Conflicts & Resolutions · War

First Punic War

264–241 BCE · 3rd century BCE

The First Punic War was fought in 264–241 BCE between Carthage and Rome, mainly over Sicily. Rome built a navy and won a decisive naval victory at the Aegates Islands, forcing Carthage to give up Sicily and pay an indemnity. It was the first major blow to the Punic Empire.

First Punic War
Image: Harrias · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 profiles

Punic EmpireMilitary, DeclineRoman RepublicMilitary, Summary

Battles and settlements

Mentioned in 8 state histories

FaleriiPanormusZancleSegestaKamarinaLiparaLilybaeumMamertine Messana

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). First Punic War. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-punic-war
MLA
“First Punic War.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-punic-war. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “First Punic War.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-punic-war.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘First Punic War’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/first-punic-war (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻