By Sea or Over the Alps? Rome, Carthage and the Numbers

Use a passage and three data tables to see how the sea and the mountains shaped trade and war.

Answer Key

The article

Read the magazine article. Then answer the questions.

Two Powers, One Sea

1Rome and Carthage both grew up beside the Mediterranean Sea. Carthage, founded by Phoenician settlers from the city of Tyre, stood on the coast of North Africa. It became a trading power with a strong navy and ports around the western Mediterranean. Rome began as a farming city on the Italian peninsula, a long, narrow land with the Apennine Mountains running down its middle and the high wall of the Alps across its north.

2The sea that connected the two cities also set them against each other. The large island of Sicily lies between Italy and North Africa, only about 90 miles from the African coast near Carthage. In 264 BCE Rome and Carthage went to war over Sicily, the first of three Punic Wars. Rome had little experience fighting at sea, so it built a large fleet and trained thousands of rowers. By 241 BCE Rome had won, and Carthage gave up Sicily.

3In 218 BCE the two powers went to war again. Many historians think that because Rome now had the stronger navy, the Carthaginian general Hannibal chose to reach Italy by land. He marched an army with horses and war elephants from New Carthage in Spain over the Pyrenees Mountains, across southern Gaul and then over the Alps into northern Italy. Snow, narrow paths, steep slopes and attacks by mountain peoples cost him many soldiers and animals. The Greek historian Polybius, who wrote a few decades later, said he had walked part of the route himself to study it.

4Hannibal won great battles in Italy, including Cannae in 216 BCE, and stayed there for about 15 years. Yet he received little help by sea from home, while Roman armies attacked Carthaginian lands in Spain. In 202 BCE the Roman general Scipio defeated Hannibal at Zama in North Africa.

5In peacetime, the same sea carried trade. Merchant ships moved grain, wine, olive oil and pottery between ports all around the Mediterranean. In later centuries the city of Rome came to depend on grain shipped from Sicily, North Africa and Egypt.

Based on paragraphs 1 and 2, why did Sicily become the first prize that Rome and Carthage fought over?

A. It had the timber Rome needed to cross the Alps.
B. It guarded the mountain passes into northern Italy.
C. It was the Phoenician homeland that Carthage came from.
D. It sat in the sea between them, close to both powers.

According to paragraph 3, what do many historians think was the main reason Hannibal marched over the Alps instead of sailing to Italy?

A. Rome's navy was now stronger than Carthage's.
B. Polybius told him the land route would be shorter.
C. Carthage had not yet learned how to build warships.
D. The Alps were low and free of snow in that season.

Circle the sentence from paragraph 4 that shows a cost of fighting far from home, with the sea controlled by the enemy.

Hannibal won great battles in Italy, including Cannae in 216 BCE, and stayed there for about 15 years.Yet he received little help by sea from home, while Roman armies attacked Carthaginian lands in Spain.In 202 BCE the Roman general Scipio defeated Hannibal at Zama in North Africa.

The data page

Use the tables and the article.

Table 1. Cost of Moving Goods in the Roman Empire (sea = 1)
Way of moving goods	Cost compared with sea
Sea ship	1
River boat	about 5
Wagon on land	about 28 to 56

Table 1 is a historians' estimate based on a list of official prices issued in 301 CE, long after the Punic Wars, but historians think the same pattern held earlier.

Table 2. Hannibal's Army (figures given by Polybius)
Point in the march	Foot soldiers	Horsemen
After crossing the Rhône River	38,000	8,000
On reaching Italy, after the Alps	20,000	6,000

Table 3. Two Journeys (rough distances)
Journey	Reported by	Distance	Time taken
Hannibal's march, Spain to Italy	Polybius	about 1,000 miles	about 5 months
Fast voyage, Rome's port to Africa	Pliny the Elder	about 370 miles	about 2 days

Using Table 2, about how many foot soldiers did Hannibal lose between the Rhône River and his arrival in Italy? 18,000 foot soldiers

Which conclusion does Table 2 support best?

A. The mountains cost Hannibal fewer soldiers than he expected.
B. The march from the Rhône over the Alps cost him nearly half his foot soldiers.
C. Hannibal lost more horsemen than foot soldiers on the march.
D. Hannibal's army grew larger as new soldiers joined in the Alps.

Using Table 1, moving goods by wagon cost at least about 28 times as much as moving them by sea ship.

A Roman merchant wants to send 200 jars of olive oil from a port in Spain to Rome. Based on Table 1 and paragraph 5, how would he most likely send them?

A. By wagon over the Pyrenees and the Alps, the safest way
B. By pack animals, following Hannibal's route
C. By merchant ship across the Mediterranean Sea
D. By wagon along the coast, since land travel cost less

What do Tables 1 and 3 together suggest about the Mediterranean world?

A. The sea kept coastal peoples apart, so they rarely met or traded.
B. The sea made contact between distant coasts faster and cheaper.
C. Rivers were cheaper than the sea for moving goods between lands.
D. Land routes were faster than sea routes, though they cost more.

Sort each event from the article. Was it an example of peaceful contact and trade, or of conflict?

Rome builds a fleet and trains rowers to fight over SicilyCarthage becomes a trading power with ports around the western MediterraneanMountain peoples attack Hannibal's army in the AlpsShips carry wine and pottery between Mediterranean portsScipio defeats Hannibal at Zama in North AfricaGrain from Egypt is shipped to the city of Rome

Peaceful contact and trade	Conflict
Carthage becomes a trading power with ports around the western Mediterranean Ships carry wine and pottery between Mediterranean ports Grain from Egypt is shipped to the city of Rome	Rome builds a fleet and trains rowers to fight over Sicily Mountain peoples attack Hannibal's army in the Alps Scipio defeats Hannibal at Zama in North Africa

Make a claim

Use the article and the tables.

10.

Imagine that Carthage, not Rome, had the stronger navy in 218 BCE. Based on the article and the tables, what would Hannibal most likely have done?

A. Carried his army to Italy by ship and kept more soldiers
B. Stayed in Spain and waited for Rome to sail to him
C. Crossed the Pyrenees but stopped before the Alps
D. Marched over the Alps anyway, since land travel was quicker

11.

Claim: Hannibal's march over the Alps was a smart use of geography. Do you agree, disagree or partly agree? Give at least two pieces of evidence from the article or the tables, and explain your reasoning.

I partly agree. Going by land made sense because Rome had the stronger navy (paragraph 3), so ships carrying his army could have been attacked at sea. The Alps also let him reach Italy from the north, and he went on to win battles such as Cannae. But the mountains were very costly. Table 2 shows his foot soldiers fell from 38,000 to 20,000, nearly half, and Table 3 shows the land march took about 5 months, while a ship could cross from North Africa toward Rome in about 2 days. Paragraph 4 says he then got little help by sea from home. So the route surprised Rome, but the geography that made it possible also weakened his army and cut him off.