carthago marked the beginning of a thirteen-year peace for Rome, during which the republic turned its energy and wealth to internal matters. Another wave of subsidized farming expansions fueled greater production of food in the Italian peninsula, both for local use and for export to other provinces in need of provisions for their growing urban populations. A temple to Apollo was built in the Epirote city of Ambracia along the Ionian coast in honor of the god's increasing importance in the Roman pantheon, and a number of great sacrifices were offered imploring blessings for peace and good health.
But although Rome was at peace for over a decade, borders and balances of power were shifting in other parts of the world.
Across the Mediterranean in the Iberian peninsula, the Vasconians had spent years waging campaign after successful campaign to conquer their neighbors south of the Pyrenees, expanding from a local tribe into a sprawling Iberian regional power. Hoping to secure an ally that could threaten Carthage on a new front, Rome began to aggressively court favor with their elder chieftess, Aretaunin Amida. In particular, the senate decreed that Vasconia should be a favored trade partner of the republic; if Rome was in need of any imported goods, it should look first to Vasconia before any other. As a result, in the years following the First Punic War, Rome became the Vasconians' largest trade partner, exporting scores of goods from basic foodstuffs to luxury items at great expense, fueling the Vasconian economy with Roman gold in hopes of future cooperation.
In the north, the far-off isle of Albion, a region largely unknown to Rome at the time, was being fiercely fought over by two major rival tribes, the Trinovantians and Coriondians. The two tribes would soon come to blows with one another in a great war, in which the southern Trinovantians would come to dominate almost the entire isle within the next decade.
And to the east of Rome, the Parthians were locked in a long and deadly war against the Xenokratides, who had overthrown the Seleukid leadership some years earlier. The Parthians had become a menace in the region and had conquered great stretches of land, though in recent years, the Persians under the leadership of Thoas I had begun to reclaim some land from them. Thrace continued to hold strong, though the rising threat of the Getians and Galatians loomed large against them, and the remnants of Macedonia ruled over small territories in southern Anatolia. Of the Diadochi kingdoms, only Ptolemaic Egypt remained thriving, secure in its rule over eastern Africa and steadily expanding through conquest to the south.
Ch. IV.iii: The Second Punic War
Rome experienced more than a decade of peace after the conclusion of the First Punic War, but in 230 BC, Rome's Consul Agrippa Cornelius Violens declared that the time had come to move against Carthage once more. With the great city of Carthago under Roman rule, Agrippa's goal was to capture the other wealthy Punic cities scattered along the African coast, striking at Carthage's economic strength to further weaken the republic in future wars.
Early in 230 BC, the Roman navy delivered 80,000 men to assault the Punic cities of 'Adromet, 'Illapqi, and Tapsor -- all three feudatory allies of Carthage -- and 'Akol, another fortified coastal town. While each of these cities boasted strong walls and required an extended siege to capture, they were without reinforcements; Carthage's military power was concentrated in the west, and the troops marching to meet the Romans had a great distance to cover.
By the summer of 230 BC, the first of these Carthaginian soldiers began to arrive, but these forces were small in number and generally attempted to avoid direct battle with the Romans, instead focusing their efforts on liberating captured cities to halt the progress of the Romans' expansion to the west. Small battles saw early Roman victories, but 'Arish Ybbarq, who was leading Carthage as Shopet at that time, had rallied a much larger force that was soon to come to their aid.
It was in the summer of 229 BC that the main Punic army came east prepared for battle, but they came far too late. Although they were over 40,000 strong and a mix of hardened mercenaries and elite elephant troops, their attempts to break past the Romans' western front was a failure. The Carthaginians advanced on the Roman forces at Thibilis and Zattara, where they attempted to pin the Roman soldiers against the mountains to isolate and destroy them. But while the heavy elephant units were able to inflict some significant casualties in the early phases of the battle, Rome's disciplined formations eventually won out, and the defeat broke the last vestiges of Carthaginian resistance.
With the Romans free to conquer as they wished, Carthage was compelled to accept a second demoralizing defeat. In 228 BC, Rome formally took possession of all Punic cities south and west of Carthago, from Hadrumentum all the way down to Tripolitania. These cities were populous, wealthy trade centers with heavy Punic populations. Their loss dealt a severe blow to Carthage's stability -- while the republic still controlled expansive stretches of land in Africa and Iberia, the loss of so many of its most prosperous cities meant that contending with Rome would only become harder as their economic disparity grew over time.
Having suffered two great defeats at the hands of the Roman invasion, Carthage was becoming desperate to hold on to its place in the Mediterranean world -- but their next Shopet, Milkiram Bodoni, had a plan to halt Rome's ambitions in Africa.
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The Romans are being remarkably fair and compassionate to non-romans TTL. Good for them, I suppose, esepcially if it fosters a pan-imperial identity eventually in the same way China managed to, meaning that though specific administrations and governments can fall, the empire will in time be rebuilt again and again.
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In its current form, the republic is somewhat decentralized in that regard. While Rome is certainly the center of everything and the nobility is exclusively Roman, the Punics, Macedonians, and Lepontics have been given enough privileges that there would be distinct regional characteristics and identity within each major region. Once we reach the point where Rome transitions out of a republic and into a kingdom or empire, that may change, but for now, it helps especially to have healthy levies at the four corners of the empire to be able to respond to threats or rebellions.
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