Bibliography
| Title: Roman-Carthaginian Treaties, 306 AND 279/8 BC Secondary Title: Historia Volume: 20 Pages: 633-655 Type: Journal Article Year: 1971 Abstract: Mitchell examines the treaties Rome makes with Carthage prior to the outbreak of the First Punic War. In particular, he examines the treaties of 306 and 279/8 BC. The Carthaginians are viewed as the power behind the early treaties, whereas the treaties concluded before the First Punic War are viewed as demonstrating the growing hostilities between the two states. Mitchell aims to show this breakdown of relations, focusing on how the treaties attest to the growing Roman strength in the Mediterranean.
The treaty of 306, known as the Philinus treaty, is controversial in that some historians, including Polybius, have doubted its authenticity. Mitchell examines the history surrounding the treaty, starting with Polybius and then moving to other sources. He examines passages where the treaty is mentioned in other ancient authors and through a combination of historical and philological research disagrees with Polybius and proposes that the Philinus treaty was a real treaty between Rome and Carthage. This treaty in important to Mitchell because he uses it as a first instance for a growing hostility between Rome and Carthage.
Tracing his way through the political and military history of these two nations, Mitchell builds a narrative of the developing Roman power and the suspicion and ill will on the side of the Carthaginians that developed in tandem. He caps off this progression with an examination of the treaty of 278/9 BC, showing how the building hostilities between the two nations is embedded in the language of the treaty. |