The First Punic War marked the first Roman involvement outside of Italy, and was the beginning of the Romans conquest of the Mediterranean. ... The Second Punic War was the hardest war the Romans ever fought and resulted in huge losses for the Romans in materials and manpower. ... The Romans were slow because the Roman senate hesitated sending help, because they thought it was improper to support what was pretty much a robber-state, and because the Senate feared war with a great sea-power, and also because if they interfered they would be in breach of the treaty which had strictly forbidden th...

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• Grade Level: High School