document_title: First Punic War

question_text: who led carthage in the first punic war

question_tokens: who led carthage in the first punic war

root

text: First Punic War

text: Name[edit]

text: The series of wars between Rome and Carthage took the name "Punic" from the Latin adjective for Carthaginian, Punicus. This is derived from Poeni (Carthaginians) and refers to the Carthaginian heritage as Phoenician colonists.[1] A Carthaginian name(s) for the conflicts does not survive in any records.[citation needed]

tag: p

text: Background[edit]

text: Rome[edit]

text: Rome had recently emerged as the leading city-state in the Italian Peninsula, a wealthy, powerful, expansionist republic with a successful citizen army.[2] Over the past one hundred years, Rome had come into conflict, and defeated rivals on the Italian peninsula, then incorporated them into the Roman political world. First the Latin League was forcibly dissolved during the Latin War,[3] then the power of the Samnites was broken during the three prolonged Samnite wars,[4] and then the Greek cities of Magna Graecia (southern Italy) submitted to Roman power at the conclusion of the Pyrrhic War.[4] By the beginning of the First Punic War, the Romans had secured the whole of the Italian peninsula, except Gallia Cisalpina in the Po Valley.

text: Carthage[edit]

text: Carthage was a republic that dominated the political, military and economic affairs of the western Mediterranean Sea, especially on the North African coasts and islands, and above all, due to its navy.[2][5] It originated as a Phoenician colony in Africa, near modern Tunis. Carthage had become a wealthy centre for trade networks extending from Gadir (Cádiz) along the coasts of southern Iberia and North Africa, across the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, and the western half of Sicily, to the ports of the eastern Mediterranean, including Tyre, its mother city, on the shores of the Levant.[6] At the height of power, just before the First Punic War, Carthage was hostile to foreign ships (such as Roman and Greek vessels) in the western Mediterranean.[7]

text: North African peoples[edit]

text: North African peoples such as the Berbers in the area around Carthage were loosely associated with Carthage.[8] In the midst of the First Punic War some tribes would rebel against Carthage, opening a second front while the Carthaginians battled the Romans in Sicily.

text: Greek colonists[edit]

text: Greek colonists were also a major presence in the western Mediterranean, following centuries of colonial settlement, trade and conflicts with Rome over Magna Graecia and with Carthage over places such as Sicily.[9][10] The rich, strategically influential, and well-fortified Greek colony of Syracuse was politically independent of Rome and Carthage. Hostilities of the First Punic War began with developments involving the Romans, Carthaginians, and Greek colonists in Sicily and southern Italy.

text: Beginning[edit]

text: In 288 BC, the Mamertines, a group of Italian (Campanian) mercenaries originally hired by Agathocles of Syracuse, occupied the city of Messana (modern Messina) in the north-eastern tip of Sicily, killing all the men and taking the women as their wives.[11] At the same time, a group of Roman troops made up of Campanian "citizens without the vote" revolted and seized control of Rhegium, lying across the Straits of Messina on the mainland of Italy. In 270 BC, the Romans regained control of Rhegium and severely punished the survivors of the revolt. In Sicily, the Mamertines ravaged the countryside and collided with the expanding regional empire of the independent city of Syracuse. Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse, defeated the Mamertines near Mylae on the Longanus River.[12] Following their defeat, the Mamertines appealed to both Rome and Carthage for assistance. The Carthaginians acted first, approached Hiero to take no further action and convinced the Mamertines to accept a Carthaginian garrison in Messana. Either unhappy with the prospect of a Carthaginian garrison or convinced that the recent alliance between Rome and Carthage against Pyrrhus reflected cordial relations between the two, the Mamertines, hoping for more reliable protection, petitioned Rome for an alliance. However, the rivalry between Rome and Carthage had grown since the war with Pyrrhus and that alliance was simply no longer feasible.[13]

text: According to the historian Polybius, considerable debate took place in Rome on the question as to whether to accept the Mamertines' appeal for help and thus likely enter into a war with Carthage. The Romans did not wish to come to the aid of soldiers who had unjustly stolen a city from its rightful possessors, and they were still recovering from the insurrection of Campanian troops at the Battle of Rhegium in 271 BC. However, many were also unwilling to see Carthaginian power in Sicily expand even further. Leaving them at Messana would give the Carthaginians a free hand to deal with Syracuse. After the Syracusans had been defeated, the Carthaginian takeover of Sicily would essentially be complete.[14] A deadlocked senate put the matter before the popular assembly, where it was decided to accept the Mamertines' request and Appius Claudius Caudex was appointed commander of a military expedition with orders to cross to Messana.[15][16]

text: Roman landing and advance to Syracuse[edit]

text: Sicily is a hilly volcanic island, with geographical obstacles and rough terrain making lines of communication difficult to maintain. For this reason, land warfare played a secondary role in the First Punic War.[citation needed] Land operations were confined to small scale raids and skirmishes, with few pitched battles. Sieges and land blockades were the most common large-scale operations for the regular army. The main blockade targets were the important ports since neither Carthage nor Rome were based in Sicily, and both needed continuous reinforcements and communication with their mainlands.[17]

text: The land war in Sicily began with the Roman landing at Messana in 264 BC. According to Polybius, despite the Carthaginian pre-war naval advantage, the Roman landing was virtually unopposed. Two legions commanded by Appius Claudius Caudex disembarked at Messana, where the Mamertines had expelled the Carthaginian garrison commanded by Hanno (no relation to Hanno the Great).[18] After defeating the Syracusan and Carthaginian forces besieging Messana, the Romans marched south and in turn besieged Syracuse.[19] After a brief siege, with no Carthaginian help in sight, Syracuse made peace with the Romans.[20]

text: According to the terms of the treaty, Syracuse would become a Roman ally, pay a somewhat light indemnity of 100 talents of silver to Rome and, perhaps most importantly, agree to help supply the Roman army in Sicily.[20] That solved the Roman problem of having to keep an overseas army provisioned while facing an enemy with a superior navy.[20][21] Following the defection of Syracuse from Carthage, several other smaller Carthaginian dependencies in Sicily also switched to the Roman side.[20]

text: Carthage prepares for war[edit]

text: Meanwhile, Carthage had begun to build a mercenary army in Africa, which was to be shipped to Sicily to meet the Romans. According to the historian Philinus, this army was composed of 50,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and 60 elephants and partly composed of Ligurians, Celts and Iberians.[22][23]

text: In past wars on the island of Sicily, Carthage had won by relying on certain fortified strong-points throughout the island, and their plan was to conduct the land war in the same fashion. The mercenary army would operate in the open against the Romans, while the strongly fortified cities would provide a defensive base from which to operate.[20]

text: Battle of Agrigentum[edit]

text: In 262 BC, Rome besieged Agrigentum, an operation that involved both consular armies—a total of four Roman legions—and took several months to resolve. The garrison of Agrigentum (known to the Greeks as Acragas) managed to call for reinforcements and the Carthaginian relief force commanded by Hanno which destroyed the Roman supply base at Erbessus.[24] With supplies from Syracuse cut, the Romans were now besieged and constructed a line of contravallation.[24] After a few skirmishes, disease struck the Roman army while supplies in Agrigentum were running low, and both sides saw an open battle as preferable to the current situation.[24] Although the Romans won a clear victory over the Carthaginian relief force at the Battle of Agrigentum, the Carthaginian army defending the city managed to escape.[24] Agrigentum, now lacking any real defences, fell easily to the Romans, who then sacked the city and enslaved the populace.[24][25]

text: Rome builds a fleet[edit]

text: At the beginning of the First Punic War, Rome had virtually no experience in naval warfare, whereas the strong and powerful Carthage had a great deal of experience on the seas thanks to its centuries of sea-based trade. Nevertheless, the growing Roman Republic soon understood the importance of Mediterranean control in the outcome of the conflict.[26]

text: Origin of Roman design[edit]

text: The first major Roman fleet was constructed after the victory of Agrigentum in 261 BC. Some historians have speculated that, since Rome lacked advanced naval technology, the design of the warships was probably copied from captured Carthaginian triremes and quinqueremes or from ships that had beached on Roman shores due to storms.[27] According to Polybius, the Romans seized a shipwrecked Carthaginian quinquereme, and used it as a blueprint for their own ships.[28] Other historians have pointed out that Rome did have experience with naval technology, as she patrolled her coasts against piracy.[29] Another possibility is that Rome received technical assistance from its seafaring Sicilian ally, Syracuse.[29] Regardless of the state of their naval technology at the start of the war, Rome quickly adapted.[30]

text: The corvus[edit]

text: In order to compensate for the lack of experience, and to make use of standard land military tactics at sea,[31] the Romans equipped their new ships with a special boarding device, the corvus.[32] The Roman military was a land-based army, while Carthage was primarily a naval power. This boarding-bridge allowed the Roman navy to circumvent some of Carthage's naval skills by using their marines to board Carthaginian ships and fight in hand-to-hand combat. Instead of manoeuvring to ram, which was the standard naval tactic at the time, corvus equipped ships would manoeuver alongside the enemy vessel, deploy the bridge which would attach to the enemy ship through spikes on the end of the bridge, and send legionaries across as boarding parties.[33][34]

text: The new weapon would prove its worth in the Battle of Mylae, the first Roman naval victory, and would continue to do so in the following years, especially in the huge Battle of Cape Ecnomus. The addition of the corvus forced Carthage to review its military tactics, and since the city had difficulty in doing so, Rome had the naval advantage.[35]

text: Battle of Mylae[edit]

text: The Roman fleet under the command of Gaius Duilius, engaged the Carthaginians under general Hannibal Gisco, off northern Mylae in 260 BC. Polybius states that the Carthaginians had 130 ships, but does not give an exact figure for the Romans.[36] The loss of 17 ships at the Lipari Islands from a starting total of 120 ships suggests that Rome had 103 remaining. However, it is possible that this number was greater, thanks to captured ships and the assistance of Roman allies.[37] The Carthaginians anticipated victory, due to their superior experience at sea.[36]

text: The corvi were very successful, and helped the Romans seize the first 30 Carthaginian ships that were close enough. In order to avoid the corvi, the Carthaginians were forced to navigate around them and approach the Romans from behind, or from the side. The corvus was usually still able to pivot and grapple most oncoming ships.[38] After an additional 20 Carthaginian ships had been hooked and lost to the Romans, Hannibal Gisco retreated with his surviving ships, leaving Duilius with a clear victory.

text: Instead of pursuing the remaining Carthaginians, Duilius sailed to Sicily to relieve the city of Segesta, which had been under siege from the Carthaginian infantry commander Hamilcar.[39] Modern historians have wondered at Duilius’ decision not to immediately follow up with another naval attack, but Hannibal Gisco’s remaining 80 ships were probably still too strong for Rome to conquer.[40]

text: Hamilcar's counter-attack[edit]

text: The Roman advance now continued westward from Agrigentum to relieve the besieged city of Macella in 260 BC,[41] which had sided with Rome and was attacked by the Carthaginians for doing so. In the north, the Romans, with their northern sea flank secured by their naval victory at the Battle of Mylae, advanced toward Thermae. They were defeated there by the Carthaginians under Hamilcar (a popular Carthaginian name, not to be confused with Hannibal Barca's father, with the same name) in 260 BC.[42] The Carthaginians took advantage of this victory by counter-attacking, in 259 BC, and seizing Enna. Hamilcar continued south to Camarina, in Syracusan territory, presumably with the intent to convince the Syracusans to rejoin the Carthaginian side.[43]

text: Battles in Sardinia and Corsica[edit]

text: In 259 BC, consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio occupied Aleria in Corsica and probably Olbia in Sardinia. Hanno died while fighting at Olbia. The Romans withdrew because of the arrival of a Carthaginian fleet. Cornelius Scipio celebrated his victories over the Carthaginians and Sardinians with a triumph the following year[44]. During the same year a naval battle occurred near Sulci. The Carthaginian fleet was defeated and the commander Hannibal Gisco who abandoned his men and fled to Sulci was later captured by his soldiers and crucified.

text: Continued Roman advance[edit]

text: The next year, 258 BC, the Romans were able to regain the initiative by retaking Enna and Camarina. In central Sicily, they took the town of Mytistraton, which they had attacked twice previously. The Romans also moved in the north by marching across the northern coast toward Panormus, but were not able to take the city.[45]

text: Invasion of Africa[edit]

text: After their conquests in the Agrigentum campaign, and following several naval battles, Rome attempted (256/255 BC) the second large scale land operation of the war. Seeking a swifter end to the war than the long sieges in Sicily would have provided, Rome decided to invade the Carthaginian colonies of Africa and usurp Carthage's supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea, consequently forcing Carthage to accept its terms.[33][46]

text: Battle of Cape Ecnomus[edit]

text: In order to initiate its invasion of Africa, the Roman Republic constructed a major fleet, comprising transports for the army and its equipment, and warships for protection. Carthage attempted to intervene with a fleet of 350 ships (according to Polybius),[47] but was defeated in the Battle of Cape Ecnomus.[48]

text: Regulus's raid[edit]

text: As a result of the battle, the Roman army, commanded by Marcus Atilius Regulus, landed in Africa and began ravaging the Carthaginian countryside.[49] The Siege of Aspis (or Clupea) was the first fighting on African land during the war. Regulus was next victorious at the Battle of Adys, forcing Carthage to sue for peace.[50] According to Polybius, the terms suggested were so heavy that Carthage decided they would be better off not under Roman rule. The negotiations failed but fortunately, for the Carthaginians, Xanthippus, a Spartan mercenary, returned to Carthage to reorganise its army.[33][51] Xanthippus defeated the Roman army and captured Regulus at the Battle of Tunis,[52][53] and then managed to cut off what remained of the Roman army from its base by re-establishing Carthaginian naval supremacy.[54][55]

text: Carthage's respite[edit]

text: The Romans, meanwhile, had sent a new fleet to pick up the survivors of its African expedition. Although the Romans defeated the Carthaginian fleet and were successful in rescuing their army in Africa, a storm destroyed nearly the entire Roman fleet on the return trip; the number of casualties in the disaster may have exceeded 90,000 men.[55] The Carthaginians took advantage of this to attack Agrigentum. They did not believe that they could hold the city, so they burned it and left.[56]

text: Renewed Roman offensive[edit]

text: The Romans were able to rally, however, and quickly resumed the offensive. With a new fleet of 140 ships, Rome returned to the strategy of taking the Carthaginian cities in Sicily one by one.[57]

text: Initial failure[edit]

text: Attacks began with naval assaults on Lilybaeum, the centre of Carthaginian power on Sicily, and a raid on Africa. Both efforts ended in failure.[58] The Romans retreated from Lilybaeum, and the Roman African force was caught in another storm and destroyed.[58]

text: Northern advance[edit]

text: The Romans, however, made great progress in the north. The city of Thermae was captured in 252 BC, enabling another advance on the port city of Panormus. The Romans attacked this city after taking Kephalodon in 251 BC. After fierce fighting, the Carthaginians were defeated and the city fell. With Panormus captured, much of western inland Sicily fell with it. The cities of Ietas, Solous, Petra, and Tyndaris agreed to peace with the Romans that same year.[59]

text: Northwestern expedition[edit]

text: The next year, the Romans shifted their attention to the north-west. They sent a naval expedition toward Lilybaeum. En route, the Romans seized and burned the Carthaginian hold-out cities of Selinous and Heraclea Minoa. This expedition to Lilybaeum was not successful, but attacking the Carthaginian headquarters demonstrated Roman resolve to take all of Sicily.[60] The Roman fleet was defeated by the Carthaginians at Drepana, forcing the Romans to continue their attacks from land. Roman forces at Lilybaeum were relieved, and Eryx, near Drepana, was seized thus menacing that important city as well.[61]

text: Following the conclusive naval victory off Drepana in 249 BC, Carthage ruled the seas as Rome was unwilling to finance the construction of yet another expensive fleet. Nevertheless, the Carthaginian faction that opposed the conflict, led by the land-owning aristocrat Hanno the Great, gained power and in 244 BC, considering the war to be over, started the demobilisation of the fleet, giving the Romans a chance to again attain naval superiority.[62]

text: Conclusion[edit]

text: Stalemate in Sicily[edit]

text: At this point (247 BC[63]), Carthage sent general Hamilcar Barca (Hannibal's father) to Sicily. His landing at Heirkte (near Panormus) drew the Romans away to defend that port city and resupply point and gave Drepana some breathing room. Subsequent guerrilla warfare kept the Roman legions pinned down and preserved Carthage's toehold in Sicily, although Roman forces which bypassed Hamilcar forced him to relocate to Eryx, to better defend Drepana.[60]

text: Battle of the Aegates Islands[edit]

text: Perhaps in response to Hamilcar's raids, Rome built another fleet (paid for with donations from wealthy citizens). It was this fleet that rendered the Carthaginian success in Sicily futile, as the stalemate Hamilcar produced in Sicily became irrelevant following the Roman naval victory at the Battle of the Aegates Islands in 241 BC, where the new Roman fleet under consul Gaius Lutatius Catulus was victorious over an undermanned and hastily built Carthaginian fleet. Carthage lost most of its fleet and was economically incapable of funding another, or of finding manpower for the crews.[64]

text: Without naval support, Hamilcar Barca was cut off from Carthage and forced to negotiate peace and agree to evacuate Sicily.[65] It should be noted that Hamilcar Barca had a subordinate named Gesco conduct the negotiations with Lutatius, in order to create the impression that he had not really been defeated.[1][66]

text: Role of naval warfare[edit]

text: Due to the difficulty of operating in Sicily, most of the First Punic War was fought at sea, including the most decisive battles.[17] But one reason the war bogged down into stalemate on the landward side was because ancient navies were ineffective at maintaining seaward blockades of enemy ports. Consequently, Carthage was able to reinforce and re-supply its besieged strongholds, especially Lilybaeum, on the western end of Sicily. Both sides of the conflict had publicly funded fleets. This fact compromised Carthage and Rome's finances and eventually decided the course of the war.[67]

text: Despite the Roman victories at sea, the Roman Republic lost countless ships and crews during the war, due to both storms and battles. On at least two occasions (255 and 253 BC) whole fleets were destroyed in bad weather; the disaster off Camarina in 255 BC counted two hundred seventy ships and over one hundred thousand men lost, the greatest single loss in history.[68] One theory is that the weight of the corvus on the prows of the ships made the ships unstable and caused them to sink in bad weather. Later, as Roman experience in naval warfare grew, the corvus device was made attachable and detachable due to its impact on the navigability of the war vessels.[69]

text: Aftermath[edit]

text: Rome won the First Punic War after 23 years of conflict and in the end became the dominant naval power of the Mediterranean. In the aftermath of the war, both states were financially and demographically exhausted.[67] Corsica, Sardinia and Africa remained Carthaginian, but they had to pay a high war indemnity. Rome's victory was greatly influenced by its persistence. Moreover, the Roman Republic's ability to attract private investments in the war effort to fund ships and crews was one of the deciding factors of the war, particularly when contrasted with the Carthaginian nobility's apparent unwillingness to risk their fortunes for the common war effort.

text: Casualties[edit]

text: The exact number of casualties on each side is difficult to determine, due to bias in the historical sources.

text: According to sources (excluding land warfare casualties):[70]

text:
Rome lost 700 ships (in part to bad weather) with an unknown number of crew deaths.
Carthage lost 500 ships with an unknown number of crew deaths.

tag: ul

text: Although uncertain, the casualties were heavy for both sides. Polybius commented that the war was, at the time, the most destructive in terms of casualties in the history of warfare, including the battles of Alexander the Great. Analysing the data from the Roman census of the 3rd century BC, Adrian Goldsworthy noted that during the conflict Rome lost about 50,000 men. This excludes auxiliary troops and every other man in the army without citizen status, who would be outside the head count.[71][72]

text: Peace terms[edit]

text: The terms of the Treaty of Lutatius designed by the Romans were particularly heavy for Carthage, which had lost bargaining power following its defeat at the Aegates islands. Accordingly, Carthage agreed to:

text:
evacuate Sicily and the small islands west of it (Aegadian Islands).
return its prisoners of war without ransom, while paying a heavy ransom of their own.
refrain from attacking Syracuse and her allies.
transfer a group of small islands north of Sicily (the Aeolian Islands and Ustica) to Rome.
evacuate all of the small islands between Sicily and Africa (Pantelleria, Linosa, Lampedusa, Lampione and Malta).
pay a 2,200 talent (66 tonnes/145,000 pounds) of silver indemnity in ten annual instalments, plus an additional indemnity of 1,000 talents (30 tonnes/66,000 pounds) immediately.[73]

text: Further clauses determined that the allies of each side would not be attacked by the other, no attacks were to be made by either side upon the other's allies and both sides were prohibited from recruiting soldiers within the territory of the other. This denied the Carthaginians access to any mercenary manpower from Italy and most of Sicily, although this later clause was temporarily abolished during the Mercenary War.

text: Political results[edit]

text: In the aftermath of the war, Carthage had insufficient state funds. Hanno the Great tried to induce the disbanded armies to accept diminished payment, but kindled a movement that led to an internal conflict, the Mercenary War. After a hard struggle from the combined efforts of Hamilcar Barca, Hanno the Great and others, the Punic forces were finally able to annihilate the mercenaries and the insurgents. However, during this conflict, Rome took advantage of the opportunity to strip Carthage of Corsica and Sardinia as well.[1]

text: Perhaps the most immediate political result of the First Punic War was the downfall of Carthage's naval power. Conditions signed in the peace treaty were intended to compromise Carthage's economic situation and prevent the city's recovery. The indemnity demanded by the Romans strained the city's finances and forced Carthage to look to other areas of influence for the money to pay Rome.[74]

text: Carthage, seeking to make up for the recent territorial losses and a plentiful source of silver to pay the large indemnity owed to Rome, turned its attention to Iberia; and in 237 BC, the Carthaginians, led by Hamilcar Barca, began a series of campaigns to expand their control over the peninsula. Though Hamilcar was killed in 229 BC, the offensive continued with the Carthaginians extending their power towards the Ebro valley and founding "New Carthage" in 228 BC. When Carthage besieged the Roman protected town of Saguntum in 218 BC, it ignited the Second Punic War with Rome.[75]

text: As for Rome, the end of the First Punic War marked the start of Rome's expansion beyond the Italian Peninsula. Sicily became the first Roman province (Sicilia) governed by a former praetor, instead of an ally. Sicily would become very important to Rome as a source of grain.[1] Importantly, Syracuse was granted nominal independent ally status for the lifetime of Hiero II, and was not incorporated into the Roman province of Sicily until after it was sacked by Marcus Claudius Marcellus during the Second Punic War.[76]

text: Notable leaders[edit]

text:
Adherbal, Carthaginian leading admiral
Appius Claudius Caudex, Roman consul
Aulus Atilius Calatinus, Roman dictator
Gaius Duilius, Roman consul
Gaius Lutatius Catulus, Roman consul
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina, Roman consul
Hamilcar Barca, Carthaginian leading general
Hannibal Gisco, Carthaginian general
Hanno the Great, Carthaginian leading politician
Hasdrubal the Fair, Carthaginian general
Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse
Lucius Caecilius Metellus, Roman consul
Marcus Atilius Regulus, Roman consul
Publius Claudius Pulcher, Roman consul
Xanthippus, Spartan mercenary in the service of Carthage
Hannibal the Rhodian, Carthaginian privateer

text: Chronology[edit]

text:
264 BC: The Mamertines seek assistance from Rome to replace Carthage's protection against the attacks of Hiero II of Syracuse.
263 BC: Hiero II is defeated by consul Manius Valerius Messalla and is forced to change allegiance to Rome, which recognises his position as King of Syracuse and the surrounding territory.
262 BC: Roman intervention in Sicily. The city of Agrigentum, occupied by Carthage, is besieged.
261 BC: Battle of Agrigentum, which results in a Roman victory and capture of the city. Rome decides to build a fleet to threaten Carthaginian domination at sea.
260 BC: First naval encounter (Battle of the Lipari Islands) is a disaster for Rome, but soon afterwards, Gaius Duilius wins the battle of Mylae with the help of the corvus engine.[1]
259 BC: The land fighting is extended to Sardinia and Corsica.
258 BC: Naval Battle of Sulci: Roman victory.
257 BC: Naval Battle of Tyndaris: Roman victory.
256 BC: Rome attempts to invade Africa and Carthage attempts to intercept the transport fleet. The resulting Battle of Cape Ecnomus is a major victory for Rome, which lands in Africa and advances on Carthage. The Battle of Adys is the first Roman success on African soil and Carthage sues for peace. Negotiations fail to reach agreement and the war continues.
255 BC: The Carthaginians employ a Spartan general, Xanthippus, to organise their defences and defeat the Romans at the Battle of Tunis. The Roman survivors are evacuated by a fleet to be destroyed soon afterwards, on their way back to Sicily.
254 BC: A new fleet of 140 Roman ships is constructed to substitute the one lost in the storm and a new army is levied. The Romans win a victory at Panormus, in Sicily, but fail to make any further progress in the war. Five Greek cities in Sicily defect from Carthage to Rome.
253 BC: The Romans pursue a policy of raiding the African coast east of Carthage. After an unsuccessful year the fleet heads for home. During the return to Italy the Romans are again caught in a storm and lose 150 ships.
251 BC: The Romans again win at Panormus over the Carthaginians, led by Hasdrubal. As a result of the recent losses, Carthage endeavours to strengthen its garrisons in Sicily and recapture Agrigentum. Romans begin siege of Lilybaeum.
249 BC: Rome loses almost a whole fleet in the Battle of Drepana. In the same year Hamilcar Barca accomplishes successful raids in Sicily and yet another storm destroys the remainder of the Roman ships. Aulus Atilius Calatinus is appointed dictator and sent to Sicily.
248 BC: Beginning of a period of low-intensity fighting in Sicily, without naval battles. This lull would last until 241 BC.
244 BC: With little to no naval engagements, Hanno the Great of Carthage advocates the demobilisation of large parts of the Carthaginian navy to save money. Carthage does so.
242 BC: Rome constructs another major battle fleet.
241 BC: On March 10, the Romans secure a decisive victory at the Battle of the Aegates Islands. Carthage negotiates peace terms and the First Punic War ends.[1]


document_title: The Parent Trap (1961 film)

question_text: who played the twins in the parent trap

question_tokens: who played the twins in the parent trap

text: The Parent Trap (1961 film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: Identical twins Susan Evers and Sharon McKendrick (Hayley Mills) meet at Miss Inch's Summer Camp for Girls, unaware that they are sisters. Their identical appearance initially creates rivalry, and they pull pranks on each other, which leads to the camp dance being crashed by their mischief. As punishment, they must live together in the isolated "Serendipity" cabin (and eat together at an "isolation table") for the remainder of their time at summer camp. After finding out that they both come from single parent homes, they soon realize they are twin sisters and that their parents, Mitch (Brian Keith) and Maggie (Maureen O'Hara), divorced shortly after their birth, with each parent having custody of one of them. The twins, each eager to meet the parent she never knew, switch places. They drill each other on the other's behavior and lives, and Susan cuts Sharon's hair into the same style as hers. While Susan is in Boston, Massachusetts masquerading as Sharon, Sharon goes to Carmel, California pretending to be Susan.

text: Sharon telephones Susan in Boston with news that their father is planning to remarry, and that their mother needs to be rushed to California to stop the wedding. In Boston, Susan reveals to her mother the truth about the switched identities and the two fly to California.

text: In California, the twins (with mild approval from their mother) scheme to sabotage their father's marriage plans. Mitch's money-hungry - and much younger - fiancée Vicky Robinson (Joanna Barnes) receives rude, mischievous treatment from the girls and some veiled cattiness from Maggie. One evening, the girls recreate their parents' first date at an Italian restaurant with a gypsy violinist. The former spouses are gradually drawn together, though they quickly begin bickering over minor things and Vicky.

text: To delay Maggie's return to Boston with Sharon, the twins dress and talk alike so their parents are unable to tell them apart. They will reveal who is who only after returning from the annual family camping trip. Mitch and Maggie reluctantly agree, but when Vicky discovers and consequently objects to the plan of them spending alone time together in the woods, Maggie tricks her into taking her place instead (knowing full well that she's not made for 'the great outdoors', which might very well prove her undoing). The girls effect the coup de grâce; Vicky spends her time swatting mosquitoes (being tricked by the girls to use sugared water instead of mosquito repellent) and being awakened in terror by two bear cubs licking honey off her feet which the twins had previously placed there. Exasperated, Vicky finally has a shouting tantrum destroying everything in her path and culminating in angrily slapping one of the girls, leaving Mitch with a whole new-found view of her. When she runs off to escape back to the city in a great huff, Mitch seems none too worried to be rid of her. When Mitch and the girls return from the trip, Maggie greets them with a sumptuous home-cooked meal, and Mitch is immediately reminded and recaptured by her charms. They are soon reminiscing about their past and Mitch admits that he's missed her dearly which leads to them embracing with a kiss. They admit to each other that neither want nor need grow old alone, which is slowly creeping up on them; they have no more time to lose. With this they rekindle their love, and the two remarry in the final scene, with the twins, members of the wedding party, elated their plan worked out exactly as they'd hoped.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Hayley Mills as Sharon McKendrick/Susan Evers
Brian Keith as Mitch Evers
Maureen O'Hara as Maggie McKendrick
Joanna Barnes as Vicky Robinson
Charlie Ruggles as Charles McKendrick
Cathleen Nesbitt as Louise McKendrick
Una Merkel as Verbena
Leo G. Carroll as Reverend Dr. Mosby
Linda Watkins as Edna Robinson
Ruth McDevitt as Miss Abbey Inch
Crahan Denton as Hecky
Nancy Kulp as Miss Grunecker
Susan Henning as Susan/Sharon double

text: Production notes[edit]

text: The film originally called for only a few trick photography shots of Hayley Mills in scenes with herself; the bulk of the film was to be shot using a body double. The film used Disney's proprietary sodium vapor process for compositing rather than the usual chroma key technique. When Walt Disney saw how seamless the processed shots were, he ordered the script reconfigured to include more of the special effect. Disney also wanted Mills to appear on camera as much as possible, knowing that she was having growth spurts during filming.

text: The film was shot mostly at various locales in California. The summer camp scenes were filmed at Bluff Lake Camp (then owned by the Pasadena YMCA, now by Habonim Dror's Camp Gilboa) and the family camping scenes later in the movie at Cedar Lake Camp, both in the San Bernardino Mountains near the city of Big Bear Lake in Southern California. The Monterey scenes were filmed in various California locations, including millionaire Stuyvesant Fish's 5,200 acres (21 km2) ranch in Carmel and Monterey's Pebble Beach golf course. The scenes at the Monterey house were shot at the studio's Golden Oak Ranch in Placerita Canyon, where Mitch's ranch was built.[5] It was the design of this set that proved the most popular, and to this day the Walt Disney Archives receives requests for plans of the home's interior design.[6] In fact, there never was such a house; the set was simply various rooms built on a sound stage. Camp Inch was based on a real girls' camp called Camp Crestridge for Girls at the Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center near Asheville, North Carolina.

text: Musical numbers[edit]

text: Richard and Robert Sherman provided the songs, which, besides the title song "The Parent Trap", includes "For Now, For Always", and "Let's Get Together". "Let's Get Together" (sung by Annette Funicello) is heard playing from a record player at the summer camp; the tune is reprised by the twins when they restage their parents' first date and that version is sung double-tracked by Hayley Mills. (Hayley's own single of the song, credited to "Hayley Mills and Hayley Mills," reached #8 on the US charts.) The film's title song was performed by Tommy Sands and Annette Funicello, who were both on the studio lot shooting Babes in Toyland at the time.

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text: The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: one for Sound by Robert O. Cook, and the other for Film Editing by Philip W. Anderson.[7] The film and its editor, Philip W. Anderson, won the inaugural 1962 Eddie Award of the American Cinema Editors. [8]

text: Subsequent developments[edit]

text: In 1961 a comic book version of the film was published, adapted and illustrated by Dan Spiegle.[9][10]

text: The film was theatrically re-released in 1968 and earned $1.8 million in rentals.[11]

text: The Disney Studios produced three television sequels The Parent Trap II (1986), Parent Trap III (1989) and Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon (1989). The original was remade in 1998 starring Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson.

text: In India, there have been several films inspired by The Parent Trap. In 1965, a Tamil language version of the story called Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum, starring Kutty Padmini was released. The following year, it was remade into Telugu as Leta Manasulu also starring Kutty Padmini. A Hindi version Do Kaliyaan starring Neetu Singh in the double role was made in 1968.[12] The 1987 film Pyar Ke Kabil also has a similar storyline, as does the 2001 film Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi which has Kajol playing the double role of 23-year-old twins.[13]

text: Home media[edit]

text: The film was released on a 2-disc special edition DVD in 2005.


document_title: Honshu

question_text: japanese prefecture located in westernmost tip of honshu

text: Honshu

text: Geography[edit]

text: The island is roughly 1,300 km (810 mi) long and ranges from 50 to 230 km (31 to 143 mi) wide, and its total area is 225,800 km2 (87,200 sq mi), 60% of the total area of Japan,[citation needed] making it slightly larger than Great Britain.[5] Its land area has been increasing with land reclamation and coastal uplift in the north, but global sea level rise has diminished these effects.[citation needed] Honshu has 10,084 kilometres (6,266 mi) of coastline.[1]

text: Mountainous and volcanic, Honshu experiences frequent earthquakes (the Great Kantō earthquake heavily damaged Tokyo in September 1923, and the earthquake of March 2011 moved the northeastern part of the island by varying amounts of as much as 5.3 m (17 ft)[6][7] while causing devastating tsunamis). The highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at 3,776 m (12,388 ft), which makes Honshu the world's 7th highest island. There are many rivers, including the Shinano River, Japan's longest. The Japanese Alps run the length of Honshu, dividing the northwestern (Sea of Japan) shore from the southeastern (Pacific or Inland Sea) shore; the climate is generally humid subtropical in the southern and coastal parts of the island and humid continental in the northern and inland portions.

text: Extreme points[edit]

text: The northernmost point on Honshu is the tip of the Shimokita Peninsula in Ōma, Aomori; Cape Kure lies at the southern extreme in Kushimoto, Wakayama. The island's eastern extremity is Todogasaki in Miyako, Iwate, and its western one is Bishanohana in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. Honshu spans more than eight degrees of latitude and 11 degrees of longitude.[citation needed]

text: Bridges and tunnels[edit]

text: Honshu is connected to the islands of Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku by tunnels and bridges. Three bridge systems have been built across the islands of the Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku (Akashi Kaikyō Bridge and the Ōnaruto Bridge; Shin-Onomichi Bridge, Innoshima Bridge, Ikuchi Bridge, Tatara Bridge, Ōmishima Bridge, Hakata–Ōshima Bridge, and the Kurushima-Kaikyō Bridge; Shimotsui-Seto Bridge, Hitsuishijima Bridge, Iwakurojima Bridge, Yoshima Bridge, Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge, and the Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge), the Seikan Tunnel connects Honshu with Hokkaido, and the Kanmonkyo Bridge and Kanmon Tunnel connects Honshu with Kyushu.[citation needed]

text: Administrative regions and prefectures[edit]

text: The island is divided into five nominal regions and contains 34 prefectures, including metropolitan Tokyo. Administratively, some smaller islands are included within these prefectures, notably including the Ogasawara Islands, Sado Island, Izu Ōshima, and Awaji Island.[citation needed]

text: The regions and its prefectures are:

text:
Tōhoku region consists of six prefectures.
 Akita Prefecture
 Aomori Prefecture
 Fukushima Prefecture
 Iwate Prefecture
 Miyagi Prefecture
 Yamagata Prefecture
Kantō region consists of seven prefectures, including the capital of Japan which is the Tokyo Metropolis.
 Chiba Prefecture
 Gunma Prefecture
 Ibaraki Prefecture
 Kanagawa Prefecture
 Saitama Prefecture
 Tochigi Prefecture
 Tokyo
Chūbu region consists of nine prefectures.
 Aichi Prefecture
 Fukui Prefecture
 Gifu Prefecture
 Ishikawa Prefecture
 Nagano Prefecture
 Niigata Prefecture
 Shizuoka Prefecture
 Toyama Prefecture
 Yamanashi Prefecture
Kansai region consists of seven prefectures.
 Hyōgo Prefecture
 Kyoto Prefecture
 Mie Prefecture
 Nara Prefecture
 Osaka Prefecture
 Shiga Prefecture
 Wakayama Prefecture
Chūgoku region consists of five prefectures.
 Hiroshima Prefecture
 Okayama Prefecture
 Shimane Prefecture
 Tottori Prefecture
 Yamaguchi Prefecture

text: Natural features[edit]

text: Agriculture[edit]

text: Most of Japan's tea and silk is from Honshu. Fruits, vegetables, grains, rice and cotton are grown in Honshu.[8] Niigata is noted as an important producer of rice. The Kantō and Nōbi plains produce rice and vegetables. Yamanashi is a major fruit-growing area, and Aomori is famous for its apples.[citation needed] Rare species of the lichen genus Menegazzia are found only in Honshu.[9]

text: Minerals[edit]

text: Yields of zinc, copper, and oil have been found on Honshu.[8]


document_title: Billboard year-end top 30 singles of 1952

question_text: what was the most popular song in 1952

question_tokens: what was the most popular song in 1952

text: This is a list of Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1952.[1]

text:
Position
Song
Artist

1
"Blue Tango"
Leroy Anderson

2
"Wheel of Fortune"
Kay Starr

3
"Cry"
Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads

4
"You Belong to Me"
Jo Stafford

5
"Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart"
Vera Lynn

6
"Half as Much"
Rosemary Clooney

7
"Wish You Were Here"
Eddie Fisher

8
"I Went to Your Wedding"
Patti Page

9
"Here in My Heart"
Al Martino

10
"Delicado"
Percy Faith

11
"Kiss of Fire"
Georgia Gibbs

12
"Anytime"
Eddie Fisher

13
"Tell Me Why"
The Four Aces

14
"Blacksmith Blues"
Ella Mae Morse

15
"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)"
Jo Stafford

16
"Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina)"
Rosemary Clooney

17
"A Guy Is a Guy"
Doris Day

18
"The Little White Cloud That Cried"
Johnnie Ray

19
"High Noon"
Frankie Laine

20
"I'm Yours"
Eddie Fisher

21
"The Glow-Worm"
Mills Brothers

22
"It's in the Book"
Johnny Standley

23
"Slow Poke"
Pee Wee King

24
"Walkin' My Baby Back Home"
Johnnie Ray

25
"Meet Mister Callaghan"
Les Paul

26
"I'm Yours"
Don Cornell

27
"I'll Walk Alone"
Don Cornell

28
"Tell Me Why"
Eddie Fisher

29
"Trying"
The Hilltoppers

30
"Please Mr. Sun"
Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads

tag: table