A clash in Sicily, between Rome and Carthage, leads to the First Punic War

A Carthaginian quinquereme, captured by the Romans, is used as the model for the first Roman fleet - constructed in two months

The new Roman fleet wins a decisive victory over the Carthaginians at Mylae, thanks largely to the 'raven' (corvus in Latin)

A Roman naval victory at Trapani, off the northwest tip of Sicily, completes the blockade of the Carthaginians and ends the First Punic War

At the end of the First Punic War, Sicily becomes Rome's first overseas province

Spain, with its mines of gold, silver and copper, is a hotly disputed region between Carthage and Rome

Hamilcar Barca dies fighting in Spain, after establishing a strong Carthaginian presence in the peninusula

Sardinia and Corsica are annexed by Rome, becoming the second Roman overseas province

A treaty defines the Ebro river as the Spanish boundary between Carthage and Rome

Hannibal succeeds to the command of the Carthaginian forces in Spain, on the death of his brother-in-law Hasdrubal

Hannibal crosses the Alps with his elephants, beginning the Second Punic War

Hannibal surprises and traps a Roman army on a narrow plain beside Lake Trasimene

Hannibal destroys a Roman army at Cannae, in the most severe defeat ever suffered by Rome

Hannibal suffers his first decisive defeat by a Roman army, at an unidentified site in north Africa called Zama

Carthaginian Spain is handed over to Rome to become two new provinces, at the end of the Second Punic War

Rome picks a quarrel with Carthage to begin the Third Punic War

Carthage is destroyed by the Romans at the end of the Third Punic War