This is the story of Rome's final destruction of Carthage after almost 150 years of on again, off again warfare. Although Rome committed more soldiers to this war than any other outside of Italy, the ultimate victory (inevitable though it seems now, and seemed then) was far more difficult than expected. And the consequences of the victory were not as good as expected. The victory elevated some Roman politicians over others for fifteen or twenty years. The victory gave Romans opportunities in other arenas for twenty-five or thirty years. But neither of these circumstances saved Rome from surprising wars and unexpected economic hardships. Even during Rome's victorious last campaign, a sceptical but intelligent observer could have begun to home in on why even total annihilation was not going to produce an era of peace and prosperity.