Before the First Punic War, Rome was a consolidated military power on the Italian mainland with limited naval strength of its own. It had sometimes relied on Carthage for support at sea. Syracuse remained an independent Sicilian city-state with the potential to become the island's dominant power. Carthage, descended from Phoenician settlers, drew its strength from maritime trade and a network organized around the sea.
Notable Point · 2:43-3:26
Rome, Carthage, and Syracuse before the war
The prewar map contrasts Rome's land power, Syracuse's independent position, and Carthage's Phoenician maritime trading system.