Hi there, you're listening to the Hellenistic Age podcast. Episode 115, the Third Punic War, Delenda Est.

Across a period of nearly five decades, the Roman Republic emerged out of the horrors of the Second Punic War to become the uncontested hegemon of the Mediterranean world.

Defeating and eventually destroying the Antigna dynasty in Macedonia, while forcing the mighty salucids in Asia to bend the knee

on numerous occasions. By the late 150s BC, no power on the continents of Europe, Asia, or Africa

could seriously consider itself equal to the

might of the Roman legions. Yet this did not seem so apparent to the Romans themselves. For the

ghost of Hannibal Barka continued to haunt many influential figures within the Republic,

enough to drive them to zealously pursue a policy of destruction against their North African rivals.

In this two-part series, we will cover the causes and controversies of the Third Punic War,

the final bloody chapter in a century of conflicts between Rome and Carthage, and discuss

what sort of consequences this had for the future of the Roman Republic as they

were poised to consolidate their hold over much of the known world.

In contrast to the Second Punic War, we find ourselves relying on a limited number of sources.

The chief account of the Third Punic War comes from the historian Appian during the second century AD,

as part of his broader history of Rome's foreign conflicts.

Ironically, despite being a direct eyewitness to the events and closely tied to its key players,

Polybius' history is woefully fragmented, though we may be certain that Appian relied on it heavily

when constructing his own narrative. But to understand why events transpired the way they did,

we must go back several years earlier to just after the Battle of Zama and the surrender

of Carthage in 201. As per the terms arranged between Scipio-Africanus and Hannibal, Carthage was shackled

with an indemnity of 10,000 silver talents to be paid to Rome in annual installments of 200 talents

for the next 50 years. This was certainly a sizable amount owed, but it was neither too burdensome,

...