Carthage

Key takeaways

• Origin: tradition places the foundation by settlers from Tyre in 814 BCE, linked to the story of Queen Elissa, or Dido.
• Power: Carthage controlled sea routes and colonies across the western Mediterranean, with a navy and trading network.
• Government: a council and elected magistrates known as suffetes, rather than a hereditary monarchy.
• War: the Punic Wars with Rome (264–146 BCE) ended with the destruction of the city.
• Sources: most written accounts are Greek and Roman, so Carthage is often seen through hostile eyes.

A maritime commercial state

Carthage's wealth came from trade in metals, textiles, agricultural goods and goods from the Atlantic coast, and from farming in its fertile African hinterland. Carthaginian expeditions explored the Atlantic coast of Africa, and an agricultural treatise by Mago was valued enough for Rome to have it translated into Latin after 146 BCE.

Rome and the Punic Wars

Rivalry over Sicily and the western Mediterranean led to three wars. Hannibal's campaign in Italy during the second war is the best known episode. After the third war Rome razed the city and created the province of Africa, and a new Roman Carthage later became one of the empire's major cities.

Punic legacy

Punic language and religion survived in North Africa for centuries, and Carthage's culture was shaped by exchange between Phoenician, Libyan, Amazigh and Greek traditions. Modern archaeology is steadily adding Carthaginian voices to a record that Rome long dominated.