After gaining independence in the seventh century BC, Carthage gradually expanded its economic and

political hegemony across northwest Africa, Iberia, and the major islands of the western Mediterranean.[7] By
300 BC, through a sprawling patchwork of colonies, vassals, and satellite states, it controlled more territory
than any other polity in the region, and was one of the largest and richest cities in antiquity. Carthage's wealth
and power rested primarily on its strategic location, which provided access to abundant fertile land and major
trade routes. Its vast mercantile network, which extended as far as west Africa and northern Europe, provided
an array of commodities from all over the ancient world, as well as lucrative exports of agricultural goods
and manufactured products. This commercial empire was secured by one of the largest and most powerful
navies in the ancient Mediterranean, and an army largely comprised of foreign mercenaries and auxiliaries.

As the dominant power of the western Mediterranean, Carthage inevitably came into conflict with many
neighbors and rivals, from the indigenous Berbers of North Africa to the nascent Roman Republic.[8]
Following a centuries-long series of conflicts with the Sicilian Greeks, its growing competition with Rome
culminated in the Punic Wars (264–146 BC), which saw some of the largest and most sophisticated battles in
antiquity, and nearly led to Rome's destruction. In 146 BC, after the third and final Punic War, the Romans
destroyed Carthage and established a new city in its place a century later.[9] All remaining Carthaginian
dependencies, as well as other Phoenician city-states, came under Roman rule by the first century AD.

Notwithstanding the cosmopolitan character of its empire, Carthage's culture and identity remained staunchly
Phoenician, or Punic. Like other Phoenician people, its society was heavily urbanised and oriented towards
seafaring and trade, reflected in part by its more famous innovations and technical achievements, including
serial production, uncolored glass, the threshing board, and sophisticated harbors. The Carthaginians became
distinguished for their commercial ambitions and their unique system of government, which combined
elements of democracy, oligarchy, and republicanism, including modern examples of checks and balances.

Despite having been one of the most influential civilizations in the ancient world, Carthage is mostly
remembered for its long and bitter conflict with Rome, which almost threatened the rise of the Roman
Republic and changed the course of Western civilization. Due to the destruction of virtually all Carthaginian
texts after the Third Punic War, much of what is known about its civilization comes from Roman and Greek
authors, many of whom wrote during or after the Punic Wars, and to varying degrees were shaped by the
hostilities. Popular and scholarly attitudes towards Carthage reflected the prevailing Greco-Roman view,
though archaeological research since the late 19th century have helped shed more light and nuance on
Carthaginian civilization.

Etymology
The name Carthage / k rθ d / is the Early Modern anglicisation of Middle French Carthage /kar.ta /, from
Latin 'Carthāgō' and 'Karthāgō' (cf. Greek Karkhēdōn (Καρχηδών) and Etruscan *Carθaza) from the
Punic 'qrt-ḥdšt' ( ) "new city".

Punic, which is often used synonymously with Carthaginian, derives from the Latin poenus and punicus,
based on the Ancient Greek word Φοῖνιξ (Phoinix), pl. Φοίνικες (Phoinikes), an exonym used to describe
the Canaanite port towns with which the Greeks traded. Latin later borrowed the Greek term a second time as
phoenix, pl. phoenices.[10] Both Punic and Phoenician were used by the Romans and Greeks to refer to
Phoenicians across the Mediterranean; modern scholars use the term Punic exclusively for Phoenicians in the
western Mediterranean, such as the Carthaginians. Specific Punic groups are often referred to with
hyphenated terms, like "Siculo-Punic" for Phoenicians in Sicily or "Sardo-Punic" for those in Sardinia.
Ancient Greek authors sometimes referred to the Punic inhabitants of North Africa ('Libya') as 'Liby-
Phoenicians'.[citation needed]

It is unclear what term, if any, the Carthaginians used to refer to themselves. The Phoenician homeland in the
Levant was natively known as (Pūt) and its people as the (Pōnnim). Ancient Egyptians accounts
suggest the people from the region identified as Kenaani or Kinaani, equivalent to Canaanite.[11] A passage
from Augustine has often been interpreted as indicating that the Punic-speakers in North Africa called
themselves Chanani (Canaanites),[12] but it has recently been argued that this is a misreading.[13]
Numismatic evidence from Sicily shows that some western Phoenicians made use of the term Phoinix.[14]