The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars that were fought between Carthage and Rome, the two major powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and greatest naval war of antiquity, two powers fought for dominance. The wars were fought mainly on the island of Sicily and its surrounding waters, as well as in North Africa. After enormous material and human losses on both sides, the Carthaginians were defeated.