Arif Hodzic

Many of Carthage's troops were mercenary soldiers who fought for pay.

But by the end of the First Punic War, Carthage was basically broke.

It didn't have the money to pay the soldiers.

So the angry troops mutinied.

Their leaders were Spendius, a former Roman slave, and Mathos, a Libyan.

Most of the Carthaginian troops were foreigners, and now that they weren't getting paid, they bore no allegiance to Carthage.

There was also a sense of betrayal and mistreatment.

The mercenaries' army quickly grew in size as tens of thousands of Africans joined the rebellion.

For Carthage, the timing could not have been worse.

The First Punic War had drained its resources, so suppressing a large-scale rebellion would be extremely challenging.

Amilcar Barca returned to command Carthage's army.

And about three years later, the rebel forces were defeated, but only after many deaths and atrocities committed by both sides.

The mercenary war has gone down in history for its brutality.

The mercenaries had nothing to lose, while Carthage was also desperate, fighting for survival.

Most of the men involved in the mercenary war had also fought in the First Punic War.

They had no doubt been hardened by their experiences.

Around the end of the Mercenary War, Rome, ever the opportunist, took advantage of the crisis.

In blatant disregard of the peace treaty, Rome seized the island of Corsica and Sardinia, which had previously been Carthaginian territories.

To add insult to injury, Rome made Carthage pay an additional indemnity.

The seeds of another war were already being sown.