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Ancient Carthage

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Phoenicia Civilization City-state

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carthage

Qart-ḥadašt
c. 814 BC–146 BC
 Symbol of the
goddess Tanit
Attributed Military standard (religious or supposed
(based on R. Hook's illustrations state insignia)
for Wise's "Armies of the
Carthaginian Wars, 265 – 146 BC")

Carthage and its dependencies in 264 BC

Capital Carthage
Punic, Phoenician, Berber
Common languages
(Numidian), Ancient Greek
Religion Punic religion
Demonym(s) Carthaginian
Monarchy until c. 480 BC,
Government republic led by Shophets
thereafter[1]
Historical era Antiquity
• Founded by
Phoenician c. 814 BC
settlers
• Independence
c. 650 BC
from Tyre
• Destroyed by
146 BC
Roman Republic
Population
3,700,000–4,300,000 (entire
• 221 BC[2] empire)
Currency Carthaginian shekel
Preceded by Succeeded by
Phoenicia Africa (Roman province)
Sicilia (Roman province)
Hispania
Mauretania

Carthage (/ˈkɑːrθədʒ/; Punic: , romanized: Qart-ḥadašt, lit. 'New City'; Latin: Carthāgō)[3] was

an ancient Phoenician city-state and civilization located in present-day Tunisia. Founded around 814 BC as a
colony of Tyre, within centuries it grew to become the center of the Carthaginian Empire, a major
commercial and maritime power that dominated the western Mediterranean until the mid third century BC.[4]
[5][6]
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 /ˈkɑːrθɪdʒ/ is the Early Modern anglicisation of Middle French Carthage /kar.taʒ/, 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]
Sources
Compared to contemporary civilizations such as Rome and Greece, far less is known about Carthage; most
indigenous records were lost following the wholesale destruction of the city after the Third Punic War.
Sources of knowledge are limited to ancient translations of Punic texts into Greek and Latin, Punic
inscriptions on monuments and buildings, and archaeological findings of Carthage's material culture.[15] The
majority of available primary sources about Carthage were written by Greek and Roman historians, most
notably Livy, Polybius, Appian, Cornelius Nepos, Silius Italicus, Plutarch, Dio Cassius, and Herodotus.
These authors came from cultures that were nearly always in competition, if not open conflict, with Carthage;
the Greeks with respect to Sicily,[16] and the Romans over dominance of the western Mediterranean.[17]
Inevitably, foreign accounts of Carthage usually reflect significant bias, especially those written during or
after the Punic Wars, when the interpretatio Romana perpetuated a "malicious and distorted view".[18]
Excavations of ancient Carthaginian sites since the late 19th century have brought to light more material
evidence that either contradict or confirm aspects of the traditional picture of Carthage; however, many of
these findings remain ambiguous.

History

Further information: History of Carthage

Foundation legends

The specific date, circumstances, and motivations concerning Carthage's founding are unknown. All
surviving accounts of Carthage's foundation come from Latin and Greek literature, which are generally
legendary in nature but may have some basis in fact.

The standard foundation myth across all sources is that the city was founded by colonists from the ancient
Phoenician city-state of Tyre, led by its exiled princess Dido (also known as Queen Elissa or Alissar).[19]
Elissa's brother, Pygmalion (Phoenician: Pummayaton) had murdered her husband, the high priest of the city,
and taken power as a tyrant. Elissa and her allies escape his reign and establish Carthage, which becomes a
prosperous city under her rule as queen.

The Roman historian Justin, writing in the second century AD, provides an account of the city's founding
based on the earlier work of Trogus. Princess Elissa is the daughter of King Belus II of Tyre, who upon his
death bequeaths the throne jointly to her and her brother Pygmalion. After cheating his sister out of her share
of political power, Pygmalion murders her husband Acerbas (Phoenician: Zakarbaal), also known as
Sychaeus, the High Priest of Melqart, whose wealth and power he covets.[20] Before her tyrannical brother
can take her late husband's wealth, Elissa immediately flees with her followers to establish a new city abroad.

Upon landing in North Africa, she is greeted by the local Berber chieftain, Iarbas (also called Hiarbas) who
promises to cede as much land as could be covered by a single ox hide. With her characteristic cleverness,
Dido cuts the hide into very thin strips and lays them end to end until they encircle the entire hill of Byrsa.
While digging to set the foundation of their new settlement, the Tyrians discover the head of an ox, an omen
that the city would be wealthy "but laborious and always enslaved". In response they move the site of the city
elsewhere, where the head of a horse is found, which in Phoenician culture is a symbol of courage and
conquest. The horse foretells where Dido's new city will rise, becoming the emblem of Carthage, derived
from the Phoenician Qart-Hadasht, meaning "New City".
The suicide of Queen Dido, by Claude-Augustin Cayot (1667–1722)

The city's wealth and prosperity attracts both Phoenicians from nearby Utica and the indigenous Libyans,
whose king Iarbas now seeks Elissa's hand in marriage. Threatened with war should she refuse, and also loyal
to the memory of her deceased husband, the queen orders a funeral pyre to be built, where she commits
suicide by stabbing herself with a sword. She is thereafter worshiped as a goddess by the people of Carthage,
who are described as brave in battle but prone to the "cruel religious ceremony" of human sacrifice, even of
children, whenever they seek divine relief from troubles of any kind.

Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid—written over a century after the Third Punic War—tells the mythical story of
the Trojan hero Aeneas and his journey towards founding Rome, inextricably tying together the founding
myths, and ultimate fates, of both Rome and Carthage. Its introduction begins by mentioning "an ancient
city" that many readers likely assumed was Rome or Troy,[21] but goes on to describe it as a place "held by
colonists from Tyre, opposite Italy . .. a city of great wealth and ruthless in the pursuit of war. Its name was
Carthage, and Juno is said to have loved it more than any other place ... But she had heard that there was
rising from the blood of Troy a race of men who in days to come would overthrow this Tyrian citadel ... [and]
sack the land of Libya."[21]

Virgil describes Queen Elissa—for whom he uses the ancient Greek name, Dido, meaning "beloved"—as an
esteemed, clever, but ultimately tragic character. As in other legends, the impetus for her escape is her
tyrannical brother Pygmalion, whose secret murder of her husband is revealed to her in a dream. Cleverly
exploiting her brother's greed, Dido tricks Pygmalion into supporting her journey to find and bring back
riches for him. Through this ruse she sets sail with gold and allies secretly in search of a new home.

As in Justin's account, upon landing in North Africa, Dido is greeted by Iarbas, and after he offers as much
land as could be covered by a single ox hide, she cuts the hide into very thin strips and encircles all of Byrsa.
While digging to set the foundation of their new settlement, the Tyrians discover the head of a horse, which in
Phoenician culture is a symbol of courage and conquest. The horse foretells where Dido's new city will rise,
becoming the emblem of the "New City" Carthage. In just seven years since their exodus from Tyre, the
Carthaginians build a successful kingdom under Dido's rule. She is adored by her subjects and presented with
a festival of praise. Virgil portrays her character as even more noble when she offers asylum to Aeneas and
his men, who had recently escaped from Troy. The two fall in love during a hunting expedition, and Dido
comes to believe they will marry. Jupiter sends a spirit in the form of the messenger god, Mercury, to remind
Aeneas that his mission is not to stay in Carthage with his new-found love Dido, but to sail to Italy to found
Rome. The Trojan departs, leaving Dido so heartbroken that she commits suicide by stabbing herself upon a
funeral pyre with his sword. As she lies dying, she predicts eternal strife between Aeneas' people and her
own, proclaiming "rise up from my bones, avenging spirit" in an invocation of Hannibal.[22] Aeneas sees the
smoke from the pyre as he sails away, and though he does not know the fate of Dido, he identifies it as a bad
omen. Ultimately, he goes on to found the Roman Kingdom, the predecessor of the Roman Empire.
Like Justin, Virgil's story essentially conveys Rome's attitude towards Carthage, as exemplified by Cato the
Elder's famous utterance, "Carthago delenda est"—"Carthage must be destroyed".[23] In essence, Rome and
Carthage were fated for conflict: Aeneas chose Rome over Dido, eliciting her dying curse upon his Roman
descendants, and thus providing a mythical, fatalistic backdrop for a century of bitter conflict between Rome
and Carthage.

These stories typify the Roman attitude towards Carthage: a level of grudging respect and acknowledgement
of their bravery, prosperity, and even their city's seniority to Rome, along with derision of their cruelty,
deviousness, and decadence, as exemplified by their practice of human sacrifice.[citation needed]

Settlement as Tyrian colony (c. 814 BC)

To facilitate their commercial ventures, the Phoenicians established numerous colonies and trading posts
along the coasts of the Mediterranean. Organized in fiercely independent city-states, the Phoenicians lacked
the numbers or even the desire to expand overseas; most colonies had fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, and only
a few, including Carthage, would grow larger.[24] Motives for colonization were usually practical, such as
seeking safe harbors for their merchant fleets, maintaining a monopoly on an area's natural resources,
satisfying the demand for trade goods, and finding areas where they could trade freely without outside
interference.[25][26][27] Over time many Phoenicians also sought to escape their tributary obligations to
foreign powers that had subjugated the Phoenician homeland. Another motivating factor was competition
with the Greeks, who became a nascent maritime power and began establishing colonies across the
Mediterranean and the Black Sea.[28]

Ancient Carthaginian funerary art: sarcophagus of a priest, showing a bearded man with his hand raised.
Louvre, Paris

The first Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean grew up on the two paths to Iberia's mineral
wealth: along the northwest African coast and on Sicily, Sardinia, and the Balearic Islands.[29] As the largest
and wealthiest city-state among the Phoenicians, Tyre led the way in settling or controlling coastal areas.
Strabo claims that the Tyrians alone founded three hundred colonies on the west African coast; though clearly
an exaggeration, many colonies did arise in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Iberia, and to a much lesser extent, on
the arid coast of Libya.[30] They were usually established as trading stations at intervals of about 30 to 50
kilometres along the African coast.[31]

By the time they gained a foothold in Africa, the Phoenicians were already present in Cyprus, Crete, Corsica,
the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, and Sicily, as well as on the European mainland, in what are today Genoa and
Marseilles.[32] Foreshadowing the later Sicilian Wars, settlements in Crete and Sicily continually clashed
with the Greeks, and Phoenician control over all of Sicily was brief.[33] Nearly all these areas would come
under the leadership and protection of Carthage,[34] which eventually founded cities of its own, especially
after the decline of Tyre and Sidon.[35]

The site of Carthage was likely chosen by the Tyrians for several reasons. It was located in the central shore
of the Gulf of Tunis, which gave it access to the Mediterranean sea while shielding it from the region's
infamously violent storms. It was also close to the strategically vital Strait of Sicily, a key bottleneck for
maritime trade between the east and west. The terrain proved as invaluable as the geography. The city was
built on a hilly, triangular peninsula backed by the Lake of Tunis, which provided abundant supplies of fish
and a place for safe harbor. The peninsula was connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land, which
combined with the rough surrounding terrain, made the city easily defensible; a citadel was built on Byrsa, a
low hill overlooking the sea. Finally, Carthage would be conduit of two major trade routes: one between the
Tyrian colony of Cadiz in southern Spain, which supplied raw materials for manufacturing in Tyre, and the
other between North Africa and the northern Mediterranean, namely Sicily, Italy, and Greece.[36]

Independence, expansion and hegemony (c. 650–264 BC)

In contrast to most Phoenician colonies, Carthage grew larger and more quickly thanks to its combination of
favorable climate, arable land, and lucrative trade routes. Within just one century of its founding, its
population rose to 30,000. Meanwhile, its mother city, which for centuries was the preeminent economic and
political center of Phoenician,[37] saw its status begin to wane in the seventh century BC, following a
succession of sieges by the Babylonians.[38][39] By this time, its Carthaginian colony had become immensely
wealthy from its strategic location and extensive trade network. Unlike many other Phoenician city-states and
dependencies, Carthage grew prosperous not only from maritime commerce but from its proximity to fertile
agricultural land and rich mineral deposits. As the main hub for trade between Africa and the rest of the
ancient world, it also provided a myriad of rare and luxurious goods, including terracotta figurines and masks,
jewelry, delicately carved ivories, ostrich eggs, and a variety of foods and wine.

An imaginary rendition of ancient Carthage. The city's strategic location and favorable geography were key
to its rise. (Note the fortified hill of Byrsa and the Lake of Tunis in the background.)

Carthage's growing economic prominence coincided with a nascent national identity. Although Carthaginians
remained staunchly Phoenician in their customs and faith, by at least the seventh century BC, they had
developed a distinct Punic culture infused with local influences.[40] Certain deities became more prominent in
the Carthaginian pantheon than in Phoenicia; into the fifth century BC, the Carthaginians were worshiping
Greek deities such as Demeter.[41] Carthage may have also retained religious practices that had long fallen
out of favor in Tyre, such as child sacrifice. Similarly, it spoke its own Punic dialect of Phoenician, which
also reflected contributions by neighboring peoples.

These trends most likely precipitated the colony's emergence as an independent polity. Though the specific
date and circumstances are unknown, Carthage most likely became independent around 650 BC, when it
embarked on its own colonization efforts across the western Mediterranean. It nonetheless maintained
amicable cultural, political, and commercial ties with its founding city and the Phoenician homeland; it
continued to receive migrants from Tyre, and for a time continued the practice of sending annual tribute to
Tyre's temple of Melqart, albeit at irregular intervals.

By the sixth century BC, Tyre's power declined further still after its voluntary submission to the Persian king
Cambyses (r. 530–522 BC), which resulted in the incorporation of the Phoenician homeland into the Persian
empire.[42] Lacking sufficient naval strength, Cambyses sought Tyrian assistance for his planned conquest of
Carthage, which may indicate that the former Tyrian colony had become wealthy enough to warrant a long
and difficult expedition. Herodotus claims that the Tyrians refused to cooperate due to their affinity for
Carthage, causing the Persian king to abort his campaign. Though it escaped reprisal, Tyre's status as
Phoenicia's leading city was significantly circumscribed; its rival, Sidon, subsequently garnered more support
from the Persians. However, it too remained subjugated, leading the way for Carthage to fill the vacuum as
the leading Phoenician political power.
Formation and characteristic of the empire

It is unknown what factors influenced the citizens of Carthage, unlike those of other Mediterranean
Phoenician colonies, to create an economic and political hegemony; the nearby city of Utica was far older
and enjoyed the same geographical and political advantages, but ultimately came under the latter's influence.
One theory is that Babylonian and Persian domination of the Phoenician homeland produced refugees that
swelled Carthage's population and transferred the culture, wealth, and traditions of Tyre to Carthage.[43] The
threat to the Phoenician trade monopoly—by Etruscan and Greek competition in the west, and through
foreign subjugation of its homeland in the east—also created the conditions for Carthage to solidify its
dominance of the region so as to preserve and further its commercial interests.

Another contributing factor may have been domestic politics: while little is known of Carthage's government
and leadership prior to the third century BCE, the reign of Mago (c. 550–530), and the subsequent political
dominance of the Magonid family in the ensuing decades, precipitated Carthage's rise as a hegemonic power.
Justin states that Mago, who was also general of the army, was the first Carthaginian leader to "[set] in order
the military system", which may have included the introduction of new military strategies and technologies.
[44] He is also credited with initiating, or at least expanding, the practice of recruiting subject peoples and
mercenaries, as Carthage's population was too small to secure and defend its scattered colonies. Libyans,
Iberians, Sardinians, and Corsicans were soon enlisted for the Magonid's expansionist campaigns across the
region.[45]

By the beginning of the fifth century BC, Carthage had become the commercial center of the western
Mediterranean, and would remain so for roughly the next three centuries.[46] Although they retained the
traditional Phoenician affinity for maritime trade and commerce, the Carthaginians departed significantly in
their imperial and military ambitions: whereas the Phoenician city states rarely engaged in territorial
conquest, Carthage became an expansionist power in an effort to access new sources of wealth and trade. It
took control of all nearby Phoenician colonies (including Hadrumetum, Utica, Hippo Diarrhytus and
Kerkouane), subjugated many neighboring Libyan tribes, and occupied coastal North Africa from Morocco to
western Libya.[47] Carthage expanded its influence into the Mediterranean, controlling Sardinia, Malta, the
Balearic Islands, and the western half of Sicily, where coastal fortresses such as Motya and Lilybaeum
secured their possessions.[48] The Iberian Peninsula, which was rich in precious metals, saw some of the
largest and most important Carthaginian settlements outside North Africa,[49] though the degree of political
influence before the conquest by Hamilcar Barca (237–228 BC) is disputed.[50][51] Its growing wealth and
power, commensurate with the continued foreign subjugation of the Phoenician homeland, led to Carthage
soon supplanting Sidon as the supreme Phoenician city state.[52]

Bust of the Punic goddess Tanit found in the Carthaginian necropolis of Puig des Molins, dated fourth
century BC. Museum of Puig des Molins in Ibiza, Spain.
Carthage's empire was largely informal and multifaceted, consisting of varying levels of control exercised in
equally variable ways. It established new colonies, repopulated and reinforced older ones, formed defensive
pacts with other Phoenician city states, and acquired territories directly by conquest. While some Phoenician
colonies willingly submitted to Carthage, paying tribute and giving up their foreign policy, others in Iberia
and Sardinia resisted Carthaginian efforts. Whereas other Phoenician cities never exercised actual control of
the colonies, the Carthaginians appointed magistrates to directly control their own (a policy that would lead
to a number of Iberian towns siding with the Romans during the Punic Wars).[53] In many other instances,
Carthage's hegemony was established through treaties, alliances, tributary obligations, and other such
arrangements. It had elements of the Delian League led by Athens (allies shared funding and manpower for
defense), the Spartan Kingdom (subject peoples serving as serfs for the Punic elite and state) and, to a lesser
extent, the Roman Republic (allies contributing manpower and tribute for Rome's war machine).

In 509 BC, Carthage and Rome signed the first of several treaties demarcating their respective influence and
commercial activities.[54][55] This is the first textual source demonstrating Carthaginian control over Sicily
and Sardinia. The treaty also conveys the extent to which Carthage was, at the very least, on equal terms with
Rome, whose influence was limited to parts of central and southern Italy. Carthaginian dominance of the sea
reflected not only its Phoenician heritage, but an approach to empire-building that differed greatly from
Rome. Carthage emphasized maritime trade over territorial expansion, and accordingly focused its
settlements and influence on coastal areas while investing more on its navy. For similar reasons, its ambitions
were more commercial than imperial, which is why its empire took the form of a hegemony based on treaties
and political arrangements more than conquest. By contrast, the Romans focused on expanding and
consolidating their control over the rest of mainland Italy, and would aim to extend its control well beyond its
homeland. These differences would prove key in the conduct and trajectory of the later Punic Wars.

By the third century BC, Carthage was the center of a sprawling network of colonies and client states. It
controlled more territory than the Roman Republic, and became one of the largest and most prosperous cities
in the Mediterranean, numbering a quarter of a million inhabitants.

Conflict with the Greeks (580–265 BC)

Main article: Sicilian Wars

Unlike the existential conflict of the later Punic Wars with Rome, the conflict between Carthage and the
Greeks was due more to strategic economic concerns; each sought to advance their own commercial interests
and influence by controlling key trade routes. For centuries, the Phoenician and Greek city-states had
embarked on maritime trade and colonization across the Mediterranean, and while the Phoenicians were
initially dominant, Greek competition increasingly undermined their monopoly. Both sides had begun
establishing colonies, trading posts, and commercial relations in the western Mediterranean roughly
contemporaneously, between the ninth and eighth centuries. Notwithstanding occasional skirmishes between
Phoenician and Greek settlements, the increased presence of both peoples led to mounting tensions and
ultimately open conflict, especially in Sicily.

First Sicilian War (480 BC)

The Sacred Band Carthaginian Hoplite, utilized during the Sicilian Wars. Artistic reconstruction based on a
coin of Syracuse (late fourth century BC).

Carthage's economic successes, buoyed by its vast maritime trade network, led to the development of a
powerful navy to protect and secure vital shipping lanes.[56] Its hegemony brought it into increasing conflict
with the Greeks of Syracuse, who also sought control of central Mediterranean.[57] Founded in the mid
seventh century BC, Syracuse had risen to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful Greek city states,
and the preeminent Greek polity in the region.

The island of Sicily, lying at Carthage's doorstep, became the main arena on which this conflict played out.
From their earliest days, both the Greeks and Phoenicians had been attracted to the large, centrally-located
island, each establishing a large number of colonies and trading posts along its coasts; battles raged between
these settlements for centuries, with neither side ever having total, long-term control over the island.[58]

In 480 BC, Gelo, the tyrant of Syracuse, attempted to unite the island under his rule with the backing of other
Greek city-states.[59] Threatened by the potential power of a united Sicily, Carthage intervened militarily, led
by King Hamilcar of the Magonid dynasty. Traditional accounts, including by Herodotus and Diodorus,
number Hamilcar's army at around 300,000; though likely exaggerated, it was likely of formidable strength.

While sailing to Sicily, Hamilcar suffered losses due to poor weather. Landing at Panormus (modern-day
Palermo),[60] he spent three days reorganizing his forces and repairing his battered fleet. The Carthaginians
marched along the coast to Himera, making camp before engaging in battle against the forces of Syracuse and
its ally Agrigentum.[61] The Greeks won a decisive victory, inflicting heavy losses on the Carthaginians,
including their leader Hamilcar, who was either killed during the battle or committed suicide in shame.[62] As
a result, the Carthaginian nobility sued for peace.

The conflict proved to be a major turning point for Carthage. Though it would retain some presence in Sicily,
most of the island would remain in Greek (and later Roman) hands. The Carthaginians would never again
expand their territory or sphere of influence on the island to any meaningful degree, instead turning their
attention to securing or increasing their hold in North Africa and Iberia.[63][64] The death of King Hamilcar
and the disastrous conduct of the war also prompted political reforms that established an oligarchic republic.
[65] Carthage would henceforth constrain its rulers through assemblies of both nobles and the common
people.

Second Sicilian War (410–404 BC)

Coin from Tarentum, in southern Italy, during the occupation by Hannibal (c. 212–209 BC). ΚΛΗ above,
ΣΗΡΑΜ/ΒΟΣ below, nude youth on horseback right, placing a laurel wreath on his horse's head; ΤΑΡΑΣ,
Taras riding dolphin left, holding trident in right hand, aphlaston in his left hand.

By 410 BC, Carthage had recovered from its serious defeats in Sicily. It had conquered much of modern-day
Tunisia and founded new colonies across northern Africa. It also extended its reach well beyond the
Mediterranean; Hanno the Navigator journeyed down the West African coast,[66][67] and Himilco the
Navigator had explored the European Atlantic coast.[68] Expeditions were also led into Morocco and Senegal,
as well as the Atlantic.[69] The same year, the Iberian colonies seceded, cutting off Carthage from a major
source of silver and copper. The loss of such strategically important mineral wealth, combined with the desire
to exercise firmer control over shipping routes, led Hannibal Mago, grandson of Hamilcar, to make
preparations to reclaim Sicily.

In 409 BC, Hannibal Mago set out for Sicily with his force. He captured the smaller cities of Selinus (modern
Selinunte) and Himera—where the Carthaginians had been dealt a humiliating defeat seventy year prior—
before returning triumphantly to Carthage with the spoils of war.[70] But the primary enemy, Syracuse,
remained untouched and in 405 BC, Hannibal Mago led a second Carthaginian expedition to claim the rest of
the island.

This time, however, he met with fiercer resistance as well as misfortune. During the siege of Agrigentum,
Carthaginian forces were ravaged by plague, which claimed Hannibal Mago himself.[71] His successor,
Himilco, managed to extend the campaign, capturing the city of Gela and repeatedly defeating the army of
Dionysius of Syracuse. But he, too, was struck with plague and forced to sue for peace before returning to
Carthage.

By 398 BC, Dionysius had regained his strength and broke the peace treaty, striking at the Carthaginian
stronghold of Motya in western Sicily. Himilco responded decisively, leading an expedition that not only
reclaimed Motya, but also captured Messene (present-day Messina).[72] Within a year, the Carthaginians
were besieging Syracuse itself, and came close to victory until the plague once again ravaged and reduced
their forces.[73]

The fighting in Sicily swung in favor of Carthage less than a decade later in 387 BC. After winning a naval
battle off the coast of Catania, Himilco laid siege to Syracuse with 50,000 Carthaginians, but yet another
epidemic struck down thousands of them. With the enemy assault stalled and weakened, Dionysius then
launched a surprise counterattack by land and sea, destroying all the Carthaginian ships while its crews were
ashore. At the same time, his ground forces stormed the besiegers' lines and routed them. Himilco and his
chief officers abandoned their army and fled Sicily.[74] Once again, the Carthaginians were forced to press for
peace. Returning to Carthage in disgrace, Himilco was met with contempt and committed suicide by starving
himself.[75]

Notwithstanding consistently poor luck and costly reversals, Sicily remained an obsession for Carthage. Over
the next fifty years, an uneasy peace reigned, as Carthaginian and Greek forces engaged in constant
skirmishes. By 340 BC, Carthage had been pushed entirely into the southwest corner of the island.
Eurasia and Africa (c. 323 BC).

Third Sicilian War

In 315 BC, Carthage now found itself on the defensive in Sicily, as Agathocles of Syracuse broke the terms
of the peace treaty and sought to dominate the entire island. Within four years, he seized Messene, laid siege
to Akragas, and invaded the last Carthaginian holdings on the island.

Hamilcar, grandson of Hanno the Great, led the Carthaginian response with great success. Within a year of
their arrival, the Carthaginians controlled almost all of Sicily and were besieging Syracuse. In desperation,
Agathocles secretly led an expedition of 14,000 men to attack Carthage.[76] The Carthaginians were forced to
recall Hamilcar and most of his army from Sicily to face the new and unexpected threat. Although
Agathocles' forces were eventually defeated in 307 BC, he managed to escape back to Sicily and negotiate
peace, thus maintaining the status quo and Syracuse as a stronghold of Greek power in Sicily.

Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC)

Main article: Pyrrhic War

Routes taken against Rome and Carthage in the Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC).

Carthage was once again drawn into a war in Sicily, this time by Pyrrhus of Epirus, who challenged both
Roman and Carthaginian supremacy over the Mediterranean.[77] The Greek city of Tarentum, in southern
Italy, had come into conflict with an expansionist Rome, and sought the aid of Pyrrhus.[78][79] Seeing an
opportunity to forge a new empire, Pyrrhus sent an advance guard of 3,000 infantry to Tarentum, under the
command of his adviser Cineaus. Meanwhile, he marched the main army across the Greek peninsula and won
several victories over the Thessalians and Athenians. After securing the Greek mainland, Pyrrhus rejoined his
advance guard in Tarentum to conquer southern Italy, winning a decisive but costly victory at Asculum.

According to Justin, the Carthaginians worried that Pyrrhus might get involved in Sicily; Polybius confirms
that existence of a mutual defense pact between Carthage and Rome, ratified shortly after the battle of
Asculum.[80] These concerns proved prescient: during the Italian campaign, Pyrrhus received envoys from
the Sicilian Greek cities of Agrigentum, Leontini, and Syracuse, which offered to submit to his rule if he
aided their efforts to eject the Carthaginians from Sicily.[81][82] Having lost too many men in his conquest of
Asculum, Pyrrhus determined that a war with Rome could not be sustained, making Sicily a more enticing
prospect.[83] He thus responded to the plea with reinforcements consisting of 20,000-30,000 infantry, 1,500-
3,000 cavalry, and 20 war elephants supported by some 200 ships.[84][85]

The ensuing Sicilian campaign lasted three years, during which the Carthaginians suffered several losses and
reversals. Pyrrhus overcame the Carthaginian garrison at Heraclea Minoa and seized Azones, which
prompted cities nominally allied to Carthage, such as Selinus, Halicyae, and Segesta, to join his side. The
Carthaginian stronghold of Eryx, which had strong natural defenses and a large garrison, held out for a long
period of time, but was eventually taken. Iaetia surrendered without a fight, while Panormus, which had the
best harbour in Sicily, succumbed to a siege. The Carthaginians were pushed back to the westernmost portion
of the island, holding only Lilybaeum, which was put under siege.[86]

Following these losses, Carthage sued for peace, offering large sums of money and even ships, but Pyrrhus
refused unless Carthage renounced its claims to Sicily entirely.[87] The siege of Lilybaeum continued, with
the Carthaginians successfully holding out due to the size of their forces, their large quantities of siege
weapons, and the rocky terrain. As Pyrrhus' losses were mounting, he set out to build more powerful war
engines; however, after two more months of dogged resistance, he abandoned the siege. Plutarch claimed that
the ambitious king of Epirus now had his sights on Carthage itself, and began outfitting an expedition.[88] In
preparation for his invasion, he treated the Sicilian Greeks more ruthlessly, even executing two of their rulers
on false charges of treason. The subsequent animosity among the Greeks of Sicily drove some to join forces
with the Carthaginians, who "took up the war vigorously" upon noticing Pyrrhus' dwindling support. Cassius
Dio claimed that Carthage had harboured the exiled Syracusans, and "harassed [Pyrrhus] so severely that he
abandoned not only Syracuse but Sicily as well". A renewed Roman offensive also forced him to focus his
attention on southern Italy.[89][90]

According to both Plutarch and Appian, while Pyrrhus' army was being transported by ship to mainland Italy,
the Carthaginian navy inflicted a devastating blow in the Battle of the Strait of Messina, sinking or disabling
98 out of 110 ships. Carthage sent additional forces to Sicily, and following Pyrrhus' departure, managed to
regain control of their domains on the island.

Pyrrhus' campaigns in Italy ultimately proved inconclusive, and he eventually withdrew to Epirus. For the
Carthaginians, the war meant a return to the status quo, as they once again held the western and central
regions of Sicily. For the Romans, however, much of Magna Graecia gradually fell under their sphere of
influence, bringing them closer to complete domination of the Italian peninsula. Rome's success against
Pyrrhus solidified its status as a rising power, which paved the way for conflict with Carthage. In what is
likely an apocryphal account, Pyrrhus, upon departing from Sicily, told his companions, "What a wrestling
ground we are leaving, my friends, for the Carthaginians and the Romans".[91][92]

Punic Wars (264–146 BC)

Further information: Punic Wars, First Punic War, Mercenary War, Second Punic War, and Third Punic War

v
t
e

Punic Wars

First
Mercenary
Second
Carthage electrum coin (c. 250 BC). Third
British Museum.
Carthaginian dependencies and protectorates through the Punic Wars.

When Agathocles of Syracuse died in 288 BC, a large company of Italian mercenaries previously in his
service found themselves suddenly unemployed. Naming themselves Mamertines ("Sons of Mars"), they
seized the city of Messana and became a law unto themselves, terrorizing the surrounding countryside.[93]

The Mamertines became a growing threat to Carthage and Syracuse alike. In 265 BC, Hiero II of Syracuse,
former general of Pyrrhus, took action against them.[94] Faced with a vastly superior force, the Mamertines
divided into two factions, one advocating surrender to Carthage, the other preferring to seek aid from Rome.
While the Roman Senate debated the best course of action, the Carthaginians eagerly agreed to send a
garrison to Messana. Carthaginian forces were admitted to the city, and a Carthaginian fleet sailed into the
Messanan harbor. However, soon afterwards they began negotiating with Hiero. Alarmed, the Mamertines
sent another embassy to Rome asking them to expel the Carthaginians.

Hiero's intervention placed Carthage's military forces directly across the Strait of Messina, the narrow
channel of water that separated Sicily from Italy. Moreover, the presence of the Carthaginian fleet gave them
effective control over this strategically important bottleneck and demonstrated a clear and present danger to
nearby Rome and her interests. As a result, the Roman Assembly, although reluctant to ally with a band of
mercenaries, sent an expeditionary force to return control of Messana to the Mamertines.

The subsequent Roman attack on Carthaginian forces at Messana triggered the first of the Punic Wars.[95]
Over the course of the next century, these three major conflicts between Rome and Carthage would determine
the course of Western civilization. The wars included a dramatic Carthaginian invasion led by Hannibal,
which nearly brought an end to Rome.

During the First Punic Wars the Romans under the command of Marcus Atilius Regulus managed to land in
Africa, though were ultimately repelled by the Carthaginians.[94] Notwithstanding its decisive defense of its
homeland, as well as some initial naval victories, Carthage suffered a succession of losses that forced it to sue
for peace. Shortly after the First Punic War, Carthage also faced a major mercenary revolt that dramatically
changed its internal political landscape, bringing the influential Barcid family to prominence.[96] The war
also impacted Carthage's international standing, as Rome used the events of the war to back its claim over
Sardinia and Corsica, which it promptly seized.
Adorned Statue of the Punic Goddess Tanit, from the necropolis of Puig des Molins, Ibiza, Spain (fifth-third
centuries BC). Archaeology Museum of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain).

Lingering mutual animosity and renewed tensions along their borderlands led to the Second Punic War (218
to 202 BC), which involved factions from across the western and eastern Mediterranean.[97] The war is
marked by Hannibal's surprising overland journey to Rome, particularly his costly and strategically bold
crossing of the Alps. His entrance into northern Italy was followed by his reinforcement by Gaulish allies and
crushing victories over Roman armies in the Battle of the Trebia and the giant ambush at Trasimene.[98]
Against his skill on the battlefield the Romans employed the Fabian strategy, which resorted to skirmishes in
lieu of direct engagement, with the aim delaying and gradually weakening his forces. While effective, this
approach was politically unpopular, as it ran contrary to traditional military strategy. The Romans thus
resorted to another major field battle at Cannae, but despite their superior numbers, suffered a crushing
defeat.[99][100]

Consequently, many Roman allies went over to Carthage, prolonging the war in Italy for over a decade,
during which more Roman armies were nearly consistently destroyed on the battlefield. Despite these
setbacks, the Romans had the manpower to absorb such losses and replenish their ranks. Along with their
superior capability in siegecraft, they were able to recapture all the major cities that had joined the enemy, as
well as defeat a Carthaginian attempt to reinforce Hannibal at the Battle of the Metaurus.[101] Meanwhile, in
Iberia, which served as the main source of manpower for the Carthaginian army, a second Roman expedition
under Scipio Africanus took New Carthage and ended Carthaginian rule over the peninsula in the Battle of
Ilipa.[102][103]

The final showdown was the Battle of Zama, which took place in the Carthaginian heartland of Tunisia. After
trouncing Carthaginian forces at the battles of Utica and the Great Plains, Scipio Africanus forced Hannibal
to abandon his increasingly stalled campaign in Italy. Despite the latter's superior numbers and innovative
tactics, the Carthaginians suffered a crushing and decisive defeat. After years of costly fighting that brought
them to the verge of destruction, the Romans imposed harsh and retributive peace conditions on Carthage. In
addition to a large financial indemnity, the Carthaginians were stripped of their once-proud navy and reduced
only to their North African territory. In effect, Carthage became a Roman client state.[104]

The third and final Punic War began in 149 BC, largely due to the efforts of hawkish Roman senators, led by
Cato the Elder, to finish Carthage off once and for all.[105] Cato was known for finishing nearly every speech
in the Senate, regardless of the subject, with the phrase ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam
—"Moreover, I am of the opinion that Carthage ought to be destroyed". In particular, the growing Roman
Republic sought the famously rich agricultural lands of Carthage and its African territories, which had been
known to the Romans following their invasion in the previous Punic War.[106][107][108] Carthage's border war
with Rome's ally Numidia, though initiated by the latter, nonetheless provided the pretext for Rome to declare
war.

The Third Punic War was a much smaller and shorter engagement than its predecessors, primarily consisting
of a single main action, the Battle of Carthage. However, given their significantly reduced size, military, and
wealth, the Carthaginians managed to mount a surprisingly strong initial defense. The Roman invasion was
soon stalled by defeats at Lake Tunis, Nepheris, and Hippagreta; even the truncated Carthaginian navy
managed to inflict severe losses on a Roman fleet through the use of fire ships.[109] Carthage itself managed
to resist the Roman siege for three years, until Scipio Aemilianus—the adopted grandson of Scipio Africanus
—was appointed consul and took command of the assault.

Notwithstanding its impressive resistance, Carthage's defeat was ultimately a foregone conclusion, given the
far larger size and strength of the Roman Republic. Though it was the smallest of the Punic Wars, the third
war was to be the most decisive: The complete destruction of the city of Carthage,[110] the annexation of all
remaining Carthaginian territory by Rome,[111] and the death or enslavement of tens of thousands of
Carthaginians.[112][113] The war ended Carthage's independent existence, and consequently eliminated the
last Phoenician political power.[114]

Aftermath
Following Carthage's destruction, Rome established Africa Proconsularis, its first province in Africa, which
roughly corresponded to Carthage's northwest African territory. Utica, which had allied itself with Rome
during the final war, was granted tax privileges and made the regional capital, subsequently becoming the
leading center of Punic trade and culture.

In 122 BC, Gaius Gracchus, a populist Roman senator, founded the short-lived colony of Colonia Iunonia,
after the Latin name for the Punic goddess Tanit, Iuno Caelestis. Located near the site of Carthage, its
purpose was to provide arable lands for impoverished farmers, but it was soon abolished by the Roman
Senate to undermine Gracchus' power.

Nearly a century after the fall of the Punic Carthage, a new "Roman Carthage" was built on the same site by
Julius Caesar between 49 and 44 BC. It soon became the center of the province of Africa, which was a major
breadbasket of the Roman Empire and one of its wealthiest provinces. By the first century, it had grown to be
the second-largest city in the western half of the Roman Empire, with a peak population of 500,000.

Punic language, identity, and culture persisted several centuries into Roman rule. In the early third century, at
least two Roman emperors—Septimius Severus and his son and successor Caracalla—were of Punic descent.
In the fourth century, Augustine of Hippo, himself of Berber heritage, noted that Punic was still spoken in the
region by people who identified as Kn'nm, or "Chanani", as the Carthaginians had designated themselves.
Settlements across North Africa, Sardinia, and Sicily continued to speak and write Punic, as evidenced by
inscriptions on temples, tombs, public monuments, and artwork. Punic names were still used until at least the
fourth century, even by prominent denizens of Roman Africa.

Aside from Mago's agricultural treatise, some Punic ideas and innovations remained mainstream in Roman
culture. Pomegranates, a popular Carthaginian commodity, were known as mala Punica ("Punic Apples"). A
mosaic technique of patterned terracotta pieces was called pavimentum Punicum. The threshing board, which
had been introduced to the Romans by Carthage, was thus known as the plostellum Punicum.[115]

Government and politics

Punic district of Carthage

As was common in antiquity, including among the Phoenician city-states, Carthage may initially have been a
monarchy, although modern scholars debate whether this stemmed from a misunderstanding by Greek
writers.[116] Phoenician kings did not usually exercise absolute power, but consulted with a body of advisors
called the adirim ("mighty ones"), which most likely was composed of the wealthiest members of society,
namely merchants.[117] Carthage seems to have been ruled by the blm, a group of nobles who exercised all
important matters of state, including religion, administration, and the military.[116] Within this cabal was a
hierarchy topped by the dominant family, usually the wealthiest members of the merchant class, which had
some sort of executive power. Although described as kings by the Greeks, records indicate that different
families held power at different times, which strongly implies a nonhereditary system of government
dependent on the support or appointment of the consultative body.[116]

Carthage's political system changed dramatically after 483 BC, following the total rout of its forces at the
battle of Himera during the First Sicilian War.[118] The ruling Magonid clan—of which the defeated King
Hamilcar was a member—was compelled to allow representative institutions. Carthage became an oligarchic
republic with a system of checks and balances and a fairly high degree of public accountability and
participation. Its government now consisted of several different institutions and offices, principally the
sufetes, the Adirim (or supreme council), the Hundred and Four, and the Popular Assembly, all of which
shared or divided power in intricate ways.

At the head of the Carthaginian state were two sufetes (Punic: , šūfeṭ) or "judges", who had judicial and
executive powers. [Note 1] Though both Greek and Roman authors commonly referred to them as "kings", by
at least the late fifth century BC, the sufetes were nonhereditary offices elected annually from among the
wealthiest and most influential families. Livy likens them to Roman consuls, in that ruled mostly through
collegiality and handled matters of state such as the convocation and presidency of the Adirim, the
submission of business to the People's Assembly, and service as trial judges.[119] This practice may have
descended from the plutocratic oligarchies that limited the sufetes' power in the first Phoenician cities.[120] In
the sixth century BC, Tyre adopted a similar system, with two sufetes chosen from the most powerful noble
families for short terms.[121] Tyre has been described during this period as a "republic headed by elective
magistrates".[122] Some modern historians compare Carthage's sufetes to executive presidents.[123][124][Note
2] It is unknown how sufetes were elected or who was eligible to serve.

Unique among executive offices in antiquity, the sufetes had no power over the military; generals (Punic: rb
mhnt, or rab mahanet) became a separate political office some time during the sixth century BC, either
appointed by the administration or elected by citizens.[125] In contrast to Rome and Greece, military and
political power were separate, and it was rare for a sufete to also be a general.[125] Generals did not serve
fixed terms, and were usually selected based on the length or scale of a war.[125] However, a family that
dominated the sufetes could install relatives or allies to the generalship, as was the case with the Barcid
dynasty.[125]

Aristocratic families were represented in a supreme council called the Adirim, which the Romans refer to as a
"senate" and the Greeks liken to Sparta's Gerousia, or council of elders. The Adirim had a broad range of
powers, including supervising the treasury and conducting foreign affairs.[123] During the Second Punic War
it reportedly exercised some military power.[123]

According to Aristotle, a special judicial tribunal known as the One Hundred and Four (Phoenician: or
miat) [126] served as Carthage's "highest constitutional authority". Although he compares it to the Spartan
ephors, unlike its Spartan counterpart, which had a wide range of political powers, the tribunal's main
function was to oversee the actions of generals and other officials to ensure they were serving the best
interests of the republic.[120] The One Hundred and Four had the power to impose fines and even crucifixion
as punishment. Panels of special commissioners, called pentarchies, were appointed from the tribunal to deal
with various state affairs.[123] Numerous junior officials and special commissioners were responsible for
different aspects of government, such as public works, tax-collecting, and the administration of the state
treasury.[123][127]
Carthaginian silver shekel depicting a man wearing a laurel wreath on the obverse, and a man riding a war
elephant on the reverse (c. 239–209 BC)

Although Carthage was firmly controlled by oligarchs, its government included some democratic elements,
including elected legislators, trade unions, town meetings, and a popular assembly.[128] In his Politics,
written in the mid fourth century BC, Aristotle claims that unless the sufetes and the supreme council reached
a unanimous decision on a matter, an assembly of the people had the decisive vote—unlike in the Greek
republics of Sparta and Crete. It is unclear whether this assembly was ad hoc or a formal institution. In any
event, Aristotle claims that "the voice of the people was predominant in the deliberations" and "the people
themselves solved problems".[41] He also praises Carthage's political system for its "balanced" elements of
monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, believing that each element was kept in check by the other two.
Aristotle's Athenian contemporary, Isocrates, elevates Carthage's political system as the best in antiquity,
equaled only by Sparta's.[129]

It is noteworthy that Aristotle ascribes to Carthage a position among the Greek states, because
the Greeks firmly believed that they alone had the ability to found 'poleis', whereas the
barbarians used to live in tribal societies ('ethne'). It is therefore remarkable that Aristotle
maintained that the Carthaginians were the only non-Greek people who had created a 'polis'.[130]

Confirming Aristotle's claims, Polybius, in book 6 of his Histories, states that during the Punic Wars, the
Carthaginian public held more sway over the government than the Romans did over theirs. However, he
regards this development as a fatal flaw, since it led the Carthaginians to bicker and debate while the Romans,
through the more oligarchic Senate, acted more quickly and decisively.[131] This may have been due to the
influence and populism of the Barcid faction, which between the end of the First Punic War and the end of the
Second Punic War dominated Carthage's government, military, and overseas territories.[132][133]

Carthage reportedly had a constitution of some kind. Aristotle makes mention of a Carthaginian constitution,
which he compares favorably to its well regarded Spartan counterpart, describing it as sophisticated,
functional, and fulfilling "all needs of moderation and justice".[134][135] Eratosthenes, head of the Library of
Alexandria, confirms the constitutional nature of Carthage's government, as he states that the Greeks were
wrong to regard all non-Greeks as barbarians, since the Carthaginians, as well as the Romans, had
constitutions.

Carthage's republican system appears to have extended to the rest of its empire, though to what extent and in
what form is unknown. The term sufet was used for officials throughout its colonies and territories;
inscriptions from Punic-era Sardinia are dated with four names: the sufetes of the island as well as of
Carthage.[136] This suggests some degree of political coordination between local and colonial Carthaginians,
perhaps through a regional hierarchy of sufetes.

Citizenship
Like the republics of the Latin and Hellenistic worlds, Carthage had some notion of citizenship,
distinguishing those in society who could participate in the political process and who had certain rights,
privileges, and duties. However, it is uncertain whether such a distinction existed, much less the specific
criteria.[117] For example, while the Popular Assembly is described as giving a political voice to the common
people, there is no mention of any restrictions based on citizenship. Carthaginian society was complex and
divided into many different classes, including slaves, peasants, aristocrats, merchants, and various
professionals. Moreover, Carthage's empire consisted of an often nebulous network of Punic colonies, subject
peoples, client states, and allied tribes and kingdoms; it is unknown whether individuals from these different
realms and nationalities formed any particular social or political class in relation to the Carthaginian
government.[117]

Roman accounts suggest that Carthaginian citizens, especially those allowed to run for high office, had to
prove their descent from the city's founders. This would indicate that Phoenicians were privileged over other
ethnic groups, while those whose lineage traced back to the city's founding were privileged over fellow
Phoenicians descended from later waves of settlers. However, it would also mean that someone of partial
"foreign" ancestry could still be a citizen; indeed, Hamilcar, who served as a sufete in 480 BC, was half
Greek.[117] Greek writers claimed that ancestry, as well as wealth and merit, were avenues to citizenship and
political power. As Carthage was a mercantile society, this would imply that both citizenship and membership
in the aristocracy were relatively accessible by ancient standards.

Aristotle mentions Carthaginian "associations" similar to the Hellenistic hetairiai, organizations roughly
analogous to political parties or interest groups.[117] These were most likely the mizrehim referenced in
Carthaginian inscriptions, of which little is known or attested, but which appeared to have been numerous in
number and subject, from devotional cults to professional guilds. It is unknown whether such an association
was required of citizens, as in some Greek republics like Sparta. Aristotle also describes a Carthaginian
equivalent to the syssitia, communal meals that were the mark of citizenship and social class in Greek
societies.[137] Once again, however, it is unclear whether Carthaginians attributed any political significance to
their equivalent practice.[117]

Carthage's military provides a possible glimpse into the criteria of citizenship. Greek accounts describe a
"Sacred Band of Carthage" that fought in Sicily in the mid fourth century BC, using the Hellenistic term for
professional citizen soldiers selected on the basis of merit and ability.[138] Roman writings about the Punic
Wars describe the core of the military, including its commanders and officers, as being made up of "Liby-
Phoenicians", a broad label that included ethnic Phoenicians, those of mixed Punic-North African descent,
and Libyans who had integrated into Phoenician culture.[139] During the Second Punic War, Hannibal
promised his foreign troops Carthaginian citizenship, as well as wealth and land, if they proved victorious
over the Romans.[140]

Continuance after Roman conquest

Aspects of Carthage's political system persisted well into the Roman period, albeit to varying degrees and
often in Romanized form. Sufetes are mentioned in inscriptions throughout the major settlements of Roman
Sardinia, indicating the office was perhaps used by Punic descendants to resist both cultural and political
assimilation with their Latin conquerors. As late as the mid second century AD, two sufetes wielded power in
Bithia, a city in the Roman province of Sardinia and Corsica.[141]

The Romans seemed to have actively tolerated, if not adopted, Carthaginian offices and institutions. Official
state terminology of the late Roman Republic and subsequent Empire repurposed the word sufet to refer to
Roman-style local magistrates serving in Africa Proconsularis, which included Carthage and its core
territories.[119] Sufetes are attested to have governed over forty post-Carthaginian towns and cities, including
Althiburos, Calama, Capsa, Cirta, Gadiaufala, Gales, Limisa, Mactar, and Thugga.[142] Though many were
former Carthaginian settlements, some had little to no Carthaginian influence; Volubilis, in modern-day
Morocco, had been part of the Kingdom of Mauretania, which became a Roman client state after the fall of
Carthage.[143] The use of sufetes persisted well into the late second century AD.[144]

Sufetes were prevalent even in interior regions of Roman Africa that had never been settled by Carthage. This
suggests that, unlike the Punic community of Roman Sardinia, Punic settlers and refugees endeared
themselves to Roman authorities by adopting a readily intelligible government.[144] Three sufetes serving
simultaneously appear in first century AD records at Althiburos, Mactar, and Thugga, reflecting a choice to
adopt Punic nomenclature for Romanized institutions without the actual, traditionally balanced magistracy.
[144] In those cases, a third, non-annual position of tribal or communal chieftain marked an inflection point in

the assimilation of external African groups into the Roman political fold.[142]
Sufes, the Roman approximation of the term sufet, appears in at least six works of Latin literature. Erroneous
references to Carthaginian "kings" with the Latin term rex betray the translations of Roman authors from
Greek sources, who equated the sufet with the more monarchical basileus (Greek: βασιλεύς).[119]

Military

Main article: Military of Carthage

The military of Carthage was one of the largest military forces in the ancient world. Although Carthage's
navy was always its main military force, the army acquired a key role in the spread of Carthaginian power
over the native peoples of northern Africa and southern Iberian Peninsula from the 6th century BC and the
3rd century BC.

Army

Hannibal Barca counting the rings of the Roman knights killed at the Battle of Cannae (216 BC), by
Sébastien Slodtz (1704). Gardens of the Tuileries, Louvre Museum. Hannibal is regarded as one of the most
brilliant military strategists in history.

As a mainly commercial empire with a relatively small native population, Carthage generally did not
maintain a large, permanent, standing army.[145] However, since at least the reign of Mago in the early sixth
century BC, Carthage regularly utilized its military to advance its commercial and strategic interests.[146]
According to Polybius, Carthage relied heavily, though not exclusively, on foreign mercenaries, especially in
overseas warfare.[147] Modern historians regard this as an oversimplification, as many foreign troops were
actually auxiliaries from allied or client states, provided through formal agreements, tributary obligations, or
military pacts.[41] The Carthaginians maintained close relations, sometimes through political marriages, with
the rulers of various tribes and kingdoms, most notably the Numidians (based in modern northern Algeria).
These leaders would in turn provide their respective contingent of forces, sometimes even leading them in
Carthaginian campaigns.[41] In any event, Carthage leveraged its vast wealth and hegemony to help fill the
ranks of its military.

Contrary to popular belief, especially among the more martial Greeks and Romans, Carthage did utilize
citizen soldiers—i.e., ethnic Punics/Phoenicians—particularly during the Sicilian Wars. Moreover, like their
Greco-Roman contemporaries, the Carthaginians respected "military valour", with Aristotle reporting the
practice of citizens wearing armbands to signify their combat experience.[146] Greek observers also described
the "Sacred Band of Carthage", a Hellenistic term for professional citizen soldiers who fought in Sicily in the
mid fourth century BC.[138] However, after this force was destroyed by Agathocles in 310 BC, foreign
mercenaries and auxiliaries formed a more significant part of the army. This indicates that the Carthaginians
had a capacity to adapt their military as circumstances required; when larger or more specialized forces were
needed, such as during the Punic Wars, they would employ mercenaries or auxiliaries accordingly.
Carthaginian citizens would be enlisted in large numbers only by necessity, such as for the pivotal Battle of
Zama in the Second Punic War, or in the final siege of the city in the Third Punic War.[129]

The core of the Carthaginian army was always from its own territory in Northwest Africa, namely ethnic
Libyans, Numidians, and "Liby-Phoenicians", a broad label that included ethnic Phoenicians, those of mixed
Punic-North African descent, and Libyans who had integrated into Phoenician culture.[139] These troops were
supported by mercenaries from different ethnic groups and geographic locations across the Mediterranean,
who fought in their own national units. For instance, Celts, Balearics, and Iberians were recruited in
significant numbers to fight in Sicily.[148] Greek mercenaries, who were highly valued for their skill, were
hired for the Sicilian campaigns.[41] Carthage employed Iberian troops long before the Punic Wars;
Herodotus and Alcibiades both describe the fighting capabilities of the Iberians among the western
Mediterranean mercenaries.[149] Later, after the Barcids conquered large portions of Iberia (modern Spain
and Portugal), Iberians came to form an even greater part of the Carthaginian forces, albeit based more on
their loyalty to the Barcid faction than to Carthage itself. The Carthaginians also fielded slingers, soldiers
armed with straps of cloth used to toss small stones at high speeds; for this they often recruited Balearic
Islanders, who were reputed for their accuracy.[41]

The uniquely diverse makeup of Carthage's army, particularly during the Second Punic War, was noteworthy
to the Romans; Livy characterized Hannibal's army as a "hotch-potch of the riff-raff of all nationalities." He
also observed that the Carthaginians, at least under Hannibal, never forced any uniformity upon their
disparate forces, which nonetheless had such a high degree of unity that they "never quarreled amongst
themselves nor mutinied", even during difficult circumstances.[150] Punic officers at all levels maintained
some degree of unity and coordination among these otherwise disparate forces. They also dealt with the
challenge of ensuring military commands were properly communicated and translated to their respective
foreign troops.[41][129]

Carthage used the diversity of its forces to its own advantage, capitalizing on the particular strengths or
capabilities of each nationality. Celts and Iberians were often utilized as shock troops, North Africans as
cavalry, and Campanians from southern Italy as heavy infantry. Moreover, these units would typically be
deployed to nonnative lands, which ensured they had no affinity for their opponents and could surprise them
with unfamiliar tactics. For example, Hannibal used Iberians and Gauls (from what is today France) for
campaigns in Italy and Africa.[41]

Carthage seems to have fielded a formidable cavalry force, especially in its Northwest African homeland; a
significant part of it was composed of light Numidian cavalry, who were considered "by far the best
horsemen in Africa."[151] Their speed and agility proved pivotal to several Carthaginian victories, most
notably the Battle of Trebia, the first major action in the Second Punic War.[152] The reputation and
effectiveness of Numidian cavalry was such that the Romans utilized a contingent of their own in the decisive
Battle of Zama, where they reportedly "turned the scales" in Rome's favor.[153][154] Polybius suggests that
cavalry remained the force in which Carthaginian citizens were most represented following the shift to
mostly foreign troops after the third century BC.[147]

Owing to Hannibal's campaigns in the Second Punic War, Carthage is perhaps best remembered for its use of
the now-extinct North African elephant, which was specially trained for warfare and, among other uses, was
commonly utilized for frontal assaults or as anticavalry protection. An army could field up to several hundred
of these animals, but on most reported occasions fewer than a hundred were deployed. The riders of these
elephants were armed with a spike and hammer to kill the elephants, in case they charged toward their own
army.[citation needed]
During the sixth century BC, Carthaginian generals became a distinct political office known in Punic as rb
mhnt, or rab mahanet.[125] Unlike in other ancient societies. Carthage maintained a separation of military and
political power, with generals either appointed by the administration or elected by citizens.[125] Generals did
not serve fixed terms but were usually selected based on the length or scale of a war.[155] Initially, the
generalship was apparently occupied by two separate but equal offices, such as an army commander and an
admiral; by the mid third century, military campaigns were usually carried out by a supreme commander and
a deputy.[155] During the Second Punic War, Hannibal appears to have exercised total control over all military
affairs, and had up to seven subordinate generals divided along different theaters of war.[155]

Navy
Carthage's navy usually operated in support of its land campaigns, which remained key to its expansion and
defense.[146] The Carthaginians maintained the ancient Phoenician's reputation as skilled mariners,
navigators, and shipbuilders. Polybius wrote that the Carthaginians were "more exercised in maritime affairs
than any other people."[156] Its navy was one of the largest and most powerful in the Mediterranean, using
serial production to maintain high numbers at moderate cost.[145] During the Second Punic War, at which
point Carthage had lost most of its Mediterranean islands, it still managed to field some 300 to 350 warships.
The sailors and marines of the Carthaginian navy were predominantly recruited from the Punic citizenry,
unlike the multiethnic allied and mercenary troops of the Carthaginian army. The navy offered a stable
profession and financial security for its sailors, which helped contribute to the city's political stability, since
the unemployed, debt-ridden poor in other cities were frequently inclined to support revolutionary leaders in
the hope of improving their own lot.[157] The reputation of Carthaginian sailors implies that the training of
oarsmen and coxswains occurred in peacetime, giving the navy a cutting edge.

In addition to its military functions, the Carthaginian navy was key to the empire's commercial dominance,
helping secure trade routes, protect harbors, and even enforce trade monopolies against competitors.[129]
Carthaginian fleets also served an exploratory function, most likely for the purpose of finding new trade
routes or markets. Evidence exists of at least one expedition, that of Hanno the Navigator, possibly sailing
along the West African coast to regions south of the Tropic of Cancer.[158]

In addition to the use of serial production, Carthage developed complex infrastructure to support and
maintain its sizable fleet. Cicero described the city as "surrounded by harbours", while accounts from Appian
and Strabo describe a large and sophisticated harbor known as the Cothon (Greek: κώθων, lit. "drinking
vessel").[159][160] Based on similar structures used for centuries across the Phoenician world, the Cothon was
a key factor in Carthaginian naval supremacy; its prevalence throughout the empire is unknown, but both
Utica and Motya had comparable harbors.[161][162] According to both ancient descriptions and modern
archaeological findings, the Cothon was divided into a rectangular merchant harbor followed by an inner
protected harbor reserved for military vessels.[163] The inner harbor was circular and surrounded by an outer
ring of structures partitioned into docking bays, along with an island structure at its centre that also housed
naval ships. Each individual docking bay featured a raised slipway, allowing ships to be dry-docked for
maintenance and repair. Above the raised docking bays was a second level consisting of warehouses where
oars and rigging were kept along with supplies such as wood and canvas. The island structure had a raised
"cabin" where the admiral in command could observe the whole harbor along with the surrounding sea.
Altogether the inner docking complex could house up to 220 ships. The entire harbor was protected by an
outer wall, while the main entrance could be closed off with iron chains.[164]

The Romans, who had little experience in naval warfare prior to the First Punic War, managed to defeat
Carthage in part by reverse engineering captured Carthaginian ships, aided by the recruitment of experienced
Greek sailors from conquered cities, the unorthodox corvus device, and their superior numbers in marines
and rowers. Polybius describes a tactical innovation of the Carthaginians during the Third Punic War,
consisting of augmenting their few triremes with small vessels that carried hooks (to attack the oars) and fire
(to attack the hulls). With this new combination, they were able to stand their ground against the numerically
superior Romans for a whole day.[citation needed] The Romans also utilized the Cothon in their rebuilding of
the city, which helped support the region's commercial and strategic development.[165]
The One Hundred and Four

Carthage was unique in antiquity for separating political and military offices, and for having the former
exercise control over the latter.[166] In addition to being appointed or elected by the state, generals were
subject to reviews of their performance.[166] The government was infamous for its severe attitude towards
defeated commanders; in some instances, the penalty for failure was execution, usually by crucifixion.[166]
Before the fourth or fifth century BC, generals were probably judged by the supreme council and/or sufetes,
until a special tribunal was created specifically this function: what Aristotle calls the One Hundred and Four.
[166] Described by Justin as being established during the republican reforms led by the Magonids, this body

was responsible for scrutinizing and punishing generals following every military campaign.[166] Its harshness
was such that some modern scholars describe it as the "nemesis of generals".[166] Although the One Hundred
and Four was intended to ensure that military leaders better served the interests of Carthage, its draconian
approach may also have led to generals to be overly cautious for fear of reprisal.[166] However, despite its
notorious reputation, punishments are rarely recorded; although an admiral named Hanno was crucified for
his disastrous defeat in the First Punic War, other commanders, including Hannibal, escaped such a fate.[166]
This has led some historians to speculate that the tribunal's decisions may have been influenced by familial or
factional politics, given that many high-ranking military officers or their relatives and allies held political
office.[166]

Language

See also: Punic language

Carthaginians spoke a variety of Phoenician called Punic, a Semitic language originating in their ancestral
homeland of Phoenicia (present-day Lebanon).[167][168]

Like its parent language, Punic was written from right to left, consisted of 22 consonants without vowels, and
is known mostly through inscriptions. During classical antiquity, Punic was spoken throughout Carthage's
territories and spheres of influence in the western Mediterranean, namely northwest Africa and several
Mediterranean islands. Although the Carthaginians maintained ties and cultural affinity with their Phoenician
homeland, their Punic dialect gradually became influenced by various Berber languages spoken in and around
Carthage by the ancient Libyans. Following the fall of Carthage, a "Neo-Punic" dialect emerged that diverged
from Punic in terms of spelling conventions and the use of non-Semitic names, mostly of Libyco-Berber
origin.[citation needed]

Notwithstanding the destruction of Carthage and assimilation of its people into the Roman Republic, Punic
appeared to have persisted for centuries in the former Carthaginian homeland. This is best attested by
Augustine of Hippo, himself of Berber descent, who spoke and understood Punic and served as the "primary
source on the survival of [late] Punic". He claims the language was still spoken in his region of North Africa
in the fifth century, and that there were still people who self identified as chanani (Canaanite: Carthaginian).
Contemporaneous funerary texts found in Christian catacombs in Sirte, Libya bear inscriptions in Ancient
Greek, Latin, and Punic, suggesting a fusion of the cultures under Roman rule.

There is evidence that Punic was still spoken and written by commoners in Sardinia at least 400 years after
the Roman conquest. In addition to Augustine of Hippo, Punic was known by some literate North Africans
until the second or third centuries (albeit written in Roman and Greek script) and remained spoken among
peasants at least until the end of the fourth century.

Economy

See also: Carthaginian currency

Former Carthaginian port

Carthage's commerce extended by sea throughout the Mediterranean and perhaps as far as the Canary Islands,
and by land across the Sahara desert. According to Aristotle, the Carthaginians had commercial treaties with
various trading partners to regulate their exports and imports.[169][170][171] Their merchant ships, which
surpassed in number even those of the original Phoenician city-states, visited every major port of the
Mediterranean, as well as Britain and the Atlantic coast of Africa.[172] These ships were able to carry over
100 tons of goods.[173] Archaeological discoveries show evidence of all kinds of exchanges, from the vast
quantities of tin needed for bronze-based civilizations, to all manner of textiles, ceramics, and fine
metalwork. Even between the punishing Punic wars, Carthaginian merchants remained at every port in the
Mediterranean, trading in harbours with warehouses or from ships beached on the coast.[174]

The empire of Carthage depended heavily on its trade with Tartessos and other cities of the Iberian peninsula,
[175][176] from which it obtained vast quantities of silver, lead, copper and – most importantly – tin ore,[177]
which was essential to manufacture the bronze objects that were highly prized in antiquity. Carthaginian trade
relations with the Iberians, and the naval might that enforced Carthage's monopoly on this trade and the
Atlantic tin trade,[178] made it the sole significant broker of tin and maker of bronze in its day. Maintaining
this monopoly was one of the major sources of power and prosperity for Carthage; Carthaginian merchants
strove to keep the location of the tin mines secret.[179] In addition to its exclusive role as the main distributor
of tin, Carthage's central location in the Mediterranean and control of the waters between Sicily and Tunisia
allowed it to control the eastern peoples' supply of tin. Carthage was also the Mediterranean's largest
producer of silver, mined in Iberia and on the Northwest African coast;[180] after the tin monopoly, this was
one of its most profitable trades. One mine in Iberia provided Hannibal with 300 Roman pounds (3.75 talents)
of silver a day.[181][182]

Carthage's economy began as an extension of that of its parent city, Tyre.[183] Its massive merchant fleet
traversed the trade routes mapped out by Tyre, and Carthage inherited from Tyre the trade in the extremely
valuable dye Tyrian purple.[184] No evidence of purple dye manufacture has been found at Carthage, but
mounds of shells of the murex marine snails, from which it derived, have been found in excavations of the
Punic town of Kerkouane, at Dar Essafi on Cap Bon.[185] Similar mounds of murex have also been found at
Djerba[186] on the Gulf of Gabes[187] in Tunisia. Strabo mentions the purple dye-works of Djerba[188] as well
as those of the ancient city of Zouchis.[189][190][191] The purple dye became one of the most highly valued
commodities in the ancient Mediterranean,[192] being worth fifteen to twenty times its weight in gold. In
Roman society, where adult males wore the toga as a national garment, the use of the toga praetexta,
decorated with a stripe of Tyrian purple about two to three inches in width along its border, was reserved for
magistrates and high priests. Broad purple stripes (latus clavus) were reserved for the togas of the senatorial
class, while the equestrian class had the right to wear narrow stripes (angustus clavus).[193][194]
Punic pendant in the form of a bearded head, 4th–3rd century BC.

In addition to its extensive trade network, Carthage had a diversified and advanced manufacturing sector. It
produced finely embroidered silks,[195] dyed textiles of cotton, linen,[196] and wool, artistic and functional
pottery, faience, incense, and perfumes.[197] Its artisans worked expertly with ivory,[198] glassware, and
wood,[199] as well as with alabaster, bronze, brass, lead, gold, silver, and precious stones to create a wide
array of goods, including mirrors, furniture[200] and cabinetry, beds, bedding, and pillows,[201] jewelry, arms,
implements, and household items.[202] It traded in salted Atlantic fish and fish sauce (garum),[203] and
brokered the manufactured, agricultural, and natural products[204] of almost every Mediterranean people.[205]
Bronze engraving and stone-carving are described as having reached their zenith in the fourth and third
centuries.[206]

A Carthaginian coin possibly depicting Hannibal as Hercules

While primarily a maritime power, Carthage also sent caravans into the interior of Africa and Persia. It traded
its manufactured and agricultural goods to the coastal and interior peoples of Africa for salt, gold, timber,
ivory, ebony, apes, peacocks, skins, and hides.[207] Its merchants invented the practice of sale by auction and
used it to trade with the African tribes. In other ports, they tried to establish permanent warehouses or sell
their goods in open-air markets. They obtained amber from Scandinavia, and from the Iberians, Gauls, and
Celts received amber, tin, silver, and furs. Sardinia and Corsica produced gold and silver for Carthage, and
Phoenician settlements on Malta and the Balearic Islands produced commodities that would be sent back to
Carthage for large-scale distribution. The city supplied poorer civilizations with simple products such as
pottery, metallic objects, and ornamentations, often displacing local manufacturing, but brought its best
works to wealthier ones such as the Greeks and Etruscans. Carthage traded in almost every commodity
wanted by the ancient world, including spices from Arabia, Africa and India, as well as slaves (the empire of
Carthage temporarily held a portion of Europe and sent conquered barbarian warriors into North African
slavery).[208]
Herodotus wrote an account around 430 BC of Carthaginian trade on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.[209] The
Punic explorer and sufete of Carthage, Hanno the Navigator, led an expedition to recolonise the Atlantic
coast of Morocco that may have ventured as far down the coast of Africa as Senegal and perhaps even
beyond.[210] The Greek version of the Periplus of Hanno describes his voyage. Although it is not known just
how far his fleet sailed on the African coastline, this short report, dating probably from the fifth or sixth
century BC, identifies distinguishing geographic features such as a coastal volcano and an encounter with
hairy hominids.

The Etruscan language is imperfectly deciphered, but bilingual inscriptions found in archaeological
excavations at the sites of Etruscan cities indicate the Phoenicians had trading relations with the Etruscans for
centuries.[211] In 1964, a shrine to Astarte, a popular Phoenician deity, was discovered in Italy containing
three gold tablets with inscriptions in Etruscan and Phoenician, giving tangible proof of the Phoenician
presence in the Italian peninsula at the end of the sixth century BC, long before the rise of Rome.[212] These
inscriptions imply a political and commercial alliance between Carthage and the Etruscan city state of Caere,
which would corroborate Aristotle's statement that the Etruscans and Carthaginians were so close as to form
almost one people.[213][214] The Etruscans were at times both commercial partners and military allies.[215]

Agriculture
Carthage's North African hinterland was famed in antiquity for its fertile soil and ability to support abundant
livestock and crops. Diodorus shares an eyewitness account from the fourth century BC describing lush
gardens, verdant plantations, large and luxurious estates, and a complex network of canals and irrigation
channels. Roman envoys visiting in the mid-second century BC, including Cato the Censor—known for his
fondness for agriculture as much as for his low regard of foreign cultures—described the Carthaginian
countryside as thriving with both human and animal life. Polybius, writing of his visit during the same period,
claims that a greater number and variety of livestock were raised in Carthage than anywhere else in the
known world.[216]

Initially, the Carthaginians, like their Phoenician founders, did not engage much in agriculture: Like nearly all
Phoenician cities and colonies, Carthage was primarily settled along the coast; evidence of settlement of the
hinterland dates only to the late fourth century BC, several centuries after its founding. As they settled further
inland, the Carthaginians eventually made the most of the region's rich soil, developing what may have been
one of the most prosperous and diversified agricultural sectors of its time. They practised highly advanced
and productive agriculture,[217] using iron ploughs, irrigation,[218] crop rotation, threshing machines, hand-
driven rotary mills, and horse mills, the latter two being invented by the Carthaginians in the late sixth
century BC and mid to late fourth century BC, respectively.[219][220]

Carthaginians were adept at refining and reinventing their agricultural techniques, even in the face of
adversity. After the Second Punic War, Hannibal promoted agriculture to help restore Carthage's economy
and pay the costly war indemnity to Rome (10,000 talents or 800,000 Roman pounds of silver), which proved
successful.[221][222][223] Strabo reports that even in the years leading up to the Third Punic War, the
otherwise devastated and impoverished Carthage had made its lands flourish once more.[216] A strong
indication of agriculture's importance to Carthage can be inferred from the fact that, of the few Carthaginian
writers known to modern historians, two—the retired generals Hamilcar and Mago—concerned themselves
with agriculture and agronomy.[129] The latter wrote what was essentially an encyclopedia on farming and
estate management that totaled twenty-eight books; its advice was so well regarded that, following the
destruction of the city, it was one of the few, if not only, Carthaginian texts spared, with the Roman Senate
decreeing its translation into Latin.[224] Subsequently, though the original work is lost, fragments and
references by Roman and Greek writers remain.

Circumstantial evidence suggests that Carthage developed viticulture and wine production before the fourth
century BC,[225] and exported its wines widely, as indicated by distinctive cigar-shaped Carthaginian
amphorae found at archaeological sites across the western Mediterranean, although the contents of these
vessels have not been conclusively analysed.[226][227] Carthage also shipped large quantities of raisin wine,
known in Latin as passum, which was popular in antiquity, including among the Romans.[228] Fruits such as
figs, pears, and pomegranates—which the Romans called "Punic Apples"—as well as nuts, grain, grapes,
dates, and olives were grown in the extensive hinterland;[229] olive oil was processed and exported all over
the Mediterranean. Carthage also raised fine horses, the ancestors of today's Barb horses, which are
considered the most influential racing breed after the Arabian.[230][231]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Carthage

Carthaginian coins showing the wreathed head of Tanit (c. 310–290 BC)

Like virtually all ancient societies, the Carthaginians worshiped numerous gods and goddesses, each
presiding over a particular theme or aspect of nature.[232] The Carthaginians practiced the Phoenician
religion, a polytheist belief system derived from the ancient Semitic religions of the Levant. Although most
major deities were brought from the Phoenician homeland, Carthage gradually developed unique customs,
divinities, and styles of worship that became central to its distinct identity.

Presiding over the Carthaginian pantheon was the supreme divine couple, Baal Ḥammon and Tanit.[233] Baal
Hammon had been the most prominent aspect of the chief Phoenician god Baal, but following Carthage's
independence, became the city's patron god and the chief of the Carthaginian religion.[232][234] He was also
responsible for the fertility of crops. His consort Tanit, known as the "Face of Baal", was the goddess of war,
a virginal mother goddess and nurse, and a symbol of fertility. Although a minor figure in Phoenicia, she was
venerated as a patroness and protector of Carthage, and was also known by the title rabat, the female form of
rab (chief);[235] while nearly always coupled with Baal, she always mentioned first.[236] The symbol of Tanit,
a stylized female form with outstretched arms, appears frequently in tombs, mosaics, religious stelae, and
various household items like figurines and pottery vessels.[236][235] The ubiquity of her symbol, and the fact
that she is the only Carthaginian deity with an icon, strongly suggests she was Carthage's paramount deity, at
least in later centuries.[236] In the Third Punic War, the Romans identified her as Carthage's protector.[236]

Other Carthaginian deities attested in Punic inscriptions were Eshmun, the god of health and healing;
Resheph, associated with plague, war, or thunder; Kusor, god of knowledge; and Hawot, goddess of death.
Astarte, a goddess connected with fertility, sexuality, and war, seems to have been popular in early times, but
became increasingly identified through Tanit.[237][238] Similarly, Melqart, the patron deity of Tyre, while
relatively popular, was less so than in Carthage's mother city. His cult was especially prominent in Punic
Sicily, of which he was a protector, and which was subsequently known during Carthaginian rule as "Cape
Melqart".[Note 3] As in Tyre, Melqart was subject to an important religious rite of death and rebirth,
undertaken either daily or annually by a specialised priest known as an "awakener of the god".[239]

Contrary to the frequent charge of impiety by Greek and Roman authors, religion was central to both political
and social life in Carthage; the city had as many sacred places as Rome and Athens.[240] Surviving Punic
texts indicate a very well organized priesthood class, distinguished from most of the population by being
clean shaven, who were drawn mostly from the elite sectors of society.[241] As in the Levant, temples were
among the wealthiest and most powerful institutions in Carthage, and were deeply integrated into public and
political life. Religious rituals served as a source of political unity and legitimacy, and were typically
performed in public or in relation to state functions.[235] Temples were also important to the economy, as they
supported a large number of specialised personnel to ensure rituals were performed properly.[242] Priests and
acolytes performed different functions for a variety of prices and purposes; the costs of various offerings, or
molk, were listed in great detail and even bundled into different price categories.[242] Supplicants were even
accorded a measure of consumer protection, as temples gave notice that priests would be fined for abusing the
pricing structure of offerings.[242]

Punic stela with a symbol of Tanit. Carthage, Tunisia.

The Carthaginians had a high degree of religious syncretism. Through its expansive political and commercial
relations, Carthage incorporated deities from Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Italy; conversely, many of its
cults and practices spread across the Mediterranean via trade and colonisation. Carthage also had
communities of Jews, Greeks, Romans, and Libyans.[243] The Egyptian god Bes was popular for warding off
evil spirits, and is featured prominently in Punic mausoleums.[235] Isis, the ancient Egyptian goddess whose
cult spread across the Mediterranean, had a temple in Carthage; a well preserved sarcophagus depicts one of
her priestesses in Hellenistic style.[244] The Greek goddesses Demeter and Kore became prominent in the late
fourth century, following the war with Syracuse, and were worshiped into the second century AD.[240] Their
cults attracted priests and priestesses from high ranking Carthaginian families, and the Carthaginians placed
enough importance on their veneration to enlist Greek residents to ensure their rituals were conducted
properly.[240] Melqart was increasingly identified with his Greek counterpart Heracles, and from at least the
sixth century BC was revered by both Greeks and Carthaginians; an inscription in Malta honors him in both
Greek and Punic.[235] Melqart became popular enough to serve as a unifying figure among Carthage's
disparate allies in the wars against Rome. His awakening rite may have persisted in Numidia as late as the
second century AD.[239] In their treaty with Macedon in 215 BC, Carthaginian officials and generals swore
an oath to both the Greek and Carthaginian gods.[232]

Cippi and stelae of limestone are characteristic monuments of Punic art and religion, found throughout the
western Phoenician world in unbroken continuity, both historically and geographically.[245] Most of them
were set up over urns containing cremated human remains, placed within open-air sanctuaries. Such
sanctuaries constitute some of the most best preserved and striking relics of Punic civilization.

Few specifics are known about Carthaginian rituals or theology.[246] Aside from Melqart's awakening rite,
Punic inscriptions found in Carthage attest to a mayumas festival probably involving the ritual portage of
water; the word itself is arguably a Semitic calque on the Greek ὑδροφόρια (hydrophoria). Each text ends
with the words, "for the Lady, for Tanit Face-of-Baal, and for the Lord, for Baal of the Amanus, that which
so-and-so vowed.[247] Excavations of tombs reveal utensils for food and drink, as well as paintings depicting
what appears to be a person's soul approaching a walled city.[246] These findings strongly suggest a belief in
life after death.[246]

Human sacrifice debate

Carthage was accused by both contemporary historians and its adversaries of child sacrifice; Plutarch,[248]
Tertullian,[249] Orosius, Philo, and Diodorus Siculus all allege the practice,[250] although Herodotus and
Polybius do not. Sceptics contend that if Carthage's critics were aware of such a practice, however limited,
they would have been horrified by it and exaggerated its extent due to their polemical treatment of the
Carthaginians.[251] According to Charles Picard, Greek and Roman critics objected not to the killing of
children but to its religious context: in both ancient Greece and Rome, inconvenient newborns were
commonly killed by exposure to the elements.[252] The Hebrew Bible mentions child sacrifice practiced by
the Canaanites, ancestors of the Carthaginians, while Greek sources allege that the Phoenicians sacrificed the
sons of princes during times of "grave peril".[253] However, archaeological evidence of human sacrifice in the
Levant remains sparse.[253]

Stelae on the tophet.

Accounts of child sacrifice in Carthage date the practice to the city's founding in about 814 BC.[254]
Sacrificing children was apparently distasteful even to Carthaginians, and according to Plutarch they began to
seek alternatives to offering up their own children, such as buying children from poor families or raising
servant children instead. However, Carthage's priests reportedly demanded youth in times of crisis such as
war, drought, or famine. Contrary to Plutarch, Diodorus implies that noble children were preferred;[255]
extreme crisis warranted special ceremonies where up to 200 children of the most affluent and powerful
families were slain and tossed into the burning pyre.[256]

Modern archaeology in formerly Punic areas has discovered a number of large cemeteries for children and
infants, representing a civic and religious institution for worship and sacrifice; these sites are called the tophet
by archaeologists, as their Punic name is unknown. These cemeteries may have been used as graves for
stillborn infants or children who died very early.[257] Excavations have been interpreted by many scholars as
confirming Plutarch's reports of Carthaginian child sacrifice.[258][259] An estimated 20,000 urns were
deposited between 400 and 200 BC in the tophet discovered in the Salammbô neighbourhood of present-day
Carthage, with the practice continuing until the second century.[260] The majority of urns in this site, as well
as in similar sites in Motya and Tharros, contained the charred bones of infants or fetuses; in rarer instances,
the remains of children between the ages of two and four have been found.[261] The bones of animals,
particularly lambs, are also common, especially in earlier deposits.[261]

There is a clear correlation between the frequency of cremation and the well-being of the city: during crises,
cremations appear more frequent, albeit for unclear reasons. One explanation is that the Carthaginians
sacrificed children in return for divine intervention. However, such crises would naturally lead to increased
child mortality, and consequently, more child burials via cremation. Sceptics maintain that the bodies of
children found in Carthaginian and Phoenician cemeteries were merely the cremated remains of children who
died naturally. Sergio Ribichini has argued that the tophet was "a child necropolis designed to receive the
remains of infants who had died prematurely of sickness or other natural causes, and who for this reason were
'offered' to specific deities and buried in a place different from the one reserved for the ordinary dead".[262]
Forensic evidence further suggests that most of the infants had died prior to cremation.[261] However, a 2014
study argued that archaeological evidence confirms that the Carthaginians practiced human sacrifice.[263]

Dexter Hoyos argues that it is impossible to determine a "definitive answer" to the question of child sacrifice.
[264] He notes that infant and child mortality were high in ancient times—with perhaps a third of Roman
infants dying of natural causes in the first three centuries AD—which not only would explain the frequency
of child burials, but would make the regular, large-scale sacrificing of children an existential threat to
"communal survival".[265] Hoyos also notes contradictions between the various historical descriptions of the
practice, many of which have not been backed by modern archaeology.[265]
Society and culture
As with most other aspects of Carthaginian civilization, little is known about its culture and society beyond
what can be inferred from foreign accounts and archaeological findings. As a Phoenician people, the
Carthaginians had an affinity for trade, seafaring, and exploration; most foreign accounts about their society
focus on their commercial and maritime prowess. Unlike other Phoenicians, however, the Carthaginians also
became known for their military expertise and sophisticated republican government; their approach to
warfare and politics feature heavily in foreign accounts.[266]

Descriptions about Carthage's commercial vessels, markets, and trading techniques are disproportionately
more common and detailed. The Carthaginians were equal parts renowned and infamous for their wealth and
mercantile skills, which garnered respect and admiration as well as derision; Cicero claimed that Carthage's
love of trade and money led to its downfall, and many Greek and Roman writers consistently described
Carthaginians as perfidious, greedy, and treacherous. In the early fifth century BC, the Syracusan leader
Hermocrates reportedly described Carthage as the richest city in the world; centuries later, even in its
weakened state following the First Punic War, the "universal view" was that Carthage was "the richest city in
world". Aside from military and political leaders, the most well known Carthaginian in the Greco-Roman
world was probably Hanno, the fictional protagonist of the Roman comedy Poenulus ("The Little
Carthaginian" or "Our Carthaginian Friend"), who is portrayed as a garish, crafty, and wealthy merchant.[266]

While a simplistic stereotype, the Carthaginians do appear to have had a rich material culture; excavations of
Carthage and its hinterland have found goods from all over the Mediterranean and even sub-Saharan Africa.
[266] Polybius claims that the city's rich countryside supported all the "individual lifestyle needs" of its
people. Foreign visitors, including otherwise hostile figures like Cato the Censor and Agothacles of Syracuse,
consistently described the Carthaginian countryside as prosperous and verdant, with large private estates
"beautified for their enjoyment".[267] Diodorus Siculus described agricultural land near the city of Carthage
circa 310 BC, providing a glimpse of Carthaginian lifestyle:

It was divided into market gardens and orchards of all sorts of fruit trees, with many streams of
water flowing in channels irrigating every part. There were country homes everywhere, lavishly
built and covered with stucco. ... Part of the land was planted with vines, part with olives and
other productive trees. Beyond these, cattle and sheep were pastured on the plains, and there
were meadows with grazing horses.[268][269]

Indeed, the Carthaginians became as distinguished for their agricultural expertise as for their maritime
commerce. They appeared to have placed considerable social and cultural value on farming, gardening, and
livestock.[267] Surviving fragments of Mago's work concern the planting and management of olive trees (e.g.,
grafting), fruit trees (pomegranate, almond, fig, date palm), viniculture, bees, cattle, sheep, poultry, and the
art of wine-making (namely a type of sherry).[270][271][272] Following the Second Punic War and the loss of
several lucrative overseas territories, the Carthaginians embraced agriculture to restore the economy and pay
the costly war indemnity to Rome, which ultimately proved successful; this most likely heightened the
importance of agriculture in Carthaginian society.[221][222][223]

Class and social stratification

Ancient accounts, coupled with archaeological findings, suggest that Carthage had a complex, urbanized
society similar to the Hellenistic polis or Latin civitas;[130] it was characterized by strong civic engagement,
an active civil society, and class stratification. Inscriptions on Punic tombs and gravestones describe a wide
variety of professions, including artisans, dock workers, farmers, cooks, potters, and others, indicating a
complex, diversified economy that most likely supported a variety of lifestyles.[267] Carthage had a sizable
and centrally located agora, which served as a hub of business, politics, and social life. The agora likely
included public squares and plazas, where the people might formally assemble or gather for festivals,
religious shrines, and major government buildings. It is possible that the district was where government
institutions operated, and where various affairs of state, such as trials, were dispensed in public.[273][274]
Excavations reveal numerous artisan workshops, including three metal working sites, pottery kilns, and a
fuller's shop for preparing woolen cloth.[275]

Mago's writings about Punic farm management provide a glimpse into Carthaginian social dynamics. Small
estate owners appeared to have been the chief producers, and were counselled by Mago to treat well and
fairly their managers, farm workers, overseers and even slaves.[276] Some ancient historians suggest that rural
land ownership provided a new power base among the city's nobility, which was traditionally dominated by
merchants.[277][278] A 20th century historian opined that urban merchants owned rural farming land as an
alternative source of profit, or even to escape the summer heat.[279] Mago provides some indication about the
attitudes towards agriculture and land ownership:

The man who acquires an estate must sell his house, lest he prefer to live in the town rather than
in the country. Anyone who prefers to live in a town has no need of an estate in the country.[280]
One who has bought land should sell his town house, so that he will have no desire to worship
the household gods of the city rather than those of the country; the man who takes greater delight
in his city residence will have no need of a country estate.[281]

Hired workers were likely local Berbers, some of whom became sharecroppers; slaves were often prisoners
of war. In lands outside direct Punic control, independent Berbers cultivated grain and raised horses; within
the lands immediately surrounding Carthage, there were ethnic divisions that overlapped with semi-feudal
distinctions between lord and peasant, or master and serf. The inherent instability of the countryside drew the
attention of potential invaders,[282] although Carthage was generally able to manage and contain these social
difficulties.[283]

According to Aristotle, the Carthaginians had associations akin to hetairiai, which among the Greeks were
organizations roughly analogous to political parties or interest groups.[117] Punic inscriptions reference
mizrehim, which appeared to have been numerous in number and subject, ranging from devotional cults to
professional guilds. Aristotle also describes a Carthaginian practice comparable to the syssitia, which in
Hellenistic societies were communal meals that promoted kinship and reinforced social and political status.
[137] However, their specific purpose in Carthaginian society is unknown.[117]

Literature
Aside from some ancient translations of Punic texts into Greek and Latin, as well as inscriptions on
monuments and buildings discovered in Northwest Africa, not much remains of Carthaginian literature.[15]
When Carthage was sacked in 146 BC, its libraries and texts were either systematically destroyed or,
according to Pliny the Elder, given to the "minor kings of Africa".[284] The only noteworthy Punic writing to
survive is Mago's voluminous treatise on agriculture, which was preserved and translated by order of the
Roman Senate; however, only some excerpts and references in Latin and Greek remain. The late-Roman
historian Ammianus claims that Juba II of Numidia read Punici lbri, or "punic books", which may have been
Carthaginian in origin. Ammianus likewise makes reference to Punic books existing even during his lifetime
in the fourth century AD, which also suggests that some works survived, or at least that Punic remained a
literary language. Other Roman and Greek authors reference the existence of Carthaginian literature, most
notably Hannibal's writings about his military campaigns.

The Roman comedy Poenulus, which was apparently written and performed shortly after the Second Punic
War, had as its central protagonist a wealthy and elderly Carthaginian merchant named Hanno. Several of
Hanno's lines are in Punic, representing the only lengthy examples of the language in Greco-Roman
literature, possibly indicating a level of popular knowledge about Carthaginian culture and literature.[284]

Cleitomachus (also Cleitomachus), a prolific philosopher who headed the Academy of Athens in the early
second century BC, was born Hasdrubal in Carthage.[285] He studied philosophy under the Skeptic
Carneades, and authored over 400 works, the majority of which are lost. He was highly regarded by Cicero—
who based parts of his De Natura Deorum,De Divinatione and De Fato on a work of Clietomachus he calls
De Sustinendis Offensionibus (On the Withholding of Assent)—and dedicated some of his writings to
prominent Romans, such as the poet Gaius Lucilius and the consul Lucius Marcius Censorinus, suggesting
that his work was known and appreciated in Rome.[286] Although he lived in Athens for most of his life,
Cleitomachus maintained an affinity for his home city; upon its destruction in 146 BC, he wrote a treatise
addressed to his countrymen that proposed consolation through philosophy.[287]

Legacy
Carthage is best remembered for its conflicts with the Roman Republic, which was almost defeated in the
Second Punic War, an event that likely would have changed the course of human history, given Rome's
subsequent central role in Christianity, European history, and Western civilization. At the height of its power
before the First Punic War, Greek and Roman observers often wrote admirably about Carthage's wealth,
prosperity, and sophisticated republican government. But during the Punic Wars and the years following
Carthage's destruction, accounts of its civilization generally reflected biases and even propaganda shaped by
these conflicts.[288] Aside from some grudging respect for the military brilliance of Hannibal, or for its
economic and naval prowess, Carthage was often portrayed as the political, cultural, and military foil to
Rome, a place where "cruelty, treachery, and irreligion" reigned.[289] The dominant influence of Greco-
Roman perspectives in Western history left in place this slanted depiction of Carthage for centuries.

At least since the 20th century, a more critical and comprehensive account of historical records, backed by
archaeological findings across the Mediterranean, reveal Carthaginian civilization to be far more complex,
nuanced, and progressive than previously believed. Its vast and lucrative commercial network touched almost
every corner of the ancient world, from the British Isles to western and central Africa and possibly beyond.
Like their Phoenician ancestors—whose identity and culture they rigorously maintained—its people were
enterprising and pragmatic, demonstrating a remarkable capacity to adapt and innovate as circumstances
changed, even during the existential threat of the Punic Wars.[288] While little remains of its literature and art,
circumstantial evidence suggests that Carthage was a multicultural and sophisticated civilization that formed
enduring links with peoples across the ancient world, incorporating their ideas, cultures, and societies into its
own cosmopolitan framework.

Portrayal in fiction
Carthage features in Gustave Flaubert's historical novel Salammbô (1862). Set around the time of the
Mercenary War, it includes a dramatic description of child sacrifice, and the boy Hannibal narrowly avoiding
being sacrificed. Giovanni Pastrone's epic silent film Cabiria is narrowly based on Flaubert's novel.

The Young Carthaginian (1887) by G. A. Henty is a boys' adventure novel told from the perspective of
Malchus, a fictional teenage lieutenant of Hannibal during the Second Punic War.

In The Dead Past, a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, a main character is a historian of antiquity
trying to disprove the allegation that the Carthaginians carried out child sacrifice.

The Purple Quest by Frank G. Slaughter is a fictionalized account of the founding of Carthage.

Die Sterwende Stad ("The Dying City") is a novel written in Afrikaans by Antonie P. Roux and published in
1956. It is a fictional account of life in Carthage and includes the defeat of Hannibal by Scipio Africanus at
the Battle of Zama. For several years it was prescribed reading for South African year 11 and 12 high school
students studying the Afrikaans language.[citation needed]

Alternate history

Delenda Est, a short story in Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series, is an alternate history where Hannibal won
the Second Punic War, and Carthage exists in the 20th century.

A duology by John Maddox Roberts, comprising Hannibal's Children (2002) and The Seven Hills (2005), is
set in an alternate history where Hannibal defeated Rome in the Second Punic War, and Carthage is still a
major Mediterranean power in 100 BC.
Mary Gentle used an alternate history version of Carthage as a setting in her novels Ash: A Secret History and
Ilario, A Story of the First History. In these books, Carthage is dominated by Germanic tribes, which
conquered Carthage and set up a huge empire that repelled the Muslim conquest. In these novels, titles such
as "lord-amir" and "scientist-magus" indicate a fusion of European and Northwest African cultures, and Arian
Christianity is the state religion.

Stephen Baxter also features Carthage in his alternate history Northland trilogy, where Carthage prevails over
and subjugates Rome.[290]

See also
Carthage
Carthaginian currency
Carthaginian Iberia
History of Carthage
History of Tunisia
Roman Carthage
Ancient Rome
Ancient Egypt

Notes
1. ^ Phoenician: PΘ /ʃufitˤ/
2. ^ Thus rendered in Latin by Livy 30.7.5, attested in Punic inscriptions as SPΘM /ʃuftˤim/, meaning
"judges" and obviously related to the Biblical Hebrew ruler title Shophet "Judge")
3. ^ Punic: , rš mlqrt.

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262. ^ Moscati 2001, p. 141
263. ^ Kennedy, Maev (21 January 2014). "Carthaginians sacrificed own children, archaeologists say". The
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266. ^ a b c Dexter Hoyos, The Carthaginians, Routledge, pp. 58-61.
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268. ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibleoteca, at XX, 8, 1–4, transl. as Library of History (Harvard University 1962),
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Macmillan, New York 1968) at 83–93: 88 (Mago as retired general), 89–91 (fruit trees), 90 (grafting),
89–90 (vineyards), 91–93 (livestock and bees), 148–149 (wine making). Elephants also, of course,
were captured and reared for war (at 92).
271. ^ Sabatino Moscati, Il mondo dei Fenici (1966), translated as The World of the Phoenicians (London:
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273. ^ Cf., Warmington, Carthage (1960, 1964) at 141.
274. ^ Modern archeologists on the site have not yet 'discovered' the ancient agora. Lancel, Carthage (Paris
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275. ^ Lancel, Carthage (Paris 1992; Oxford 1997) at 138–140. These findings mostly relate to the 3rd
century BC.
276. ^ G. and C. Charles-Picard, La vie quotidienne à Carthage au temps d'Hannibal (Paris: Librairie
Hachette 1958) translated as Daily Life in Carthage (London: George Allen and Unwin 1961; reprint
Macmillan 1968) at 83–93: 86 (quote); 86–87, 88, 93 (management); 88 (overseers).
277. ^ G. C. and C. Picard, Vie et mort de Carthage (Paris: Librairie Hachette 1970) translated (and first
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279. ^ B. H. Warmington, in his Carthage (London: Robert Hale 1960; reprint Penguin 1964) at 155.
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230, n5.
282. ^ Gilbert and Colette Charles-Picard, Daily Life in Carthage (1958; 1968) at 83–85 (invaders), 86–88
(rural proletariat).
283. ^ E.g., Gilbert Charles Picard and Colette Picard, The Life and Death of Carthage (Paris 1970; New
York 1968) at 168–171, 172–173 (invasion of Agathocles in 310 BC). The mercenary revolt (240–237)
following the First Punic War was also largely and actively, though unsuccessfully, supported by rural
Berbers. Picard (1970; 1968) at 203–209.
284. ^ a b Dexter Hoyos, The Carthaginians, Routledge, pp. 105-106.
285. ^ "Cleitomachus | Greek philosopher". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
286. ^ Cicero, Academica, ii. 31.
287. ^ Cicero, Tusculanae Quaestione, iii. 22.
288. ^ a b Dexter Hoyos, The Carthaginians, Routledge, pp. 220-221.
289. ^ Dexter Hoyos, The Carthaginians, Routledge, p. 221 (in reference to the claims of Polybius and
other Roman historians)
290. ^ Stephen Baxter, Iron Winter (Gollancz, 2012), esp. p334.

Bibliography
Curtis, Robert I. (2008). "Food Processing and Preparation". In Oleson, John Peter (ed.). The Oxford
Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 978-0-19-518731-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
de Vos, Mariette (2011). "The Rural Landscape of Thugga: Farms, Presses, Mills, and Transport". In
Bowman, Alan; Wilson, Andrew (eds.). The Roman Agricultural Economy: Organization, Investment,
and Production. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-966572-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Hoyos, Dexter (2003). Hannibal's dynasty. Power and politics in the western Mediterranean, 247–183
BC. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-203-41782-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links
Carthage - Ancient History Encyclopedia

Coordinates: 36°50ʹ38ʺN 10°19ʹ35ʺE / 36.8439°N 10.3264°E

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Carthage (ancient city).

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Carthage (ancient city).

Notable Carthaginians
Notable Carthaginians
Adherbal (admiral)
Adherbal (governor)
Carthalo
Dido
Hamilcar (Drepanum)
Hamilcar Barca
Hannibal Barca
Hannibal Gisco
Hannibal Monomachus
Hannibal the Rhodian
Hanno the Elder
Hanno the Great
 Hanno the Navigator
Hanno, son of Bomilcar
Hasdrubal Barca
Hasdrubal Gisco
Hasdrubal the Boetharch
Hasdrubal the Fair
Hasdrubal (quartermaster)
Himilco
Himilco (fl. 3rd century BC)
Mago (agricultural writer)
Mago Barca
Maharbal
Perpetua
Sophonisba

Ancient Carthage
Punic Wars
Punic Wars
Treaties
Messana
Agrigentum
Lipari Islands
Mylae
Thermae
Sulci
Tyndaris
Cape Ecnomus
Aspis
First Punic Adys
War Bagradas (Tunis)
Cape Hermaeum
Panormus
Drepana
Lilybaeum
Drepana (siege)
Mount Ercte
1st Mt. Eryx
2nd Mt. Eryx
Aegates
Treaty of Lutatius

Utica
Bagradas
Hamilcar's victory with Naravas
Mercenary
Carthage
War
The Saw
Tunis
Leptis Parva

Second
Punic War Saguntum
Lilybaeum
Malta
Rhone
Crossing of the Alps
Cissa
 Ticinus
Trebia
Ebro River
Lake Trasimene
Ager Falernus
Geronium
Cannae
Silva Litana
1st Nola
Dertosa
2nd Nola
Decimomannu
3rd Nola
1st Beneventum
Syracuse
1st Tarentum
2nd Beneventum
1st Capua
Silarus
1st Herdonia
Upper Baetis
2nd Capua
2nd Herdonia
Numistro
Canusium
2nd Tarentum
New Carthage
Baecula
Petelia
Grumentum
Metaurus
Ilipa
Sucro
Carteia (land)
Carteia (naval)
Crotona
1st Utica
2nd Utica
Great Plains (Bagradas)
Cirta
Insubria
Zama

Lake Tunis
1st Nepheris
Third
Port of Carthage
Punic War
2nd Nepheris
Carthage

Military history

Phoenician cities and colonies

Phoenician cities and colonies

 Camarata
Cartennae (Tenes)
Hippo Regius
Icosium (Algiers)
Igilgili (Jijel)
Iol (Cherchell)
Iomnium (Tigzirt)
Kirtan (Constantine)
Kissi (Djinet)
Macomades
Malaca
Algeria
Rusazus (Azeffoun)
Rusguniae (Tamentfoust)
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Rusippisir (Taksebt)
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Dhali
Kition (Larnaca)
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Callista (Santorini)
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Achzib
Akka (Acre)
Dora
Michal
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Jaffa
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Strato's Tower (Caesarea)
 Italy Agrigento
Bitan (Chia)
Cape Melqart (Cefalù)
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Eryx (Erice)
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Kapara (Soluntum)
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Motya
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Olbia
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Tharros
Ziz (Palermo)

Amia
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Arqa
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Baalbek
Birut (Beirut)
Lebanon
Botrys
Gebal (Byblos)
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Sur (Tyre)
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Ushu

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Azama (Azemmour)
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Morocco
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Portugal
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 Olissipona (Lisbon)
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Abdera (Adra)
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Herna
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Malake (Málaga)
Spain
Onoba
Carthage (Cartagena)
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Saguntum
Sexi (Almunecar)
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Tyreche

Aynook (Arwad)
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Safita
Syria
Shuksi
Sumur
Ugarit

Aspis (Kelibia)
Bulla Regia
Carthage
Hadrumetum (Sousse)
Hippo Diarrhytus (Bizerte)
Kerkouane
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Maqom Hadesh (Ounga)
Tunisia Meninx (Djerba)
Ruspe
Ruspina
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Tabarka
Tayinat (Thyna)
Thapsus
Thysdrus (El Djem)
Utica

Myriandus
Other
Phoenicus  /  Gibraltar

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Empires
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The empire on which the sun never sets

"Empire" as a description of foreign policy
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Authority control
Authority
LCCN: sh85020502
control
Categories
Categories:

Carthage
Phoenician cities
Phoenician colonies in Tunisia
Iron Age cultures of Africa
Countries in ancient Africa
1st millennium BC
Ancient history of the Iberian Peninsula
City-states
 History of Calabria
History of the Mediterranean
Razed cities
States and territories established in the 9th century BC
States and territories disestablished in the 2nd century BC
140s BC
1st millennium BC in Tunisia
Ancient Greek geography-North Africa

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Ancient Carthage

Introduction
Etymology
Sources
History
1. Foundation legends
2. Settlement as Tyrian colony (c. 814 BC)
3. Independence, expansion and hegemony (c. 650–264 BC)
4. Conflict with the Greeks (580–265 BC)
5. Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC)
6. Punic Wars (264–146 BC)
7. Aftermath
Government and politics
1. Citizenship
2. Continuance after Roman conquest
Military
1. Army
2. Navy
3. The One Hundred and Four
Language
Economy
1. Agriculture
Religion
1. Human sacrifice debate
Society and culture
1. Class and social stratification
2. Literature
Legacy
1. Portrayal in fiction
2. Alternate history
See also
 Notes
References
Bibliography
External links

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