ABSTRACT
This chapter examines two conflicts crucial to the development of Rome’s Mediterranean empire. The first is the war between Rome and Tarentum, with its champion, Pyrrhus of Epirus. Pyrrhus was a Hellenistic warrior king in the mould of the successors to Alexander the Great, whose claim to royal power was vested through divine connections and leadership of a powerful army. The war is notable for the strength of Rome’s alliances, and the tenacity of Roman commanders in the field. The second conflict is the first of the three wars with Carthage, the First Punic War. This conflict saw the arrival of Rome as a Mediterranean naval power, and over a lengthy period the Romans defeated Carthage on land in Sicily and by sea off the Sicilian coast. The war is the first ‘imperialist’ war, as it resulted in the acquisition of overseas territory in Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, even if the war was not fought for these motives.
