Strategy and Cost: Carthaginian Naval Strategy in the First Punic War Reappraised

Abstract

This article reassesses the quality and character of Carthaginian strategy during the First Punic War. It uses the ship count figures contained in Polybius’ account, combined with comparative evidence from the Athenian navy to estimate the relative cost of naval operations for both Carthage and Rome. It shows that, contrary to prevailing scholarly opinion, Carthage’s naval effort was no less extensive than Rome’s. In conclusion, it seeks to explain Carthaginian strategy as a result of limitations imposed by cost and geography. Consequently, the critical scholarly consensus rendered against Carthaginian strategy in this war is to be revised.