In the mid–2nd century BCE, tension between Carthage and Roman Republic reached its final breaking point. Rome had already defeated Carthage twice. Bound by harsh treaties and stripped of empire, Carthage sought survival through compliance. Rome’s demands came in stages—each more revealing than the last. First, Roman envoys ordered Carthage to surrender three hundred children from its leading families as hostages. The city complied. The children were sent to Rome without resistance, a silent att