Carthaginian Navy

• The Carthaginian Navy was based in a Naval Base at Carthage called the Cothon from where a fleet of 220 Triremes controlled the Mediterranean.
• When Rome conducted the Punic Wars (264-146 BCE) against Carthage they had to build a rival fleet to engage the Carthaginian Navy.

The Cothon

• Appian gives 220 Triremes as the capacity of the Cothon, the protected military inner harbour of Carthage.

• Carthage had a rectangular merchant harbour connected to a circular military harbour.
• The military Harbour of Carthage was circular, surrounded by a protective wall and connected to the sea with a chain across the entrance. All around the circular harbour were the galley sheds where repairs and maintenance were also done.
• The 220 Triremes were housed on both a central island and in the shipsheds around it. Each trireme was hauled out of the water into a galley shed with a raised ramp. Behind the galley shed was a higher raised structure which contained the oars, rigging, spars, and presumably armaments.
• In the centre was a type of ‘control tower’, from which the Admiral could see all round the military harbour and out to sea.
• However, excavations of the second century BCE shipsheds have revealed they only housed between 160-170 vessels.

Sea Battles between Rome and Carthage (264-146 BCE)

• First Punic War (264-241 BCE)

  • Battle of the Lipari Islands 260 BCE
  • Battle of Mylae 260 BCE
  • Battle of Sulci 258 BCE
  • Battle of Tyndaris 257 BCE
  • Battle of Cape Ecnomus 256 BCE
  • Battle of Drepanum 249 BCE
  • Battle of the Aegates Islands 242 BCE

  Second Punic War (218-201 BCE)

  • Battle of Lilybaeum 218 BCE
  • Battle of Ebro River 217 BCE

  Third Punic War (149-146 BCE)

  • A Fleet of Carthaginian Fireships destroyed the Roman Fleet off Utica in 149 BCE.

The Punic Port at Carthage