Arif Hodzic

By 260 BCE, Rome and Carthage had reached a stalemate in Sicily.

It became clear to the Romans that they needed a powerful navy of their own.

Without one, it was a struggle to prevent Carthage from protecting and resupplying its coastal cities in Sicily.

And in the long term, Rome would need to launch an attack on the Carthaginians' homeland in North Africa.

But the first step was to build some boats.

In order to construct their fleet, the Romans studied the shipwreck of a Carthaginian boat and worked out how to build their own.

As the Carthaginians were expert shipbuilders, they might as well copy them.

So, the Romans quickly set about building a fleet of warships and training a navy.

the initial results weren't perfect.

The first boats that the Romans built were heavier than Carthage's vessels, which meant they were slower and harder to maneuver.

Still, this was a significant first step.

main kind of boats used by Carthage, and then Rome, was the quinquarim, a large warship that could carry a few hundred men.

Both navies also used a smaller boat, the trireme, which was a little faster, but inferior in combat.

Rome was catching up.

However,

Its first attempt at a naval attack didn't go well.

A fleet of seventeen ships, led by the Roman general Scipio, traveled to the Lippari Islands off the northeast coast of Sicily and attempted to seize the port.

But when Carthage caught wind of what was going on, they sent a fleet of their own to arrive at night, trapping the Roman ships in the harbor.

The inexperienced Roman crews panicked and didn't put up much of a fight.

All their ships were captured while their general Scipio was taken prisoner.