Final answer:
Rome controlled Carthage before the First Punic War.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rome controlled several territories before the First Punic War, including parts of Italy and Spain.
However, the specific territory that Rome controlled before the war was Carthage. Carthage was a powerful city-state located in North Africa, and it controlled a significant portion of the western Mediterranean.
Rome's expansion into Carthaginian territory eventually led to the outbreak of the First Punic War, which was a conflict between Rome and Carthage for control over Sicily and other western Mediterranean territories.
Learn more about Rome's control before the First Punic War