Query: Henry III assumed the throne in the middle of the Punic War.

Relevant passages:
Punic Wars <=SEP=> The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC . At the time , they were probably the largest wars that had ever taken place . The term Punic comes from the Latin word Punicus ( or Poenicus ) , meaning `` Carthaginian '' , with reference to the Carthaginians ' Phoenician ancestry .  The main cause of the Punic Wars was the conflicts of interest between the existing Carthaginian Empire and the expanding Roman Republic . The Romans were initially interested in expansion via Sicily ( which at that time was a cultural melting pot ) , part of which lay under Carthaginian control . At the start of the first Punic War , Carthage was the dominant power of the Western Mediterranean , with an extensive maritime empire . Rome was a rapidly ascending power in Italy , but it lacked the naval power of Carthage . By the end of the third war , after more than a hundred years and the loss of many hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides , Rome had conquered Carthage 's empire , completely destroyed the city , and become the most powerful state of the Western Mediterranean .   With the end of the Macedonian Wars -- which ran concurrently with the Punic Wars -- and the defeat of the Seleucid King Antiochus III the Great in the Roman -- Seleucid War ( Treaty of Apamea , 188 BC ) in the eastern sea , Rome emerged as the dominant Mediterranean power and one of the most powerful cities in classical antiquity . The Roman victories over Carthage in these wars gave Rome a preeminent status it would retain until the 5th century AD .

Henry III of England <=SEP=> Henry III ( 1 October 1207 -- 16 November 1272 ) , also known as Henry of Winchester , was King of England , Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death . The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême , Henry assumed the throne when he was only nine in the middle of the First Barons ' War . Cardinal Guala declared the war against the rebel barons to be a religious crusade and Henry 's forces , led by William Marshal , defeated the rebels at the battles of Lincoln and Sandwich in 1217 . Henry promised to abide by the Great Charter of 1225 , which limited royal power and protected the rights of the major barons . His early rule was dominated first by Hubert de Burgh and then Peter des Roches , who re-established royal authority after the war . In 1230 the King attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that had once belonged to his father , but the invasion was a debacle . A revolt led by William Marshal 's son , Richard , broke out in 1232 , ending in a peace settlement negotiated by the Church .   Following the revolt , Henry ruled England personally , rather than governing through senior ministers . He travelled less than previous monarchs , investing heavily in a handful of his favourite palaces and castles . He married Eleanor of Provence , with whom he had five children . Henry was known for his piety , holding lavish religious ceremonies and giving generously to charities ; the King was particularly devoted to the figure of Edward the Confessor , whom he adopted as his patron saint . He extracted huge sums of money from the Jews in England , ultimately crippling their ability to do business , and as attitudes towards the Jews hardened , he introduced the Statute of Jewry , attempting to segregate the community . In a fresh attempt to reclaim his family 's lands in France , he invaded Poitou in 1242 , leading to the disastrous Battle of Taillebourg . After this , Henry relied on diplomacy , cultivating an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II . Henry supported his brother Richard in his bid to become King of the Romans in 1256 , but was unable to place his own son Edmund on the throne of Sicily , despite investing large amounts of money . He planned to go on crusade to the Levant , but was prevented from doing so by rebellions in Gascony .   By 1258 , Henry 's rule was increasingly unpopular , the result of the failure of his expensive foreign policies and the notoriety of his Poitevin half-brothers , the Lusignans , as well as the role of his local officials in collecting taxes and debts . A coalition of his barons , initially probably backed by Eleanor , seized power in a coup d'état and expelled the Poitevins from England , reforming the royal government through a process called the Provisions of Oxford . Henry and the baronial government enacted a peace with France in 1259 , under which Henry gave up his rights to his other lands in France in return for King Louis IX of France recognising him as the rightful ruler of Gascony . The baronial regime collapsed but Henry was unable to reform a stable government and instability across England continued .   In 1263 one of the more radical barons , Simon de Montfort , seized power , resulting in the Second Barons ' War . Henry persuaded Louis to support his cause and mobilised an army . The Battle of Lewes occurred in 1264 , where Henry was defeated and taken prisoner . Henry 's eldest son , Edward , escaped from captivity to defeat de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham the following year and freed his father . Henry initially enacted a harsh revenge on the remaining rebels , but was persuaded by the Church to mollify his policies through the Dictum of Kenilworth . Reconstruction was slow and Henry had to acquiesce to various measures , including further suppression of the Jews , to maintain baronial and popular support . Henry died in 1272 , leaving Edward as his successor . He was buried in Westminster Abbey , which he had rebuilt in the second half of his reign , and was moved to his current tomb in 1290 . Some miracles were declared after his death but he was not canonised .