What was the cause of the third Punic war?
[1] The underlying cause was the determination of the Roman Republic to take the place of the Carthaginian Empire as powerholder in the western Mediterranean. The official cause was violation of the peace treaty from the end of the Second Punic War. [2] That treaty of 201 B.C. made the Roman Senate the arbitrator of all border disputes involving Carthage. It also made it so that Carthage had to get approval from the Roman Senate before going to war. [3] Between 201 and 151 B.C., there were many border disputes between Carthage and Numidia. The latter was an ally of Rome. So the disputes never favored Carthage. [4] In 151 B.C., Carthage tried to defend itself against Numidian raiders. The Roman Senate interpreted self-defense as waging war without prior approval. [5] Carthage was punished with 50 years of debt payments to Numidia. [6] The city of Utica had supplied mercenaries to Carthage, during the First Punic War, 264-241 B.C. But the mercenaries were never paid. That led to ever-wor
