Pu′nic Wars. This is the name commonly given to those contests which occurred between Rome and Carthage for the supremacy of the western world. The Romans called the Carthaginians Punici, in allusion to their Phoenician descent. The Romans never trusted their foes in the matter of their treaties, and so came to speak of Punic faith as synonymous with treachery. The wars between Rome and Carthage are under the names of these cities or are told in the biographies of the commanders engaged. The first Punic War broke out in 264 B. C.; the second in 218 B. C.; and the third in 149 B. C.
