The First Punic War dramatically changed Rome by transforming her into an Empire swelling beyond the natural confines of the Italian peninsula, accordingly bringing her into greater interaction and conflict with other Mediterranean powers.  We are forming an active working research group across multiple disciplines including but not limited to History, Archaeology, Ancient Warfare, portraiture of the “enemy,” and other contributions to the study of this period and the respective nations.

We invite others to join our group both for the reward of intellectual interaction across multiple fields of study and for the presentation of panels at upcoming conferences.  Plans are in motion to present a panel in 2011 on the causes, key battles, and psychological impact of the First Punic War for which we seek at least two additional presenters.  Those interested both in the research group and specifically in joining the conference panel should contact us through the address [email protected].

This research group plans to expand to the study of the Second Punic War in the next two years.