3rd Punic War

The Greek historian Polybius, an acquaintance of Scipio Aemilianus (the Roman general who, following orders from Rome, razed Carthage) writes about the actions of Rome and Carthage during Third Punic War. He shows that the Roman Senate appears to have decided on war against Carthage as early as 152 B.C., but needed to present the people of Rome with a pretext. The pretext was the war the Carthaginians fought in 150, not against the Romans or their allies, but against the Numidians. This violated a fifty-year old treaty between Rome and Carthage. The Carthaginians sent ambassadors to Rome to ask what they might do to clear themselves of any charges. The Romans gave ambiguous answers. Since Carthage couldn't read their minds, it couldn't fulfill the demands and so provided a pretext for war.

Full Article: 3rd Punic War.

For more on the Romans' rationale for war, see "Polybius on the Causes of the Third Punic War," by Donald Walter Baronowski. Classical Philology, Vol. 90, No. 1. (Jan., 1995), pp. 16-31.