Unplanned Wars: The Origins of the First and Second Punic Wars

Description

The series consists of a variety of monographs from the fields of Classical Philology and Ancient History. While maintaining a broad thematic and methodological scope, the editors are especially keen on studies showing a thorough and critical engagement with the relevant literary texts and primary sources. Abbreviations Maps Prologue I. Before 1. The Romans and the Carthaginians 2. Two treaties, and one fake 3. Pyrrhus’ war II. Preparations for War? 1. Post-Pyrrhic consolidations 2. Plans for a war? 3. The Romans and Sicily III. The Mamertine Appeal 1. Difficulties with dates 2. The ungrateful Mamertines IV. Debating the Appeal 1. The Mamertines’ deditio 2. The Romans’ debates 3. The Roman war-aims in 264 4. Course of the debates 5. Time-span of the debates V. The Punic-Syracusan Alliance 1. Messana vacated 2. Alliance of old foes VI. An Unwanted War 1. Appius at the straits: discrepant sources 2. Appius’ offer of talks 3. The sea-fight and aftermath 4. Crossing to Messana 5. Appius in battle VII. Escalation 1. Ap. Claudius against Syracuse 2. Valerius and Otacilius against Syracuse 3. Valerius in the west VIII. From Enmity to Goodwill 1. Wartime talks 2. The peace of Lutatius 3. A season of goodwill 4. Family politics in the 230s and 220s? IX. The Rape of Sardinia 1. How it was done 2. Why it was done X. Imaginary Confrontations in the 230s 1. Fictional clashes 2. Envoys to Hamilcar? XI. Hasdrubal’s Accord 1. The Barcid ascendancy 2. The accord with Hasdrubal: date 3. The accord: arguments about content 4. The aim of the accord: competing views XII. Saguntum 1. Friendship or alliance? 2. The Saguntine connexion: date 3. Saguntines in crisis 4. The Saguntines’ neighbours 5. Saguntines request arbitration 6. The Romans arbitrate XIII. Hannibal and the Ambassadors 1. The embassy of 220: aims 2. Disputed datings 3. The Roman démarche 4. The ambassadors at Carthage XIV. Saguntum Besieged 1. The Saguntines on their own 2. The Romans in debate XV. War to Save Face 1. The ultimatum 2. Could the embassy declare war? 3. Roman envoys to Punic senate 4. Punic senate to Roman envoys 5. War declared 6. From diplomacy to warfare, 218 B.C. XVI. Conclusions 1. A Roman expansionist war? 2. Punic plans and prospects 3. Punic wars and Roman imperialism 4. Avoidable wars? XVII. The Major Sources 1. Lost accounts 2. Surviving sources 3. Bias and inaccuracies the problem of Polybius 4. Problems with the later sources Bibliography Index I. Names and Topics Index II. Passages Cited