After this, there could have been very little perceived threat left; not only were the Carthaginian's surrendering rather peacefully, but they were even giving up their means of waging war effectively. The giving up of weapons in an age when manufacture and shipping -- the two methods by which any commodity, military or otherwise, can be obtained -- took an extended period of time meant that the Carthaginians were showing themselves to desire peace not only in the short-term, but as a general social principle.
Their submission to the Romans, then, should have been the end of the war. If the reason behind Rome's military invasion of the Carthaginian territory was the possible threat the area presented to Rome, then its disarmament would have solved that problem. The Romans refused to let the issue go, however, demanding that the entire city of Carthage be destroyed right to the ground.
It was the Carthaginian refusal to do this that led to the prolonged siege that formed the bulk of the Third Punic War. It is also this demand of Rome's that makes the true motive behind this war clear; it is politically much more complex than simply having a threatening neighbor in close proximity, but also comes down to simple greed.
It of course seems unfair that the Romans should demand the utter destruction of what at the time was an incredibly large, populous, and prosperous city. It might also seem like the Romans could have little practical reason for desiring this. Even a basic understanding of the mercantile realities of the time, however, can make it very clear why Rome wished to remove Carthage from the map. Ports are incredibly important even today, handling a huge quantity of imports and exports in countries around the world, and facilitating trade by serving as points of entry (or exit) for the vast amount of goods not directly available in any given area. Today, air shipping and railway systems are also able to move large quantities of goods, but in Roman times boats were the only efficient way to move a large amount of cargo from one area to another . This made waterways and the cities on them important commercial and financial centers due to the control they could exert on trade, and Carthage was one of the biggest ports on the North African side of the Mediterranean -- and Rome didn't like not being a part of it.
One of the offers Rome made to Carthage was to have the city moved ten miles inland, which would have been just as bad as a destruction of the city as its usefulness as a port and therefore trading center would be ruined.
It is also fairly clear that Rome did not expect Carthage to comply with this request, as they had never made any similar demands.
Either way, the real reason the Romans went to war with Carthage was to remove it from competition.
At this point in the progress of Western civilization, the Roman Empire was still on the rise. The Republic was still strong, but the Triumvirate and eventual dictatorship that typified the latter half of Roman rule were only a century away. This was a period when Rome was consolidating not only the vast territories and peoples of the known world, but also the power that had over them politically, militarily, and perhaps most importantly economically. In order to increase this dominance, it was willing to employ virtually any tactic available. Such tactics included, in the case of the Third Punic War, overtly stating their ultimate aim in the form of a demand that, at least to some, justified the continuation of the war for an additional three years of siege that culminated in razing a vast city to the ground after a bitter house-by-house battle. That is, the Romans very possibly demanded that the Carthaginians destroy and/or move their city knowing that they would not comply with this component of a peace agreement, and could then justify their own destruction of Carthage.
The complex interplay between Rome, Carthage, and the Numidians under King Massinissa also cannot be disregarded when considering the lead up to the Third Punic War. The situation between the three powers interested in the North African region does not really affect the motives of Rome's war, but it does strengthen it. Rome already had basic imperial dominion over the area, as evidenced by their ability to create the terms of peace and arbitrate disputes. But the power structure here was not solidified, and various...
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