A Roman system that produces experienced commanders

The Roman ladder of military and political office ran through quaestor, praetor, consul, and extended pro-magistrate commands. Minimum ages and service requirements meant that the senior men directing the fleet had accumulated substantial wartime responsibility. Catulus and his second-in-command had lived most of their adult lives during the First Punic War and could draw on years of military experience. The Carthaginian commander Hanno is poorly documented and led a relief force assembled from a depleted pool of available officers.