The city of rome and the city of carthage fought the punic wars over the mediterranean sea. why was the mediterranean sea most important to the romans? a) the roman empire included land that was too cold and dry to farm well, so the romans survived by fishing. b) access to the water allowed the romans to export people convicted of crimes, which improved roman society. c) the romans supported christianity from its beginning with jesus christ and wanted to preach to other cultures. d) the water gave romans access to many other centers of trade, including the silk road from asia and cities in northern africa.