Mercenary War
The dispute grew until the mercenaries seized Tunis by force of arms, and directly threatened Carthage, which capitulated to the mercenaries demands. They persuaded the combined armies to revolt against Carthage. What had been a hotly contested labour dispute exploded into a full-scale revolt, heavily outmatched in terms of troops and supplies, an unprepared Carthage fared poorly in the initial engagements of the war, especially under the generalship of Hanno the Great. Hamilcar Barca, general from the campaigns in Sicily and father of Hannibal Barca, was given supreme command, in 241 BC the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage came to an end with Carthaginian defeat. After meeting the Roman demands, a destitute Carthage now found itself in a quandary, it had employed numerous mercenaries in the First Punic War and now found it difficult to pay them. During the First Punic War the Carthaginians had recruited mercenaries from diverse sources, including Iberians, Celt-Iberians, Balearic Islanders, Ligurians and Greeks.
This was a problem, as some 20,000 mercenaries, formerly under the command of Hamilcar Barca and it was his plan to bring the mercenary units back to the capital one at a time, for demobilization and payment. Once in Sicca Veneria, the mercenaries collaborated on a list of demands, due to the mistrust and difficulties in communication, the negotiations quickly broke down. A force of mercenaries, about 20,000 strong, armed themselves and marched towards Carthage, not willing to deal with Hanno again, and feeling insulted by Hamilcar for not having met with them in the first round of negotiations, the mercenaries agreed to negotiate with Gesco. Once again Carthage had no choice but to agree, in 240 BC Gesco and other officials were taken prisoner by the mercenary leadership and open warfare ensued. The Libyan population, discontent with Carthaginian rule, supported the rebels, Carthage still had some mercenaries quartered in Tunis, and was able to deploy the mercenaries still in Sicily and to hire fresh troops.
Carthage initially organized an army consisting of mercenaries and citizens to which Hanno was given command, by the time Hanno moved onto the attack, the rebels had already blockaded Utica and Hippakra. Hanno engaged the rebels in the Battle of the Bagradas River which ended with a Carthaginian victory, Hamilcar won a further victory with the aid of Navaras who had defected from the rebels. As the war progressed, Hamilcar Barca was first given joint command with Hanno, with the aid of a Carthaginian general Hannibal, and reinforcements under the command of Hanno the Great, the remnants of the mercenaries were finally put down. The conduct of the war was even by the standards of the time. These atrocities were intended to prevent any possibility of a negotiated settlement, after the Battle of The Saw Spendius and Autaritus were captured and crucified. Matho was finally captured as well, and executed at Carthage after various tortures inflicted on him by a mob, initially, a smaller mercenary revolt occurred on Sardinia, and the rebels took control of the island.
When the conflict in Africa turned in favour of Carthage, the Sardinian rebels appealed to Rome for protection, however, it was in Romes self-interest for Carthage to achieve stability and to recover economically so it could continue paying the indemnities imposed after the First Punic War
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and an autonomous region of Italy. It is located in the Western Mediterranean, just south of the French island of Corsica, the regions official name is Regione Autonoma della Sardegna / Regione Autònoma de Sardigna, and its capital and largest city is Cagliari. It is divided into four provinces and a metropolitan city and its indigenous language and the other minority languages spoken by the Sardinians enjoy equal dignity with Italian under regional law. The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *srd-, romanised as sardus and it makes its first appearance on the Nora Stone, where the word Šrdn testifies to the names existence when the Phoenician merchants first arrived. According to Timaeus, one of Platos dialogues and its people as well might have named after Sardò. There has been speculation that identifies the ancient Nuragic Sards with the Sherden, in Classical antiquity, Sardinia was called Ichnusa, Σανδάλιον Sandal and Sardó.
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 24,100 square kilometres and it is situated between 38°51 and 41°18 latitude north and 8°8 and 9°50 east longitude. To the west of Sardinia is the Sea of Sardinia, a unit of the Mediterranean Sea, to Sardinias east is the Tyrrhenian Sea, the nearest land masses are the island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Tunisia, the Balearic Islands, and Provence. The Tyrrhenian Sea portion of the Mediterranean Sea is directly to the east of Sardinia between the Sardinian east coast and the west coast of the Italian mainland peninsula, the Strait of Bonifacio is directly north of Sardinia and separates Sardinia from the French island of Corsica. The island has an ancient geoformation and, unlike Sicily and mainland Italy, is not earthquake-prone and its rocks date in fact from the Palaeozoic Era. Due to long erosion processes, the highlands, formed of granite, trachyte, basalt and dolomite limestone. The highest peak is Punta La Marmora, part of the Gennargentu Ranges in the centre of the island.
The islands ranges and plateaux are separated by wide valleys and flatlands. Sardinia has few rivers, the largest being the Tirso,151 km long, which flows into the Sea of Sardinia, the Coghinas. There are 54 artificial lakes and dams that supply water and electricity, the main ones are Lake Omodeo and Lake Coghinas. The only natural lake is Lago di Baratz. A number of large, salt-water lagoons and pools are located along the 1,850 km of the coastline, the climate of the island is variable from area to area, due to several factors including the extension in latitude and the elevation. During the year there is a concentration of rainfall in the winter and autumn, some heavy showers in the spring
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, lawyer, political theorist and constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy family of the Roman equestrian order. According to Michael Grant, the influence of Cicero upon the history of European literature, Cicero introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary distinguishing himself as a translator and philosopher. Though he was an orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. During the chaotic latter half of the 1st century BC marked by civil wars, following Julius Caesars death, Cicero became an enemy of Mark Antony in the ensuing power struggle, attacking him in a series of speeches. His severed hands and head were then, as a revenge of Mark Antony. Petrarchs rediscovery of Ciceros letters is often credited for initiating the 14th-century Renaissance in public affairs, according to Polish historian Tadeusz Zieliński, the Renaissance was above all things a revival of Cicero, and only after him and through him of the rest of Classical antiquity.
Cicero was born in 106 BC in Arpinum, a hill town 100 kilometers southeast of Rome and his father was a well-to-do member of the equestrian order and possessed good connections in Rome. However, being a semi-invalid, he could not enter public life, although little is known about Ciceros mother, Helvia, it was common for the wives of important Roman citizens to be responsible for the management of the household. Ciceros brother Quintus wrote in a letter that she was a thrifty housewife, Ciceros cognomen, or personal surname, comes from the Latin for chickpea, cicer. Plutarch explains that the name was given to one of Ciceros ancestors who had a cleft in the tip of his nose resembling a chickpea. However, it is likely that Ciceros ancestors prospered through the cultivation. Romans often chose down-to-earth personal surnames, the family names of Fabius and Piso come from the Latin names of beans, lentils. Plutarch writes that Cicero was urged to change this name when he entered politics. During this period in Roman history, cultured meant being able to speak both Latin and Greek, Cicero used his knowledge of Greek to translate many of the theoretical concepts of Greek philosophy into Latin, thus translating Greek philosophical works for a larger audience.
It was precisely his broad education that tied him to the traditional Roman elite, according to Plutarch, Cicero was an extremely talented student, whose learning attracted attention from all over Rome, affording him the opportunity to study Roman law under Quintus Mucius Scaevola. Ciceros fellow students were Gaius Marius Minor, Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the latter two became Ciceros friends for life, and Pomponius would become, in Ciceros own words, as a second brother, with both maintaining a lifelong correspondence. Cicero wanted to pursue a career in politics along the steps of the Cursus honorum
Punics
The Punics, known as Carthaginians, were a people from Ancient Carthage in modern-day Tunisia, North Africa, who traced their origins to the Berbers and Phoenicians. Punic is the English adjective derived from the Latin adjective punicus to describe anything Carthaginian and their language, was a dialect of Phoenician. Unlike their Phoenician ancestors, Carthaginians had an aristocracy who established a rule of the hinterland in Northern Africa. In times one of these clans established a Hellenistic-inspired empire in Iberia, like other Phoenician people, their urbanized culture and economy were strongly linked to the sea. In the Balearic Islands, Sardinia and Sicily they had strong economic and their naval presence and trade extended throughout the Mediterranean and beyond to the British Isles, the Canaries, and West Africa. Technical achievements of the Punic people of Carthage include the development of uncolored glass, after the Punic Wars, Romans used the term Punic as an adjective meaning treacherous.
Phoenicians settled in Northwest Africa and other areas under Carthaginian rule and their culture, Remains of the Punic culture can be found in settlements from the Iberian Peninsula in the West to Cyprus in the East. Punic culture became a melting pot, since Carthage was a big trading port, the Carthaginians carried out significant sea explorations around Africa and elsewhere from their base in Carthage. Carthaginians pushed westerly into the Atlantic and established important settlements in Lixus, Volubilis and Mogador, being trade rivals with Magna Graecia, the Carthaginians had several clashes with the Greeks over the island of Sicily in the Sicilian Wars from 600-265 BC. They eventually fought Rome in the Sicilian Wars of 265-146 BC and this enabled a Roman settlement of Africa and eventual domination of the Mediterranean Sea. They were eventually incorporated into the Roman Republic in 146 BC with the destruction of Carthage but Cato never got to see his victory, the destruction of Carthage was not the end of the Carthaginians.
After the wars, the city of Carthage was completely razed, there were, other Punic cities in North Africa, and Carthage itself was rebuilt and regained some importance, if a shadow of its ancient influence. Although the area was partially romanized and some of the population adopted the Roman religion, the language, people of Punic origin prospered again as traders and even politicians of the Roman Empire. Septimius Severus, emperor of Rome and a proud Punic, was said to speak Latin with a Punic accent, under his reign Carthaginians rose to the elites and their deities entered their imperial cult. Carthage was rebuilt about 46 BC by Julius Caesar, places in the area were granted for settlement as benefits to soldiers who had served in Roman armies. Carthage again prospered and even became the two trading city in the Roman Empire, until Constantinople took over that position. As Christianity spread in the Roman Empire, it was successful in North Africa. Saint Augustine, born in Thagaste, considered himself Punic, one of his more well known passages reads, It is an excellent thing that the Punic Christians call Baptism itself nothing else but salvation, and the Sacrament of Christs Body nothing else but life
Illyrian Wars
The Illyrian Wars were a set of wars fought in the period 229–168 BC between the Roman Republic and the Ardiaei kingdom. Rome expelled Illyrian garrisons from a number of Greek cities including Epidamnus, Corcyra, the Romans set up Demetrius of Pharos as a power in Illyria to counterbalance the power of Teuta. The Second Illyrian War lasted from 220 BC to 219 BC, in 219 BC, the Roman Republic was at war with the Celts of Cisalpine Gaul, and the Second Punic War with Carthage was beginning. These distractions gave Demetrius the time he needed to build a new Illyrian war fleet, leading this fleet of 90 ships, Demetrius sailed south of Lissus, violating his earlier treaty and starting the war. Demetrius fleet first attacked Pylos, where he captured 50 ships after several attempts, from Pylos, the fleet sailed to the Cyclades, quelling any resistance that they found on the way. Demetrius foolishly sent a fleet across the Adriatic, with the Illyrian forces divided, from Dimale the navy went towards Pharos.
In 171 BC, the Illyrian king Gentius was allied with the Romans against the Macedonians, but in 169 BC he changed sides and allied himself with Perseus of Macedon. During the Third Illyrian War, in 168 BC, he arrested two Roman legati and destroyed the cities of Apollonia and Dyrrhachium, which were allied to Rome. He was defeated at Scodra by a Roman force under L. Anicius Gallus, in the second half of the third century BC, the Ardiaei kingdom was transformed into a formidable power under the leadership of Agron. During this time, Agron invaded part of Epirus, Corcyra and Pharos in succession, the Illyrians used the lembus, a small and fast warship with a single bank of oars. Raids by sea from the Adriatic and Ionian were probably a familiar threat to the north-western Greeks, what was new was the use of a land army to follow up and profit from the victories gained by the navy. The Greek cities on the coast of Illyria were systematically attacked, Rome answered an appeal from the island of Issa, threatened by Agron, by sending envoys.
They were attacked en route by Illyrian vessels, and one of them was killed and that time a number of political events marked the adjacent Greek states. In 234 BC, the succession in Epirus came to an end. In the south, the part of Acarnania seceded from this arrangement. Besieged at Medion, the Acarnanians sought assistance from Demetrius II of Macedonia, in response, the king requested assistance from Agron to relieve the siege. The Illyrian attack under Agron was mounted in either 232 or 231 BC, one hundred lembi, with 5000 men on board, sailed up to land at Medion. They formed up in the order that was usual in their own country and this defeat of the Aetolians, who were famed for their victory over the invading Gauls a generation before, caused a sensation in Greece
Carthage National Museum
Carthage National Museum is a national museum in Byrsa, Tunisia. Along with the Bardo National Museum, it is one of the two main local archaeological museums in the region, the edifice sits atop Byrsa Hill, in the heart of the city of Carthage. Founded in 1875, it houses many items from the Punic era. The Carthage National Museum is located near the Cathedral of Saint-Louis of Carthage and it allows visitors to appreciate the magnitude of the city during the Punic and Roman eras. Some of the best pieces found in excavations are limestone/marble carvings, depicting animals, plants, of special note is a marble sarcophagus of a priest and priestess from the 3rd century BC, discovered in the necropolis of Carthage. The Museum has a collection of masks and jewelry in cast glass, Roman mosaics including the famous Lady of Carthage. It contains numerous items from the period of the Byzantine Empire. Also on display are objects of ivory, the museum was founded in 1875 by Cardinal Charles Martial Lavigerie in the premises of the monastery, its name until 1956 was the Museum Lavigerie.
The museum is the product of excavations conducted by European archaeologists, many object unearthed were sold to tourists when the museum had a number of examples of similar objects. The museum received its present name in 1956 and opened for the first time as a museum in 1963. The various excavations at the site have uncovered numerous items characterizing the Phoenician civilization, the museum contains items which reveal a distinct connection with the Levant steeped in Egyptian and in particular Greek culture, and the ties of Carthage with Sicily during the Hellenistic period. Testimonies to these connections are many objects of pottery, oil lamps, the museum has a fine collection of Punic ceramics found from the late 19th century. A number of lamps were found during the excavation of pottery dating back to the Third Punic War. Beautiful sarcophagi, which are dated to the end of the Punic era, have found in the necropolis. Among these is the sarcophagus of the priest and the priestess, the priest has the right hand raised in a gesture of blessing The left hands of the two figures carry vases containing incense for liturgical purposes.
Masks of glass represent numerous deities, including objects which were intended to protect the deceased against the evil eye, there are various items including razors made of bronze and richly decorated with cast patterns, illustrating Egyptian and Greek influences. A number of Punic amulets are on display, sometimes this is an inscription on the stele. Masks shaped in the form of the head of Baal Hammon are exposed, the content of the chapel Cintas discovery topheth by Pierre Cintas in 1947, is the subject of its own window
Utica, Tunisia
Utica /ˌjuːtɪkə/ is an ancient city located between Carthage in the south and Hippo Diarrhytus in the north, near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea. It is traditionally considered to be the first colony to have founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa. After the defeat of Carthage by Rome, Utica was an important Roman colony for seven centuries, Utica was founded as a port located on the trade route leading to the Straits of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean, thus facilitating Phoenician trade in the Mediterranean. The name Utica is from the Phoenician ˁattiq meaning old, contrasting with the colony Carthage, the actual founding date of Utica is controversial. Several classical authors date its foundation to around 1100 BC, the archaeological evidence, suggests a foundation no earlier than the eighth century BC. By the fourth century BC, Utica came under Punic control, commercial rivalry created problems between Carthage and Utica. Originally, Utica refused to participate in this rebellion, so that the Libyan forces led by Spendius and Matho laid siege to Utica and nearby Hippocritae.
”Eventually, the forces of Carthage proved victorious, forcing Utica and Hippacritae to surrender after a short siege. Utica again defied Carthage in the Third Punic War, when it surrendered to Rome shortly before the breakout of war in 150 BC, after its victory, Rome rewarded Utica by granting it an expanse of territory stretching from Carthage to Hippo. As a result of the war, Rome created a new province of Africa, and Utica became its capital, over the following decades Utica attracted Roman citizens who settled there to do business. During the Roman Civil War between the supporters of Pompey and Caesar, the remaining Pompeians, including Cato the Younger, Caesar pursued them to Utica, meeting no resistance from the inhabitants. Cato, who was the leader of the Pompeians, ensured the escape of his fellow senators and anyone else who desired to leave, committed suicide, displaying their fondness for Cato, “the people of Utica. called Cato their saviour and benefactor. And this they continued to do even when word was brought that Caesar was approaching and they decked his body in splendid fashion, gave it an illustrious escort, and buried it near the sea, where a statue of him now stands, sword in hand”.
After his death, Cato was given the name of Uticensis, due to the place of his death as well as to his public glorification, Utica obtained the formal status of a municipium in 36 BC and its inhabitants became members of the Quirina tribe. The city was chosen by the Romans as the place where the governor of their new Africa province was resident, but the silting of the port damaged the importance of Utica. During the reign of Augustus, the seat of government was moved to a since rebuilt Carthage. When Hadrian was emperor, Utica requested to become a full Roman colony, but this request was not granted until Septimius Severus, a native of the Province of Africa, took the throne. Already eclipsed by the preeminence of Carthage, Utica was faced with the silting up of its port. Most of these structures were placed in the grid of a plan which covered a large part of the city
Macedonian Wars
The Macedonian Wars were a series of conflicts fought by the Roman Republic and its Greek allies in the eastern Mediterranean against several different major Greek kingdoms. They resulted in Roman control or influence over the eastern Mediterranean basin, in addition to their hegemony in the western Mediterranean after the Punic wars. Traditionally, the Macedonian Wars include the four wars with Macedonia, in addition to one war with the Seleucid Empire, Roman influence gradually dissolved Macedonian independence and digested it into what was becoming a leading global empire. This had some important similarities to what had occurred in Italy centuries earlier, with some major exceptions of outright military rule, the eastern Mediterranean world remained an alliance of independent city-states and kingdoms until it transitioned into the Roman Empire. It wasnt until the time of the Roman Empire that the eastern Mediterranean, during the Second Punic War, Philip V of Macedon allied himself with Hannibal.
Fearing possible reinforcement of Hannibal by Macedon, the senate dispatched a praetor with forces across the Adriatic, Roman legions did little more than skirmish with Macedonian forces and seize minor territory along the Adriatic coastline in order to combat piracy. Romes interest was not in conquest, but in keeping Macedon busy while Rome was fighting Hannibal, the war ended indecisively in 205 BC with the Treaty of Phoenice. While a minor conflict, it opened the way for Roman military intervention in Macedon and this conflict, though fought between Rome and Macedon, was largely independent of the Roman-Macedon wars that followed in the next century. The past century had seen the Greek world dominated by the three successor kingdoms of Alexander the Greats empire, Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid Empire. The imperial ambitions of the Seleucids after 230 BC were particularly destabilizing, the Seleucids set out to conquer Egypt, and Egypt responded through a major mobilization campaign. This campaign led to victory against Seleucid incursions, but in 205 BC when Ptolemy IV was succeeded by the five-year-old Ptolemy V.
The result was a civil war between north and south. Seeing that all of Egypt could now be conquered easily, the Macedonians and Seleucids forged an alliance to conquer, as Macedonia and the Seleucid Empire were the problem, and Egypt the cause of the problem, the only place to turn was Rome. This represented a change, as the Greeks had recently shown little more than contempt towards Rome. Ambassadors from Pergamon and Rhodes brought evidence before the Roman Senate that Philip V of Macedon, although the exact nature of this treaty is unclear, and the exact Roman reason for getting involved despite decades of apathy towards Greece, the Greek delegation was successful. Initially, Rome didnt intend to fight a war against Macedon, Rome gave Philip an ultimatum that he must cease in his campaigns against Romes new Greek allies. Doubting Romes strength Philip ignored the request, which surprised the Romans, believing their honor and reputation on the line, Rome escalated the conflict by sending an army of Romans and Greek allies to force the issue, beginning the Second Macedonian War.
Surprisingly, Philips army buckled under the pressure from the Roman-Greek army, Roman troops led by consul Titus Quinctius Flamininus reached the plain of Thessaly by 198 BC
Numidia
Numidia was an ancient kingdom of the Numidians, located in what is now Algeria and a smaller part of Tunisia and Libya in the Maghreb. The polity was divided between Massylii in the east and Masaesyli in the west. During the Second Punic War, king of the Massylii, the kingdom began as a sovereign state and alternated between being a Roman province and a Roman client state. It was bordered by the kingdom of Mauretania to the west, Africa Proconsularis to the east, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and it is considered to be the first major state in the history of Algeria and the Berber territories. The Greek historians referred to these peoples as Νομάδες, which by Latin interpretation became Numidae, the name appears first in Polybius to indicate the peoples and territory west of Carthage including the entire north of Algeria as far as the river Mulucha, about 160 kilometres west of Oran. The Numidians were conceived of two tribal groups, the Massylii in eastern Numidia, and the Masaesyli in the west.
During the first part of the Second Punic War, the eastern Massylii, under their king Gala, were allied with Carthage, while the western Masaesyli, under king Syphax, were allied with Rome. However, in 206 BC, the new king of the eastern Massylii, allied himself with Rome, at the end of the war, the victorious Romans gave all of Numidia to Masinissa of the Massylii. After the death of the long-lived Masinissa around 148 BC, he was succeeded by his son Micipsa and Jugurtha quarrelled immediately after the death of Micipsa. Jugurtha had Hiempsal killed, which led to war with Adherbal. By 112, Jugurtha resumed his war with Adherbal and he incurred the wrath of Rome in the process by killing some Roman businessmen who were aiding Adherbal. After a brief war with Rome, Jugurtha surrendered and received a favourable peace treaty. The local Roman commander was summoned to Rome to face charges brought by his political rival Gaius Memmius. War broke out between Numidia and the Roman Republic and several legions were dispatched to North Africa under the command of the Consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus, the war dragged out into a long and seemingly endless campaign as the Romans tried to defeat Jugurtha decisively.
Frustrated at the apparent lack of action, Metellus lieutenant Gaius Marius returned to Rome to seek election as Consul, Marius was elected, and returned to Numidia to take control of the war. He sent his Quaestor Lucius Cornelius Sulla to neighbouring Mauretania in order to eliminate their support for Jugurtha, with the help of Bocchus I of Mauretania, Sulla captured Jugurtha and brought the war to a conclusive end. Jugurtha was brought to Rome in chains and was placed in the Tullianum, Jugurtha was executed by the Romans in 104 BC, after being paraded through the streets in Gaius Marius Triumph. After the death of Jugurtha, the far west of Numidia was added to the lands of Bocchus I, a rump kingdom continued to be governed by native princes
Cato the Elder
He was the first to write history in Latin. He came of an ancient Plebeian family who were noted for their military service, like his forefathers, Cato was devoted to agriculture when not serving in the army. As praetor, he expelled usurers from Sardinia, as censor, he tried to preserve Romes ancestral customs and combat degenerate Hellenistic influences. His epithet Elder distinguishes him from his equally famous great-grandson Cato the Younger, Cato the Elder was born in Tusculum, a municipal town of Latium, like some generations of his ancestors. His father had earned a reputation as a soldier. However, the Tusculan Porcii had never obtained the privileges of the Roman magistracy, early in life, he so far exceeded the previous deeds of his predecessors that he is frequently spoken of not only as the leader, but as the founder of the Porcia Gens. Priscus, like Major, may have merely a epithet used to distinguish him from the Cato of Utica. There is no information as to when he first received the title of Cato.
In order to determine the date of Catos birth, we consider the records as to his age at the time of his death, other authors exaggerate the age of Cato. According to Valerius Maximus he survived his 86th year, according to Livy, the exaggerated age, however, is inconsistent with a statement recorded by Plutarch on the asserted authority of Cato himself. Cato is represented to have said that he served his first campaign in his 17th year, when Cato was very young, after his fathers death, he inherited a small property in the Sabine territory, at a distance from his native town. There, he spent most of his childhood hardening his body by exercise and sharing the operations of the farm, learning business and the rural economy. Near this land was a small hut abandoned after the triumphs of its owner Manius Curius Dentatus, whose military feats, Cato was inspired to imitate that character, hoping to match the glory of Dentatus. Soon, an opportunity came for a campaign in 217 BC. Experts express some disagreement about Catos early military life, in 214 BC, he served at Capua, and the historian Wilhelm Drumann imagines that already, at the age of 20, he was a military tribune.
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus had the command in Campania, during the year of his fourth consulship, while Fabius communicated the valued results of military experience, he chose not to inculcate Cato with his personal and political values and preferences. At the siege of Tarentum,209 BC, Cato was again at the side of Fabius, two years later, Cato was one of the select group who went with the consul Claudius Nero on his northern march from Lucania to check the progress of Hasdrubal Barca. It is recorded that the services of Cato contributed to the victory of Sena on the Metaurus
Sicily
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous Region of Italy, along with surrounding minor islands, Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, the island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially regard to the arts, literature, cuisine. It is home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria.
To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km wide in the north, and about 16 km wide in the southern part. The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km long measured as a line, while the eastern coast measures around 180 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 km2, the terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the ranges of Madonie,2,000 m, Nebrodi,1,800 m. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast, in the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean Mountains,1,000 m. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions and it currently stands 3,329 metres high, though this varies with summit eruptions, the mountain is 21 m lower now than it was in 1981.
It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeus, Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, the three volcanoes of Vulcano and Lipari are currently active, although the latter is usually dormant
Roman Republic
Carthage
