History of Punic-era Tunisia, part I
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The History of Punic era Tunisia, part I introduces the region during its long period (commencing as early as the 12th century BCE) under the sway of a Semitic civilization from the eastern Mediterranean: Phoenicia
. Arriving first as traders, the Phoenicians (known in the west under the name 'Punic') eventuallly founded the city-state of Carthage
. This city grew in wealth and became the political focus in an extended network of Punic trading bases through out the western Mediterranean. Legends later arose about the foundation of this famous city, whose eligance and power were well known among the ancients. The potency of the Punic presence largely displaced the Berbers; Carthage became the prevailing culture in the region.
The native Berbers
, however, retained their ethnic identity while under the long dominance of Carthage. During this era, which lasted until the 2nd century BCE, the Berbers were either politically mastered by Carthage or else retreated to satellite positions on the periphery of the Punic sphere. Nonetheless, the Berbers borrowed many of the city's cultural advances, specifically regarding government and commerce, agriculture and war.
As a transplant from its Phoenician base, Punic culture established itself on African soil, where it underwent its own unique cultural development. The city-state prospered, expanding the range of its commercial dominance across the western Mediterranean, incorporating the many other trading outposts, towns, and cities, founded by Phoenicians. Searching for trading opportunities, new lands were explored by sea. A rivalry with the Greeks
(who had followed the Punic expansion westward across the Mediterranean) was inevitable, yet faded when the Greeks under Alexander turned eastward. The city of Carthage and the farmlands surrounding it rose to new heights; its trading partners and allies also sharing in its prosperity. Then another rival emerged in the western Mediterranean: Rome. After three long-remembered, epic wars, the city-state of Carthage fell to the Roman Republic
.
Technological innovations and economic development
in the eastern Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, and along the Nile, increased the demand for various metals not found locally in sufficient quantity. Phoenician traders recognized the relative abundance and low cost of the needed metals among the goods offered for trade by local merchants in Hispania, which spurred trade. In the Phoenician city-state of Tyre, much of this Mediterranean commerce, as well as the corresponding trading settlements located at coastal stops along the way to the west, were directed by the kings, e.g., Hiram
of Tyre (969-936).
By three thousand years ago the Levant
and Hellas
had enjoyed remarkable prosperity, resulting in population growth in excess of their economic base. On the other hand, political instability from time to time caused disruption of normal business and resulted in short term economic distress. City-states started organizing their youth to migrate in groups to locations where the land was less densely settled. Importantly, the number of colonists coming from Greece was much larger than those coming from Phoenicia.
To these migrants, lands in the western Mediterranean presented an opportunity and could be reached relatively easily by ship, without marching through foreign territory. Colonists sailed westward following in the wake of their commercial traders. The Greeks
arrived later, coming to (what is now) southern France, southern Italy including Sicily, and eastern Libya. Earlier the Phoenicia
ns had settled in (what is now) Sardinia, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Sicily, and Tunisia. At Tunisia the city of Carthage was founded, which would come to rule all the other Phoenician settlements.
(its ruins near present day Tunis
) was founded by Phoenicia
ns coming from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean
. The city's name, written KRT HDST in their Punic language (using the consonant
-only letters of their alphabet
) and pronounced Kart Hudesht, meant literally "city new". The Punic that was spoken in ancient North Africa developed there from its parent Phoenician, which is a Canaanite language, in the group of Northwest Semitic languages
. Thus Punic was a "leaf" on the Semitic branch
of the Afroasiatic "tree"; native Berber languages form another Berber branch of the Afroasiatic language family.
Timaeus of Taormina
, a Greek historian from Sicily
c. 300 BC, gives the foundation date of Carthage as thirty-eight years before the first Olympiad
(in 776), which accordingly would be the year 814 BC. Living in Sicily, Timaeus was close to Carthaginians and likely to hear their versions of the city's foundation; his date is generally accepted as approximate. Accord is found in lost Phoenician records, cited second-hand by the Jewish historian Josephus
(37-100).
Founding dates several hundred years earlier are given by ancient authors (such as the aforementioned Timaeus, Pliny the Elder
, and Strabo
), for other Phoenician cities in the western Mediterranean. These include Gades (1110 BCE) in Hispania, and Utica (said by Pliny to be founded in 1101 BCE) near Carthage. Recent archeology has been unable to verify these earlier dates, yet objects made in Syria
dating to the second millennium have been unearthed at and near Gades.
If so, Utica
would long predate Carthage. As the first Punic trading center in the region, Utica would have been for centuries the leading Punic presence among the native Berbers. The name Utica is derived from a Punic stem dtāq, meaning "to be old", which lends some support to this chronology, for Carthage signifies "new city" (as stated above). The fleets of the King Hiram of Tyre
, as recounted in the Bible, perhaps joined at times by ships assigned to Solomon, would date to the 10th century. "For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram." The Punic port city of Utica was originally situated at the mouth of the fertile Wadi Majardah (Medjerda River), at a point along the coast about 30 kilometers north of Carthage. "Utica is named besides Carthage in the second treaty with Rome
(348), and... appears again as nominally equal with Carthage in the treaty between Hannibal and Philip of Macedon
(215). She does not appear in the first treaty with Rome (508), which perhaps means she was fully independent and not even bound in the [Carthage-Rome] alliance." Of course, eventually Utica was surpassed by Carthage.
Tyre, the major maritime city-state of Phoenicia and prime mover in the Phoenician mercantile expansion into the western Mediterranean, first settled Carthage. Probably Carthage started as one of Tyre's permanent stations in route to its very profitable, ongoing trade in metals with southern Hispania
. Such stations were often established by Tyre at intervals of about 30 to 50 kilometers along the African coast. Carthage would grow to out-rival all other Phoenician settlements.
Legends alive in the city for centuries assigned its foundation in 814 BC to a queen of Tyre, Elissa, also called Dido ("beloved"). Dido's great aunt must have been Jezebel
, who was also the daughter of a King of Tyre, in this case Ithobaal
[the biblical Ethbaal] (r. 891-859); Jezebel became wife to King Ahab of Israel (r. 875-853), according to the Hebrew Books of Kings
.
Dido's story is told by the Roman historian Pompeius Trogus (1st century BC), a near contemporary of Virgil. Trogus describes a sinister web of court intrigue in which the new king Pygmalion (brother of Dido) slays the chief priest Acharbas (husband of Dido), which causes the Queen Elissa (Dido) along with some nobles to flee the city of Tyre westward in a fleet of ships carrying royal gold. At Cyprus
, four score temple maidens were taken aboard the ships. Then her fleet continues on, landing in North Africa to found Carthage. Shortly after becoming established, according to Trogus, it is said that Hiarbus, a local Mauritani tribal chief, sought to marry the newly arrived queen. Instead, in order to honor her murdered husband the priest, Dido took her own life by the sword, publicly casting herself into a ceremonial fire. Thereafter she was celebrated as a goddess at Carthage.
The Roman poet Virgil
(70–19 BC) presents Dido as a tragic heroine in his epic poem the Aeneid
. The work contains inventions loosely based on the legendary history of Carthage, e.g., referring to the then well-known story how the Phoenician Queen cunningly acquired the citadel of the Byrsa
. In Virgil's epic, the god Jupiter
requires the hero Aeneas
to leave his beloved Dido, who then commits suicide and burns in a funeral pyre. This episode employs not only the history or legends narrated by Trogus (mentioned above), but perhaps also subsequent mythic and cultic elements, as Dido would become assimilated to the Punic or Berber goddess Tanit
. Each autumn a pyre was built outside the old city of Carthage; into it the goddess was thought to throw herself in self-immolation for the sake of the dead vegetation god Adonis
-Eshmun
.
"Nothing of historical value can be derived from the foundation legends transmitted to us in various versions by Greek and Roman authors", comments professor Warmington. Yet from such legends the modern reader may form some understanding of how the ancient people of Carthage spoke to each other about their city's beginnings, i.e., an aspect of their collective self-image, or perhaps even infer some of the subtlety in the cultural context of the accepted tradition, if not the personality of the characters nor the gist of the events themselves.
The 6th century Hebrew prophet Ezekiel
in a lamentation nonetheless sings the praises of the Phoenicians, specifically of the cities of Tyre and Sidon
. "Tyre, who dwells at the entrance to the sea, merchant of many peoples on many coastlands... . ... Tarshish traficked with you because of your great wealth of every kind; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares." Homer
describes such a Phoenician ship in the Odyssey
.
Modern consensus locates this ancient, mineral
-rich region (called Tarshish
[TRSYS] by Ezekiel) in the south of Hispania, possibly linked to Tartessos
, a native
city of the Iberians
. Here mining was already underway, and early on the Phoenicians founded the city of Gadir [GDR "strong wall"] (Latin Gades) (currently Cádiz
). Bronze
then was a highly useful and popular material, made from copper and tin. Tin
being scarce though in high demand, its supply became very profitable. Yet Hispania was even more rich in silver
. Originally Carthage was probably a stop on the way between Tyre and the region of Gadir, a stop where sailors might beach their boats and resupply with food and water. Eventually, local trade would begin, and huts built; later more permanent homes and warehouses constructed, then fortified, perhaps also a shrine. All would change and transform on the day when a Queen of Tyre arrived with a fleet of ships, carrying nobility and well-connected merchants, and royal treasure.
. Hence, the interactions between Berber and Phoenician were often asymmetrical. The Phoenicians continuously retained their close connection with Tyre, the mother city.
The earliest Phoenician landing stations located on the coasts were probably meant merely to resupply and service ships bound for the lucrative metals trade with the Iberian
peninsula. Perhaps these newly arrived sea traders were not at first particularly interested in doing much business with the Berbers, for reason of the little profit regarding the goods the Berbers had to offer. The Phoenicians established strategic colonial cities in many Berber areas, including sites outside of present day Tunisia, e.g., the settlements at Volubilis
, Chellah
and Mogador (now in Morocco). As in Tunisia these centres were trading hubs, and later offered support for resource development such as olive oil
at Volubilis and Tyrian purple
dye at Mogador. For their part, most Berbers maintained their independence as farmers or semi-pastorals although, due to the exemplar of Carthage, their organized politics increased in scope and acquired sophistication.
In fact for a time their numerical superiority enabled some Berber kingdoms to impose a tribute payable by Carthage, a condition that continued into the 5th century. Also perhaps due to the recent Berbero-Libyan Meshwesh dynasty ruling Egypt (945-715), the Berbers near Carthage commanded significant respect, although certainly more rustic than the pharaohs. Correspondingly, in early Carthage careful attention was given to securing the most favorable treaties with the Berber chieftains, "which included intermarriage between them and the Punic aristocracy." In this regard, perhaps the legend about Dido, the foundress of Carthage, as related by Trogus is apposite. Her refusal to wed the Mauritani chieftain Hiarbus might be indicative of the complexity of the politics involved.
Eventually the Phoenician trading stations would evolve into permanent settlements, and later into small towns, which would presumably require a wide variety of goods as well as sources of food, which could be satisfied in trade with the Berbers. Yet here too, the Phoenicians probably would be drawn into organizing and directing such local trade, and also into managing agricultural production. In the 5th century Carthage expanded its territory, acquiring Cape Bon and the fertile Wadi Majardah, later establishing its control over productive farm lands within several hundred kilometers. Appropriation of such wealth in land by the Phoenicians would surely inspire some resistance by the Berbers, although in warfare, too, the technical training, social organization, and weaponry of the Phoenicians would seem to work against the tribal Berbers. This social-cultural interaction in early Carthage has been summarily described:
Lack of contemporary written records make the drawing of conclusions here uncertain, which can only be based on inference and reasonable conjecture about matters of social nuance. Yet it appears that the Phoenicians generally did not interact with the Berbers as economic equals, but employed their agricultural labor, and their household services, whether by hire or indenture; many became sharecroppers. For a period the Berbers were in constant revolt. In 396 there was a great uprising. "Thousands of rebels streamed down from the mountains and invaded Punic territory, carrying the serfs of the countryside along with them. The Carthaginians were obliged to withdraw within their walls and were besieged." Yet the Berbers lacked cohesion, and although 200,000 strong at one point they succumbed to hunger; their leaders were offered bribes; "they gradually broke up and returned to their homes." Thereafter, "a series of revolts took place among the Libyans [Berbers] from the fourth century onwards."
As the centuries passed there naturally grew a Punic society of Phoenician-descent but born in Africa, called Libyphoenicians. This term later came to be applied also to Berbers acculturated to "higher" Phoenician culture. Yet the whole notion of a Berber apprenticeship to the Punic civilization has been called an exaggeration sustained by a point of view fundamentally foreign to the Berbers. There evolved a population of mixed ancestry, Berber and Punic. There would develop recognized niches in which Berbers had proven their utility. For example, the Punic state began to field Berber Numidian cavalry
on a regular basis. The Berbers eventually were required to provide soldiers (likely not paid), and became "the largest single element in the Carthaginian army".
Yet in times of stress at Carthage, when a foreign force might be pushing against the city-state, some Berbers would see it as an opportunity to advance their interests, given their otherwise low status in Punic society. Thus, when the Greeks under Agathocles
(361-289) of Sicily landed at Cape Bon and threatened Carthage (in 310), there were Berbers under Ailymas who went over to the invading Greeks. Also, during the crucial Second Punic War
(218-201) with Rome, the Berber King Masinissa
(c.240-148) joined with the invading Roman general Scipio, leading to the war-ending defeat of Carthage at Zama, despite the presence of their renown general Hannibal; on the other hand, the Berber King Syphax
(d.202) had supported Carthage. The Romans too read these cues, so that they cultivated their Berber alliances and, subsequently, favored the Berbers who advanced their interests following the Roman victory.
Carthage was faulted by her ancient rivals for the "harsh treatment of her subjects" as well as for "greed and cruelty". Her Libyan Berber sharecroppers, for example, were required to pay one-half of their crops as tribute to the city-state during the emergency of the First Punic War
. The normal exaction taken by Carthage was likely "an extremely burdonsome" one-quarter. Carthage once famously attempted to short its Libyan and foreign soldiers, leading to the Mercenary revolt
(240-237). Also the city-state seemed to reward those leaders known to deal ruthlessly with its subjects. Hence the frequent Berber insurrections. Moderns fault Carthage for failure "to bind her subjects to herself, as Rome did" her Italians. Yet Rome and the Italians held far more in common perhaps than did Carthage and the Berbers. Nonetheless, a modern criticism tells us that the Carthaginians "did themselves a disservice" by failing to promote the common, shared quality of "life in a properly organized city" that inspires loyalty, particularly with regard to the Berbers. Again, the tribune demanded by Carthage was onerous.
The Punic relationship with the majority Berbers
continued throughout the life of Carthage. The unequal development of material culture and social organization perhaps fated the relationship to be an uneasy one. A long-term cause of Punic instability, there was no melding of the peoples. It remained a source of stress and a point of weakness for Carthage. Yet there were degrees of convergence on several particulars, discoveries of mutual advantage, occasions of friendship, and family.
. Under Mago (r., c.550-530) and later his Magonid family, Carthage became preeminent among the Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean, which included nearby Utica
. Mago, the 6th century ruler of Carthage, initiated the practice of recruiting the army from subject peoples and mercenaries, because "the population of Carthage was too small to provide defense for so widely scattered an empire." Hence, Libyans, Iberians, Sardinians, and Corsicans were soon enlisted.
Trading partnerships were established among the Numidian Berbers to the west along the African coast
as well as to the east in Libya
. Cathage founded other trading stations, located in southern Sardinia
and western Sicily
, at the cities of Ibiza
in the Balearics, of Lixus
south of the straits
, and of Gades
north of the straits, with additional posts also in Iberia
, along the south and east coasts. Further, Carthage enjoyed an alliance with the Etruscans, who then ruled a powerful state in northern Italy, and among whose clients was the infant city of Rome.
A merchant sailor of Carthage, Himilco
, explored in the Atlantic to the north of the straits, i.e., along the coast of the Lusitanians
and perhaps as far north as Oestrymnis (modern Brittany
), c. 500 BC. Carthage would soon supplant the Iberian city of Tartessus in carrying the tin
trade from Oestrymnis. Another sailor, Hanno the Navigator
explored the Atlantic to the south, along the African coast well past the River Gambia. The traders of Carthage were known to be secretive about business and particularly about trade routes; it was their practice to keep the straits to the Atlantic closed to the Greeks.
to the Etruscans and Sardinia to Carthage. Then the Etruscans attacked Greek colonies in the Campania
south of Rome, but unsuccessfully. As an eventual result, Rome threw off their Etruscan kings of the Tarquin
dynasty. Then the Roman Republic and Carthage in 509 entered into a treaty, which had the purpose of defining their respective commercial zones.
The Greeks
were energetic traders by sea, who had been establishing emporia throughout the Mediterranean region in furtherence of their commercial interests. These parallel activities both by the Greeks and by Carthage led to persistent disputes over influence and control of commercial spheres, particularly in Sicily. When combined with the permanent foreign conquest of Phoenicia in the Levant, these Greek commercial challenges had caused many Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean to choose the leadership of Carthage. In 480 BC (concurrent with Persia's invasion of Greece), Mago's grandson Hamilcar
landed a large army in Sicily in order to confront Syracuse (a colony of Corinth
) on the island's eastern coast; yet the Greeks decisivelly prevailed at the Battle of Himera
. A long struggle ensued, with intermittent warfare between Syracuse and Carthage. In 367 Hanno I the Great
won a major naval victory over the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse
(r.405-367), thereby blocking his attempt to take Punic Lilybaeum in western Sicily.
In 311 near Syracuse, Punic armies under another Hamilcar
defeated the Greek leader Agathocles
(r.317-289). Agathocles then attempted a bold strategic end-run by putting his forces aboard ships, leaving Sicily, and landing his Greek army at Cape Bon very near Carthage. The city became alarmed with palpable anxiety. Yet Carthage again defeated Agathocles (310-307). Thereafter the Greek world, preoccupied with its conquest of the Persian Empire in the east, lost interest in expanding its colonies in Sicily. Greek influence in the western Mediterranean became supplanted by Rome, the new rival of Carthage.
During these centuries Carthage enlarged its commercial sphere, augmenting its markets along the African coast, in southern Iberia, and among the islands of the western Mediterranean, venturing south to develop rudiments of the Saharan trade, and exploring commercial opportunities in the Atlantic. Carthage also established its authority directly among the Numidian Berber peoples in the lands immediately surrounding the city, which grew more prosperous.
(c.300) was, following the fall of Carthage, translated into Latin by Decimus Silanus (a Roman expert in the Punic language), and later into Greek; yet the original and both translations are lost. Mago's text, however, is quoted by Varro
(116-27), a Roman polymath, in his de Re Rustica, and by Columella
(1st century AD), a Roman writer on agriculture; also it is praised by Pliny the Elder
(23-79), a Roman encyclopedist. Olive trees (e.g., grafting
), fruit trees (pomegranate
, almond
, fig
), viniculture, cattle
, implements, and farm management were ancient topics Mago discussed. Many amphora
e subsequently found around the Mediterranean testify to Carthaginian trade in their olive oil
and wine
. Under Roman rule grain
production (corn
and barley
) for export increased dramatically, which later fell with the rise in Egypt's export of grains. In general, Carthage's agricultural production rivaled that of Rome. Visitors to the region spoke very well of the lush green gardens, orchards, fields, irrigation
channels, and the hedgerows for boundaries, as well as the many prosperous farming towns across the rural landscape.
The urban landscape of Carthage is known from ancient authors, augmented modernly by archeological digs and surveys. Its two inner harbor
s [called in Punic cothon] were located in the southeast; their function is not entirely clear, probably for the construction, outfitting, or repair of ships, perhaps also loading and unloading cargo. Larger anchor
ages existed to the north and south of the city. West of the cothon were located several industrial areas, e.g., metalworking and pottery (for amphora
), which could serve both inner harbors, and ships anchored to the south of the city.
The Byrsa
, the citadel
to the north, considering its importance remains largely unknown. It was the reported site of the Temple of Eshmun
, at the top of a stairway of sixty steps. South of the citadel, near the inner harbors, was the tophet
, a special and very old cemetery
, which when begun lay outside the city boundaries. Here the Salammbô was located, the Sanctuary of Tanit
, not a temple but an enclosure for placing stelae, and "dedicated at an early date, perhaps by the first settlers." Just north of these inner harbors, southeast of the Byrsa, lay the agora
[Greek: "market"], i.e., the central marketplace for business and commerce. It was also an area of public squares and plazas, where public assembly and gatherings were held, the site of temples, and the location of the major municipal buildings. Here beat the heart of civil life. In this district of Carthage, the ruling suffets presided, the council of elders convened, and justice was dispensed in the open air.
Early residential districts wrapped around the Byrsa from the south to the north east. Houses usually were whitewash
ed and blank to the street but within were courtyard
s open to the sky. In these neighborhoods multistory construction later became common, some up to six stories tall according to an ancient author. Several architecutural
floorplans of homes have been revealed by recent excavations, as well as the general layout of several city blocks
. Stone stairs were set in the streets, and drainage
was planned, e.g., in the form of soakways leaching into the sandy soil. Along the Byrsa's southern slope were located not only fine old homes, but also many of the earliest gravesites, interspersed. The elevation of the land to the east, at the promontory on the seashore, was twice as high at 100 meters as the Byrsa at about 50 m. In between runs a ridge that several times reaches 50 meters; this ridge continues northward along the seashore, and forms the edge of a plateau; this plateau occupies much of northern Carthage. Newer urban developments lay here in these northern districts. Surrounding Carthage were walls "of great strength" said in places to rise above forty feet, being nearly thirty feet thick; the walls altogether ran about thirty-three kilometers to encircle the city. The heights of the Byrsa were fortified; this area being the last to succumb to the Romans in 146 B.C.
Maritime
trade
was the lifeblood of the city. Carthage, of course, drew upon the experience, commodities, and lore of the Phoenicians regarding business affairs. Phoenicians excelled as traders, rather than as producers. Yet they crafted quality textiles, and developed a purple dye
from marine life [the murex shellfish], which became famous for its regal color and endurance (fade resistance) throughout the ancient Mediterranean. Jewelry, glass, and ceramics
were also fabricated and entered commerce. That Carthage functioned also as a "manufacturing" colossus was shown when, during the Third Punic War
, Carthage which had previously been disarmed "suddenly organised the manufacture of arms" in order to withstand the fatal Roman siege. According to Strabo
(63BC-AD21) in his Geographica
:
Phoenician merchant ventures were often run as a family enterprise, putting to work its members and its clients. Such family-run businesses might perform a variety of tasks: (a) own and maintain the ships
, providing the captain
and crew; (b) by barter
or purchase procure from native producers the commodities (foodstuffs, metals, etc.) to carry and trade, and (c) send their agents to distant outposts in order to make local contacts, eventually managing a warehouse
of shipped goods and conducting the negotiations for sale
or exchange. Over generations, such activity might result in the establishment of a wide-ranging network of trading operations, and the growth of reciprocity
between different family firms
.
State protection
was extended to its sea traders by the Phoenician city of Tyre and later likewise by Carthage. Stéphane Gsell, the well-regarded French historian of ancient North Africa, summarized the major principles guiding the city-state of Carthage with regard to its policies for trade and commerce: (1) to open and maintain markets for its merchants, whether by entering into direct contact with foreign peoples using either treaty
negotiations or force, or by providing security for isolated trading stations; (2) reservation of markets
exclusively for the merchants of Carthage, or where competition could not be eliminated, to regulate it by agreements; (3) suppression of piracy
and Carthage's ability to freely navigate the seas.
Both the Phoenicians and Cathaginians were well known in antiquity for their secrecy
in general, and especially pertaining to commercial contacts and trade routes. Both cultures excelled in commercial dealings. Strabo
(63BC-AD21) the Greek geographer
wrote that before its fall (in 146 BC) Carthage enjoyed a population of 700,000, and directed an alliance of 300 cities. The Greek historian Polybius
(c.203-120) referred to Carthage as "the wealthiest city in the world".
led to sustained rivalry with the more anciently established Carthage for dominion of the western Mediterranean. As early as 509 BC. Carthage and Rome had entered into treaty status, chiefly regarding trading areas; later in 348, another similar treaty was made between Carthage, Tyre, Utica
, and Rome; a third Romano-Punic treaty in 280 regarded wars against the Greek invader Pyrrhus
. Yet eventually their opposing interests led to disagreement, suspicion, and conflict.
The First Punic War
(264-241) started over Messina, a city in eastern Sicily. "[P]robably both sides miscalculated the reaction of the other. The war... escalated beyond anyone's expectations... . [B]egun over one town in Sicily [it] became a struggle for the whole island." The conflict developed into a naval war in which the Romans learned how to fight at sea and then decisively defeated the Punic fleet
. Carthage lost Sicily (all of its western portion) and paid a huge indemnity. Following their defeat, the Mercenary revolt
erupted, which threatened the survival of the Punic social order; yet Carthage endured, under their opposing leaders Hanno II the Great
, and Hamilcar Barca
. During this crisis at Carthage, Rome refused to aid the rebels, but later occupied Sardinia
.
As to the Second Punic War
(218-201), the ancient Greek historian Polybius
gives three causes: the anger of Hamilcar Barca
(father of Hannibal) whose army in Sicily the Romans never defeated in the first war; the Roman seizure of Sandinia during the Mercenary revolt
; and, creation by the Barcid military family of a new Punic power base in Hispania
. Nonetheless, the immediate cause was a dispute concerning Saguntum (near modern Valencia) in Hispania. After prevailing there, Hannibal Barca set out, eventually leading his armies over the Alps
into Italy. At first Hannibal ("grace of Baal") won great military victories against Rome on their own territory, at Trasimeno (217), and at Cannae
(216), which came close to destroying Rome's ability to wage war. But the majority of Rome's Italian allies remained loyal; Rome drew on all her resources and managed to rebuild her military strength. For many years Hannibal enjoyed the support of those cities who defected from Rome, including Capua
and Tarentum
in the south; he remained on campaign there in southern Italy, maintaining his army and posing a dangerous threat to Rome and her Italian allies. Yet the passage of the years appeared to forestall Hannibal's chances.
Meanwhile, Hispania
remained throughout 211 the domain of armies under Hannibal's three brothers: Hasdrubal, Mago, and Hanno
, and also the Punic leader Hasdrubal Gisco
. Yet Roman armies soon began contesting Carthage for control of Hispania. In 207 an overland attempt by his brother Hasdrubal to reinforce Hannibal in Italy failed. By 206, fortune had turned; the Roman general Cornelius Scipio (later Africanus) had defeated Punic power in the peninsula.
In 204 Rome landed armies under Scipio at Utica
near Carthage, which forced Hannibal's return to Africa. One Numidian king, Syphax
, supported Carthage; however, Syphax met an early defeat. Rome found an old ally in another Berber king of Numidia, Masinissa
, who would soon grow in power and fame. Decisively he fought with Rome against Carthage. At the Battle of Zama
in 202 the Roman general Scipio Africanus
, with Masinissa commanding Numidian cavalry on his right wing, defeated Hannibal Barca, ending the long war. Carthage lost all of its trading cities and silver mines in Hispania, and other possessions in the Western Mediterranean; also lost: its influence over the Berber Kingdoms (Numidia and Mauretania
), which became independent Roman allies (Masinissa being the most important). Carthage became reduced to its immediate surroundings, its actions restricted by treaty, and required to pay a large indemnity to Rome.
Carthage soon revived under the reforms initiated by Hannibal and, free of defense burdens, prospered as never before. In 191 Carthage offered to pay off early the idemnity due Rome, causing alarm in the anti-Punic faction there. The corrupt and rigid oligarchy in Carthage joined with this Roman faction to terminate the Punic reforms; eventually Hannibal was forced to flee the city. Many Romans continued to nurse a blind opposition to Carthage.
The Third Punic War
(149-146) began following a war between Carthage and the Numidian king Masinissa
(240-148), who for decades had been attacking and provoking Carthage. By this Numidian war Carthage had broken its treaty with Rome, and hence surrendered due to Rome's superior strength. But the war faction in Rome was determined to undo Carthage; cleverly hiding its true aims while talks proceeded (wherein Carthage gave up significant military capabilities), it then presented Carthage with an ultimatum: either evacuate the city which would then be destroyed; or war. Roman armies landed in Africa and began to lay siege to the magnificent city of Carthage, which rejected further negotiations. The end came: Carthage was destroyed; its surviving citizens enslaved.
In the aftermath, the region (much of modern Tunisia) was annexed by the Roman Republic
as the new Province of Africa. The city of Carthage was eventually rebuilt by the Romans (beginning in 46 BCE. under Julius Caesar). It became capital of Africa Province and a leading city of the Empire. The entire province, Berber and Punic with a large Latin influx, then experienced a centuries-long renaissance. Long after the fall of Rome, the re-built city of Carthage would be again undone.
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
. Arriving first as traders, the Phoenicians (known in the west under the name 'Punic') eventuallly founded the city-state of Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
. This city grew in wealth and became the political focus in an extended network of Punic trading bases through out the western Mediterranean. Legends later arose about the foundation of this famous city, whose eligance and power were well known among the ancients. The potency of the Punic presence largely displaced the Berbers; Carthage became the prevailing culture in the region.
The native Berbers
Outlines of early Tunisia
The History of early Tunisia predates the punic era, and was eventually shaped and characterized by the Berber culture. The Berbers lived as an independent people in 'prehistory'. Later they became unassimilated 'hosts' to long-term settlers from Phoenicia, called here Punic, who ruled over the...
, however, retained their ethnic identity while under the long dominance of Carthage. During this era, which lasted until the 2nd century BCE, the Berbers were either politically mastered by Carthage or else retreated to satellite positions on the periphery of the Punic sphere. Nonetheless, the Berbers borrowed many of the city's cultural advances, specifically regarding government and commerce, agriculture and war.
As a transplant from its Phoenician base, Punic culture established itself on African soil, where it underwent its own unique cultural development. The city-state prospered, expanding the range of its commercial dominance across the western Mediterranean, incorporating the many other trading outposts, towns, and cities, founded by Phoenicians. Searching for trading opportunities, new lands were explored by sea. A rivalry with the Greeks
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
(who had followed the Punic expansion westward across the Mediterranean) was inevitable, yet faded when the Greeks under Alexander turned eastward. The city of Carthage and the farmlands surrounding it rose to new heights; its trading partners and allies also sharing in its prosperity. Then another rival emerged in the western Mediterranean: Rome. After three long-remembered, epic wars, the city-state of Carthage fell to the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
.
Sea traders of the east
The historical era opens with the advent of traders coming by sea from the eastern Mediterranean. Eventually they were followed by a stream of colonists, landing and settling along the coasts of Africa and Iberia, and on the islands of the western seas.Technological innovations and economic development
Neolithic Revolution
The Neolithic Revolution was the first agricultural revolution. It was the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture and settlement. Archaeological data indicates that various forms of plants and animal domestication evolved independently in 6 separate locations worldwide circa...
in the eastern Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, and along the Nile, increased the demand for various metals not found locally in sufficient quantity. Phoenician traders recognized the relative abundance and low cost of the needed metals among the goods offered for trade by local merchants in Hispania, which spurred trade. In the Phoenician city-state of Tyre, much of this Mediterranean commerce, as well as the corresponding trading settlements located at coastal stops along the way to the west, were directed by the kings, e.g., Hiram
Hiram I
Hiram I , according to the Hebrew Bible, was the Phoenician king of Tyre. He reigned from 980 to 947 BC, succeeding his father, Abibaal. Hiram was succeeded as king of Tyre by his son Baal-Eser I...
of Tyre (969-936).
By three thousand years ago the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
and Hellas
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
had enjoyed remarkable prosperity, resulting in population growth in excess of their economic base. On the other hand, political instability from time to time caused disruption of normal business and resulted in short term economic distress. City-states started organizing their youth to migrate in groups to locations where the land was less densely settled. Importantly, the number of colonists coming from Greece was much larger than those coming from Phoenicia.
To these migrants, lands in the western Mediterranean presented an opportunity and could be reached relatively easily by ship, without marching through foreign territory. Colonists sailed westward following in the wake of their commercial traders. The Greeks
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
arrived later, coming to (what is now) southern France, southern Italy including Sicily, and eastern Libya. Earlier the Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
ns had settled in (what is now) Sardinia, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Sicily, and Tunisia. At Tunisia the city of Carthage was founded, which would come to rule all the other Phoenician settlements.
Founding of Carthage
The city-state of CarthageCarthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
(its ruins near present day Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
) was founded by Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
ns coming from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
. The city's name, written KRT HDST in their Punic language (using the consonant
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
-only letters of their alphabet
Phoenician alphabet
The Phoenician alphabet, called by convention the Proto-Canaanite alphabet for inscriptions older than around 1050 BC, was a non-pictographic consonantal alphabet, or abjad. It was used for the writing of Phoenician, a Northern Semitic language, used by the civilization of Phoenicia...
) and pronounced Kart Hudesht, meant literally "city new". The Punic that was spoken in ancient North Africa developed there from its parent Phoenician, which is a Canaanite language, in the group of Northwest Semitic languages
Northwest Semitic languages
The Northwest Semitic languages form a medium-level division of the Semitic language family. The languages of this group are spoken by approximately eight million people today. The group is generally divided into three branches: Ugaritic , Canaanite and Aramaic...
. Thus Punic was a "leaf" on the Semitic branch
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
of the Afroasiatic "tree"; native Berber languages form another Berber branch of the Afroasiatic language family.
Timaeus (historian)
Timaeus , ancient Greek historian, was born at Tauromenium in Sicily. Driven out of Sicily by Agathocles, he migrated to Athens, where he studied rhetoric under a pupil of Isocrates and lived for fifty years...
, a Greek historian from Sicily
History of Sicily
The history of Sicily has seen Sicily usually controlled by greater powers—Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Islamic, Norman, Hohenstaufen, Catalan, Spaniard—but also experiencing short periods of independence, as under the Greeks and later as the Emirate then Kingdom of Sicily...
c. 300 BC, gives the foundation date of Carthage as thirty-eight years before the first Olympiad
Olympiad
An Olympiad is a period of four years, associated with the Olympic Games of Classical Greece. In the Hellenistic period, beginning with Ephorus, Olympiads were used as calendar epoch....
(in 776), which accordingly would be the year 814 BC. Living in Sicily, Timaeus was close to Carthaginians and likely to hear their versions of the city's foundation; his date is generally accepted as approximate. Accord is found in lost Phoenician records, cited second-hand by the Jewish historian Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
(37-100).
Founding dates several hundred years earlier are given by ancient authors (such as the aforementioned Timaeus, Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, and Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
), for other Phoenician cities in the western Mediterranean. These include Gades (1110 BCE) in Hispania, and Utica (said by Pliny to be founded in 1101 BCE) near Carthage. Recent archeology has been unable to verify these earlier dates, yet objects made in Syria
History of Syria
The history of Syria:*Prehistory and Ancient Near East: see Pre-history of the Southern Levant, Fertile Crescent, Ebla, Mitanni*Antiquity: see Syro-Hittite states, Greater Syria, Roman Syria...
dating to the second millennium have been unearthed at and near Gades.
If so, Utica
Utica, Tunisia
Utica is an ancient city northwest of Carthage near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally considered to be the first colony founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa...
would long predate Carthage. As the first Punic trading center in the region, Utica would have been for centuries the leading Punic presence among the native Berbers. The name Utica is derived from a Punic stem dtāq, meaning "to be old", which lends some support to this chronology, for Carthage signifies "new city" (as stated above). The fleets of the King Hiram of Tyre
Hiram I
Hiram I , according to the Hebrew Bible, was the Phoenician king of Tyre. He reigned from 980 to 947 BC, succeeding his father, Abibaal. Hiram was succeeded as king of Tyre by his son Baal-Eser I...
, as recounted in the Bible, perhaps joined at times by ships assigned to Solomon, would date to the 10th century. "For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram." The Punic port city of Utica was originally situated at the mouth of the fertile Wadi Majardah (Medjerda River), at a point along the coast about 30 kilometers north of Carthage. "Utica is named besides Carthage in the second treaty with Rome
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
(348), and... appears again as nominally equal with Carthage in the treaty between Hannibal and Philip of Macedon
Philip V of Macedon
Philip V was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Rome. Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man...
(215). She does not appear in the first treaty with Rome (508), which perhaps means she was fully independent and not even bound in the [Carthage-Rome] alliance." Of course, eventually Utica was surpassed by Carthage.
Tyre, the major maritime city-state of Phoenicia and prime mover in the Phoenician mercantile expansion into the western Mediterranean, first settled Carthage. Probably Carthage started as one of Tyre's permanent stations in route to its very profitable, ongoing trade in metals with southern Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
. Such stations were often established by Tyre at intervals of about 30 to 50 kilometers along the African coast. Carthage would grow to out-rival all other Phoenician settlements.
Legends alive in the city for centuries assigned its foundation in 814 BC to a queen of Tyre, Elissa, also called Dido ("beloved"). Dido's great aunt must have been Jezebel
Jezebel
Jezebel may refer to:* Jezebel, wife of King Ahab*Jezebel, in the Book of Revelation 2:20 a prophetess in the church of Thyatira* Jezebel , starring Bette Davis and Henry Fonda* Jezebel , a blog aimed at women...
, who was also the daughter of a King of Tyre, in this case Ithobaal
Ithobaal I
Ithobaal I was a king of Tyre who founded a new dynasty. During his reign, Tyre expanded its power on the mainland, making all of Phoenicia its territory as far north as Beirut, including Sidon, and even a part of the island of Cyprus...
[the biblical Ethbaal] (r. 891-859); Jezebel became wife to King Ahab of Israel (r. 875-853), according to the Hebrew Books of Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
.
Dido's story is told by the Roman historian Pompeius Trogus (1st century BC), a near contemporary of Virgil. Trogus describes a sinister web of court intrigue in which the new king Pygmalion (brother of Dido) slays the chief priest Acharbas (husband of Dido), which causes the Queen Elissa (Dido) along with some nobles to flee the city of Tyre westward in a fleet of ships carrying royal gold. At Cyprus
History of Cyprus
-Prehistory:Cyprus was settled by humans in the Paleolithic period who coexisted with various dwarf animal species, such as dwarf elephants and pygmy hippos well into the Holocene...
, four score temple maidens were taken aboard the ships. Then her fleet continues on, landing in North Africa to found Carthage. Shortly after becoming established, according to Trogus, it is said that Hiarbus, a local Mauritani tribal chief, sought to marry the newly arrived queen. Instead, in order to honor her murdered husband the priest, Dido took her own life by the sword, publicly casting herself into a ceremonial fire. Thereafter she was celebrated as a goddess at Carthage.
The Roman poet Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
(70–19 BC) presents Dido as a tragic heroine in his epic poem the Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
. The work contains inventions loosely based on the legendary history of Carthage, e.g., referring to the then well-known story how the Phoenician Queen cunningly acquired the citadel of the Byrsa
Byrsa
Byrsa was the walled citadel above the harbour in ancient Carthage. It was also the name of the hill it rested on. The name is derived from the Phoenician word for citadel....
. In Virgil's epic, the god Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
requires the hero Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
to leave his beloved Dido, who then commits suicide and burns in a funeral pyre. This episode employs not only the history or legends narrated by Trogus (mentioned above), but perhaps also subsequent mythic and cultic elements, as Dido would become assimilated to the Punic or Berber goddess Tanit
Tanit
Tanit was a Phoenician lunar goddess, worshipped as the patron goddess at Carthage. Tanit was worshiped in Punic contexts in the Western Mediterranean, from Malta to Gades into Hellenistic times. From the fifth century BCE onwards Tanit is associated with that of Baal Hammon...
. Each autumn a pyre was built outside the old city of Carthage; into it the goddess was thought to throw herself in self-immolation for the sake of the dead vegetation god Adonis
Adonis
Adonis , in Greek mythology, the god of beauty and desire, is a figure with Northwest Semitic antecedents, where he is a central figure in various mystery religions. The Greek , Adōnis is a variation of the Semitic word Adonai, "lord", which is also one of the names used to refer to God in the Old...
-Eshmun
Eshmun
Eshmun was a Phoenician god of healing and the tutelary god of Sidon.This god was known at least from the Iron Age period at Sidon and was worshipped also in Tyre, Beirut, Cyprus, Sardinia, and in Carthage where the site of Eshmun's temple is now occupied by the chapel of Saint Louis.According to...
.
"Nothing of historical value can be derived from the foundation legends transmitted to us in various versions by Greek and Roman authors", comments professor Warmington. Yet from such legends the modern reader may form some understanding of how the ancient people of Carthage spoke to each other about their city's beginnings, i.e., an aspect of their collective self-image, or perhaps even infer some of the subtlety in the cultural context of the accepted tradition, if not the personality of the characters nor the gist of the events themselves.
The 6th century Hebrew prophet Ezekiel
Ezekiel
Ezekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...
in a lamentation nonetheless sings the praises of the Phoenicians, specifically of the cities of Tyre and Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
. "Tyre, who dwells at the entrance to the sea, merchant of many peoples on many coastlands... . ... Tarshish traficked with you because of your great wealth of every kind; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares." Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
describes such a Phoenician ship in the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
.
Modern consensus locates this ancient, mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
-rich region (called Tarshish
Tarshish
Tarshish תַּרְשִׁישׁ occurs in the Hebrew Bible with several uncertain meanings:*One of the sons of Javan .* In the Bible Solomon set up a trade with Tarshish and received ivory, apes, and peacocks from Tarshish which are all native to the jungles in India. India's state bird for example is the...
[TRSYS] by Ezekiel) in the south of Hispania, possibly linked to Tartessos
Tartessos
Tartessos or Tartessus was a harbor city and surrounding culture on the south coast of the Iberian peninsula , at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River. It appears in sources from Greece and the Near East starting in the middle of the first millennium BC, for example Herodotus, who describes it as...
, a native
Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula
This is a list of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian peninsula .-Non-Indo-European:*Aquitanians**Aquitani**Autrigones - some consider them Celtic .**Caristii - some consider them Celtic ....
city of the Iberians
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
. Here mining was already underway, and early on the Phoenicians founded the city of Gadir [GDR "strong wall"] (Latin Gades) (currently Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
). Bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
then was a highly useful and popular material, made from copper and tin. Tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
being scarce though in high demand, its supply became very profitable. Yet Hispania was even more rich in silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
. Originally Carthage was probably a stop on the way between Tyre and the region of Gadir, a stop where sailors might beach their boats and resupply with food and water. Eventually, local trade would begin, and huts built; later more permanent homes and warehouses constructed, then fortified, perhaps also a shrine. All would change and transform on the day when a Queen of Tyre arrived with a fleet of ships, carrying nobility and well-connected merchants, and royal treasure.
Berber relations
Coming from the most advanced multicultural sphere then known, the material culture of the Phoenicians was without doubt more functional and efficient, and their knowledge more explanatory, than that of the early BerbersEarly History of Tunisia
The Early History of Tunisia includes the general background, the last millennia of prehistory and the earliest recorded history of its native Berber people. Modern commentary and reconstructions are presented concerning their ancient livelihood, material culture, religion, and social organization,...
. Hence, the interactions between Berber and Phoenician were often asymmetrical. The Phoenicians continuously retained their close connection with Tyre, the mother city.
The earliest Phoenician landing stations located on the coasts were probably meant merely to resupply and service ships bound for the lucrative metals trade with the Iberian
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
peninsula. Perhaps these newly arrived sea traders were not at first particularly interested in doing much business with the Berbers, for reason of the little profit regarding the goods the Berbers had to offer. The Phoenicians established strategic colonial cities in many Berber areas, including sites outside of present day Tunisia, e.g., the settlements at Volubilis
Volubilis
Volubilis is an archaeological site in Morocco situated near Meknes between Fez and Rabat along the N13 road. The nearest town is Moulay Idriss. Volubilis features the best preserved Roman ruins in this part of northern Africa...
, Chellah
Chellah
Chellah, or Sala Colonia is a necropolis and complex of ancient Roman Mauretania Tingitana and medieval ruins at Rabat, Morocco. It is the most ancient human settlement on the mouth of the Bou Regreg River.-History:...
and Mogador (now in Morocco). As in Tunisia these centres were trading hubs, and later offered support for resource development such as olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
at Volubilis and Tyrian purple
Tyrian purple
Tyrian purple , also known as royal purple, imperial purple or imperial dye, is a purple-red natural dye, which is extracted from sea snails, and which was possibly first produced by the ancient Phoenicians...
dye at Mogador. For their part, most Berbers maintained their independence as farmers or semi-pastorals although, due to the exemplar of Carthage, their organized politics increased in scope and acquired sophistication.
Eventually the Phoenician trading stations would evolve into permanent settlements, and later into small towns, which would presumably require a wide variety of goods as well as sources of food, which could be satisfied in trade with the Berbers. Yet here too, the Phoenicians probably would be drawn into organizing and directing such local trade, and also into managing agricultural production. In the 5th century Carthage expanded its territory, acquiring Cape Bon and the fertile Wadi Majardah, later establishing its control over productive farm lands within several hundred kilometers. Appropriation of such wealth in land by the Phoenicians would surely inspire some resistance by the Berbers, although in warfare, too, the technical training, social organization, and weaponry of the Phoenicians would seem to work against the tribal Berbers. This social-cultural interaction in early Carthage has been summarily described:
"Because the Carthaginians imported their religion, their laws, and their governmental concepts from the more sophisticated lands of the Near East, they exposed the indigenous BerbersEarly History of TunisiaThe Early History of Tunisia includes the general background, the last millennia of prehistory and the earliest recorded history of its native Berber people. Modern commentary and reconstructions are presented concerning their ancient livelihood, material culture, religion, and social organization,...
to a more complex and fully developed culture. This exposure set in motion the integration of the Berbers into a Mediterranean world in which they had previously functioned only on the fringes. The dichotomy between the lifestyle of the urban (and urbane) Carthaginians and that of the primitive, rural-dwelling Berbers was immediately apparent. Aside from commercial transactions, limited contact occurred between the two groups, and each retained a clear sense of identity."
Lack of contemporary written records make the drawing of conclusions here uncertain, which can only be based on inference and reasonable conjecture about matters of social nuance. Yet it appears that the Phoenicians generally did not interact with the Berbers as economic equals, but employed their agricultural labor, and their household services, whether by hire or indenture; many became sharecroppers. For a period the Berbers were in constant revolt. In 396 there was a great uprising. "Thousands of rebels streamed down from the mountains and invaded Punic territory, carrying the serfs of the countryside along with them. The Carthaginians were obliged to withdraw within their walls and were besieged." Yet the Berbers lacked cohesion, and although 200,000 strong at one point they succumbed to hunger; their leaders were offered bribes; "they gradually broke up and returned to their homes." Thereafter, "a series of revolts took place among the Libyans [Berbers] from the fourth century onwards."
As the centuries passed there naturally grew a Punic society of Phoenician-descent but born in Africa, called Libyphoenicians. This term later came to be applied also to Berbers acculturated to "higher" Phoenician culture. Yet the whole notion of a Berber apprenticeship to the Punic civilization has been called an exaggeration sustained by a point of view fundamentally foreign to the Berbers. There evolved a population of mixed ancestry, Berber and Punic. There would develop recognized niches in which Berbers had proven their utility. For example, the Punic state began to field Berber Numidian cavalry
Numidian cavalry
Numidian cavalry was a type of light cavalry developed by the Numidians, most notably used by Hannibal during the Second Punic War. They were described by the Roman historian Livy as "by far the best horsemen in Africa."...
on a regular basis. The Berbers eventually were required to provide soldiers (likely not paid), and became "the largest single element in the Carthaginian army".
Yet in times of stress at Carthage, when a foreign force might be pushing against the city-state, some Berbers would see it as an opportunity to advance their interests, given their otherwise low status in Punic society. Thus, when the Greeks under Agathocles
Agathocles
Agathocles , , was tyrant of Syracuse and king of Sicily .-Biography:...
(361-289) of Sicily landed at Cape Bon and threatened Carthage (in 310), there were Berbers under Ailymas who went over to the invading Greeks. Also, during the crucial Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
(218-201) with Rome, the Berber King Masinissa
Masinissa
Masinissa — also spelled Massinissa and Massena — was the first King of Numidia, an ancient North African nation of ancient Libyan tribes. As a successful general, Masinissa fought in the Second Punic War , first against the Romans as an ally of Carthage an later switching sides when he saw which...
(c.240-148) joined with the invading Roman general Scipio, leading to the war-ending defeat of Carthage at Zama, despite the presence of their renown general Hannibal; on the other hand, the Berber King Syphax
Syphax
Syphax was a king of the ancient Algerian tribe Masaesyli of western Numidia during the last quarter of the 3rd century BC. His story is told in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita .-Biography:...
(d.202) had supported Carthage. The Romans too read these cues, so that they cultivated their Berber alliances and, subsequently, favored the Berbers who advanced their interests following the Roman victory.
Carthage was faulted by her ancient rivals for the "harsh treatment of her subjects" as well as for "greed and cruelty". Her Libyan Berber sharecroppers, for example, were required to pay one-half of their crops as tribute to the city-state during the emergency of the First Punic War
First Punic War
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...
. The normal exaction taken by Carthage was likely "an extremely burdonsome" one-quarter. Carthage once famously attempted to short its Libyan and foreign soldiers, leading to the Mercenary revolt
Mercenary revolt
Mercenary Revolt may refer to:*The Mercenary War : an uprising of mercenary armies formerly employed by Carthage, backed by Libyan settlements revolting against Carthaginian control...
(240-237). Also the city-state seemed to reward those leaders known to deal ruthlessly with its subjects. Hence the frequent Berber insurrections. Moderns fault Carthage for failure "to bind her subjects to herself, as Rome did" her Italians. Yet Rome and the Italians held far more in common perhaps than did Carthage and the Berbers. Nonetheless, a modern criticism tells us that the Carthaginians "did themselves a disservice" by failing to promote the common, shared quality of "life in a properly organized city" that inspires loyalty, particularly with regard to the Berbers. Again, the tribune demanded by Carthage was onerous.
The Punic relationship with the majority Berbers
Early History of Tunisia
The Early History of Tunisia includes the general background, the last millennia of prehistory and the earliest recorded history of its native Berber people. Modern commentary and reconstructions are presented concerning their ancient livelihood, material culture, religion, and social organization,...
continued throughout the life of Carthage. The unequal development of material culture and social organization perhaps fated the relationship to be an uneasy one. A long-term cause of Punic instability, there was no melding of the peoples. It remained a source of stress and a point of weakness for Carthage. Yet there were degrees of convergence on several particulars, discoveries of mutual advantage, occasions of friendship, and family.
Regional sovereignty
By the middle of the 6th century BC, Carthage had grown into a fully independent thalassocracyThalassocracy
The term thalassocracy refers to a state with primarily maritime realms—an empire at sea, such as Athens or the Phoenician network of merchant cities...
. Under Mago (r., c.550-530) and later his Magonid family, Carthage became preeminent among the Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean, which included nearby Utica
Utica, Tunisia
Utica is an ancient city northwest of Carthage near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally considered to be the first colony founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa...
. Mago, the 6th century ruler of Carthage, initiated the practice of recruiting the army from subject peoples and mercenaries, because "the population of Carthage was too small to provide defense for so widely scattered an empire." Hence, Libyans, Iberians, Sardinians, and Corsicans were soon enlisted.
Mauretania
Mauretania is a part of the historical Ancient Libyan land in North Africa. It corresponds to present day Morocco and a part of western Algeria...
as well as to the east in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. Cathage founded other trading stations, located in southern Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
and western Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, at the cities of Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
in the Balearics, of Lixus
Lixus
Lixus refers to the following things:* lixus, the Latin word for "boiled"* Lixus in Morocco* Lixus , a genus of true weevils...
south of the straits
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
, and of Gades
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
north of the straits, with additional posts also in Iberia
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, along the south and east coasts. Further, Carthage enjoyed an alliance with the Etruscans, who then ruled a powerful state in northern Italy, and among whose clients was the infant city of Rome.
A merchant sailor of Carthage, Himilco
Himilco
Himilco was the Carthaginian sailor a.k.a. Himilco the Navigator.Himilco may also refer to:* Himilco , Carthaginian soldier at Battle of Messene...
, explored in the Atlantic to the north of the straits, i.e., along the coast of the Lusitanians
Lusitanians
The Lusitanians were an Indo-European people living in the Western Iberian Peninsula long before it became the Roman province of Lusitania . They spoke the Lusitanian language which might have been Celtic. The modern Portuguese people see the Lusitanians as their ancestors...
and perhaps as far north as Oestrymnis (modern Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
), c. 500 BC. Carthage would soon supplant the Iberian city of Tartessus in carrying the tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
trade from Oestrymnis. Another sailor, Hanno the Navigator
Hanno the Navigator
Hanno the Navigator was a Carthaginian explorer c. 500 BC, best known for his naval exploration of the African coast...
explored the Atlantic to the south, along the African coast well past the River Gambia. The traders of Carthage were known to be secretive about business and particularly about trade routes; it was their practice to keep the straits to the Atlantic closed to the Greeks.
Rivalry with the Greeks
In the 530s there had been a three sided naval struggle between the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Etrusco-Punic allies; the Greeks lost CorsicaCorsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
to the Etruscans and Sardinia to Carthage. Then the Etruscans attacked Greek colonies in the Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
south of Rome, but unsuccessfully. As an eventual result, Rome threw off their Etruscan kings of the Tarquin
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the legendary seventh and final King of Rome, reigning from 535 BC until the popular uprising in 509 BC that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He is more commonly known by his cognomen Tarquinius Superbus and was a member of the so-called Etruscan...
dynasty. Then the Roman Republic and Carthage in 509 entered into a treaty, which had the purpose of defining their respective commercial zones.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
were energetic traders by sea, who had been establishing emporia throughout the Mediterranean region in furtherence of their commercial interests. These parallel activities both by the Greeks and by Carthage led to persistent disputes over influence and control of commercial spheres, particularly in Sicily. When combined with the permanent foreign conquest of Phoenicia in the Levant, these Greek commercial challenges had caused many Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean to choose the leadership of Carthage. In 480 BC (concurrent with Persia's invasion of Greece), Mago's grandson Hamilcar
Hamilcar
Hamilcar was a common name in the Punic culture. There are several different transcriptions into Greek and Roman scripts. The ruling families of ancient Carthage often named their members with the traditional name Hamilcar...
landed a large army in Sicily in order to confront Syracuse (a colony of Corinth
Corinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
) on the island's eastern coast; yet the Greeks decisivelly prevailed at the Battle of Himera
Battle of Himera (480 BC)
The Battle of Himera , supposedly fought on the same day as the more famous Battle of Salamis, or on the same day as the Battle of Thermopylae, saw the Greek forces of Gelon, King of Syracuse, and Theron, tyrant of Agrigentum, defeat the Carthaginian force of Hamilcar the Magonid, ending a...
. A long struggle ensued, with intermittent warfare between Syracuse and Carthage. In 367 Hanno I the Great
Hanno the Great
There were three leaders of ancient Carthage who were known as Hanno the Great, according to two historians . These figures they call for convenience: Hanno I the Great, Hanno II the Great, and Hanno III the Great...
won a major naval victory over the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in what is now Sicily, southern Italy. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Greek colonies...
(r.405-367), thereby blocking his attempt to take Punic Lilybaeum in western Sicily.
In 311 near Syracuse, Punic armies under another Hamilcar
Hamilcar
Hamilcar was a common name in the Punic culture. There are several different transcriptions into Greek and Roman scripts. The ruling families of ancient Carthage often named their members with the traditional name Hamilcar...
defeated the Greek leader Agathocles
Agathocles
Agathocles , , was tyrant of Syracuse and king of Sicily .-Biography:...
(r.317-289). Agathocles then attempted a bold strategic end-run by putting his forces aboard ships, leaving Sicily, and landing his Greek army at Cape Bon very near Carthage. The city became alarmed with palpable anxiety. Yet Carthage again defeated Agathocles (310-307). Thereafter the Greek world, preoccupied with its conquest of the Persian Empire in the east, lost interest in expanding its colonies in Sicily. Greek influence in the western Mediterranean became supplanted by Rome, the new rival of Carthage.
During these centuries Carthage enlarged its commercial sphere, augmenting its markets along the African coast, in southern Iberia, and among the islands of the western Mediterranean, venturing south to develop rudiments of the Saharan trade, and exploring commercial opportunities in the Atlantic. Carthage also established its authority directly among the Numidian Berber peoples in the lands immediately surrounding the city, which grew more prosperous.
Economy and society
A widely admired work on agriculture by MagoMago (agricultural writer)
Mago was a Carthaginian writer, author of an agricultural manual in Punic which was a record of the farming knowledge of Carthage. The Punic text has been lost, but some fragments of Greek and Latin translations survive....
(c.300) was, following the fall of Carthage, translated into Latin by Decimus Silanus (a Roman expert in the Punic language), and later into Greek; yet the original and both translations are lost. Mago's text, however, is quoted by Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro was an ancient Roman scholar and writer. He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus.-Biography:...
(116-27), a Roman polymath, in his de Re Rustica, and by Columella
Columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella is the most important writer on agriculture of the Roman empire. Little is known of his life. He was probably born in Gades , possibly of Roman parents. After a career in the army , he took up farming...
(1st century AD), a Roman writer on agriculture; also it is praised by Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
(23-79), a Roman encyclopedist. Olive trees (e.g., grafting
Grafting
Grafting is a horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together. This vascular joining is called inosculation...
), fruit trees (pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
, almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
, fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
), viniculture, cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, implements, and farm management were ancient topics Mago discussed. Many amphora
Amphora
An amphora is a type of vase-shaped, usually ceramic container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body...
e subsequently found around the Mediterranean testify to Carthaginian trade in their olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
and wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
. Under Roman rule grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
production (corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
) for export increased dramatically, which later fell with the rise in Egypt's export of grains. In general, Carthage's agricultural production rivaled that of Rome. Visitors to the region spoke very well of the lush green gardens, orchards, fields, irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
channels, and the hedgerows for boundaries, as well as the many prosperous farming towns across the rural landscape.
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
s [called in Punic cothon] were located in the southeast; their function is not entirely clear, probably for the construction, outfitting, or repair of ships, perhaps also loading and unloading cargo. Larger anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
ages existed to the north and south of the city. West of the cothon were located several industrial areas, e.g., metalworking and pottery (for amphora
Amphora
An amphora is a type of vase-shaped, usually ceramic container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body...
), which could serve both inner harbors, and ships anchored to the south of the city.
The Byrsa
Byrsa
Byrsa was the walled citadel above the harbour in ancient Carthage. It was also the name of the hill it rested on. The name is derived from the Phoenician word for citadel....
, the citadel
Citadel
A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....
to the north, considering its importance remains largely unknown. It was the reported site of the Temple of Eshmun
Eshmun
Eshmun was a Phoenician god of healing and the tutelary god of Sidon.This god was known at least from the Iron Age period at Sidon and was worshipped also in Tyre, Beirut, Cyprus, Sardinia, and in Carthage where the site of Eshmun's temple is now occupied by the chapel of Saint Louis.According to...
, at the top of a stairway of sixty steps. South of the citadel, near the inner harbors, was the tophet
Tophet
Tophet or Topheth is believed to be a location in Jerusalem, in the Valley of Hinnom, where the Canaanites sacrificed children to the god Moloch by burning them alive. The Hebrew Bible also mentions what appears to be child sacrifice practiced at a place called the Tophet by the Canaanites,...
, a special and very old cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
, which when begun lay outside the city boundaries. Here the Salammbô was located, the Sanctuary of Tanit
Tanit
Tanit was a Phoenician lunar goddess, worshipped as the patron goddess at Carthage. Tanit was worshiped in Punic contexts in the Western Mediterranean, from Malta to Gades into Hellenistic times. From the fifth century BCE onwards Tanit is associated with that of Baal Hammon...
, not a temple but an enclosure for placing stelae, and "dedicated at an early date, perhaps by the first settlers." Just north of these inner harbors, southeast of the Byrsa, lay the agora
Agora
The Agora was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Greek city-states. Early in Greek history , free-born male land-owners who were citizens would gather in the Agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the Agora also served as a marketplace where...
[Greek: "market"], i.e., the central marketplace for business and commerce. It was also an area of public squares and plazas, where public assembly and gatherings were held, the site of temples, and the location of the major municipal buildings. Here beat the heart of civil life. In this district of Carthage, the ruling suffets presided, the council of elders convened, and justice was dispensed in the open air.
Early residential districts wrapped around the Byrsa from the south to the north east. Houses usually were whitewash
Whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a very low-cost type of paint made from slaked lime and chalk . Various other additives are also used...
ed and blank to the street but within were courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
s open to the sky. In these neighborhoods multistory construction later became common, some up to six stories tall according to an ancient author. Several architecutural
History of architecture
The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates.-Neolithic architecture:Neolithic architecture is the architecture of the Neolithic period...
floorplans of homes have been revealed by recent excavations, as well as the general layout of several city blocks
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
. Stone stairs were set in the streets, and drainage
Drainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...
was planned, e.g., in the form of soakways leaching into the sandy soil. Along the Byrsa's southern slope were located not only fine old homes, but also many of the earliest gravesites, interspersed. The elevation of the land to the east, at the promontory on the seashore, was twice as high at 100 meters as the Byrsa at about 50 m. In between runs a ridge that several times reaches 50 meters; this ridge continues northward along the seashore, and forms the edge of a plateau; this plateau occupies much of northern Carthage. Newer urban developments lay here in these northern districts. Surrounding Carthage were walls "of great strength" said in places to rise above forty feet, being nearly thirty feet thick; the walls altogether ran about thirty-three kilometers to encircle the city. The heights of the Byrsa were fortified; this area being the last to succumb to the Romans in 146 B.C.
Third Punic War
The Third Punic War was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage, and the Roman Republic...
Maritime
Maritime history
Maritime history is the study of human activity at sea. It covers a broad thematic element of history that often uses a global approach, although national and regional histories remain predominant...
trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
was the lifeblood of the city. Carthage, of course, drew upon the experience, commodities, and lore of the Phoenicians regarding business affairs. Phoenicians excelled as traders, rather than as producers. Yet they crafted quality textiles, and developed a purple dye
Tyrian purple
Tyrian purple , also known as royal purple, imperial purple or imperial dye, is a purple-red natural dye, which is extracted from sea snails, and which was possibly first produced by the ancient Phoenicians...
from marine life [the murex shellfish], which became famous for its regal color and endurance (fade resistance) throughout the ancient Mediterranean. Jewelry, glass, and ceramics
Ceramic art
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
were also fabricated and entered commerce. That Carthage functioned also as a "manufacturing" colossus was shown when, during the Third Punic War
Third Punic War
The Third Punic War was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage, and the Roman Republic...
, Carthage which had previously been disarmed "suddenly organised the manufacture of arms" in order to withstand the fatal Roman siege. According to Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
(63BC-AD21) in his Geographica
Géographica
Géographica is the French-language magazine of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society , published under the Society's French name, the Société géographique royale du Canada . Introduced in 1997, Géographica is not a stand-alone publication, but is published as an irregular supplement to La...
:
"[Carthage] each day produced one hundred and forty finished shields, three hundred swords, five hundred spears, and one thousand missiles for the catapults... . Furthermore, [Carthage although surrounded by the Romans] built one hundred and twenty decked ships in two months... for old timber had been stored away in readiness, and a large number of skilled workmen, maintained at public expense."
Trireme
A trireme was a type of galley, a Hellenistic-era warship that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Romans.The trireme derives its name from its three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar...
, providing the captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
and crew; (b) by barter
Barter
Barter is a method of exchange by which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. It is usually bilateral, but may be multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a...
or purchase procure from native producers the commodities (foodstuffs, metals, etc.) to carry and trade, and (c) send their agents to distant outposts in order to make local contacts, eventually managing a warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
of shipped goods and conducting the negotiations for sale
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
or exchange. Over generations, such activity might result in the establishment of a wide-ranging network of trading operations, and the growth of reciprocity
Reciprocity (cultural anthropology)
In cultural anthropology and sociology, reciprocity is a way of defining people's informal exchange of goods and labour; that is, people's informal economic systems. It is the basis of most non-market economies. Since virtually all humans live in some kind of society and have at least a few...
between different family firms
Family business
A family business is a business in which one or more members of one or more families have a significant ownership interest and significant commitments toward the business’ overall well-being....
.
State protection
Power projection
Power projection is a term used in military and political science to refer to the capacity of a state to conduct expeditionary warfare, i.e. to intimidate other nations and implement policy by means of force, or the threat thereof, in an area distant from its own territory.This ability is a...
was extended to its sea traders by the Phoenician city of Tyre and later likewise by Carthage. Stéphane Gsell, the well-regarded French historian of ancient North Africa, summarized the major principles guiding the city-state of Carthage with regard to its policies for trade and commerce: (1) to open and maintain markets for its merchants, whether by entering into direct contact with foreign peoples using either treaty
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
negotiations or force, or by providing security for isolated trading stations; (2) reservation of markets
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
exclusively for the merchants of Carthage, or where competition could not be eliminated, to regulate it by agreements; (3) suppression of piracy
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
and Carthage's ability to freely navigate the seas.
Both the Phoenicians and Cathaginians were well known in antiquity for their secrecy
Secrecy
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups, perhaps while sharing it with other individuals...
in general, and especially pertaining to commercial contacts and trade routes. Both cultures excelled in commercial dealings. Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
(63BC-AD21) the Greek geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
wrote that before its fall (in 146 BC) Carthage enjoyed a population of 700,000, and directed an alliance of 300 cities. The Greek historian Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
(c.203-120) referred to Carthage as "the wealthiest city in the world".
Punic Wars with Rome
The emergence of the Roman RepublicRoman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
led to sustained rivalry with the more anciently established Carthage for dominion of the western Mediterranean. As early as 509 BC. Carthage and Rome had entered into treaty status, chiefly regarding trading areas; later in 348, another similar treaty was made between Carthage, Tyre, Utica
Utica, Tunisia
Utica is an ancient city northwest of Carthage near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally considered to be the first colony founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa...
, and Rome; a third Romano-Punic treaty in 280 regarded wars against the Greek invader Pyrrhus
Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos was a Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic era. He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house , and later he became king of Epirus and Macedon . He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome...
. Yet eventually their opposing interests led to disagreement, suspicion, and conflict.
The First Punic War
First Punic War
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...
(264-241) started over Messina, a city in eastern Sicily. "[P]robably both sides miscalculated the reaction of the other. The war... escalated beyond anyone's expectations... . [B]egun over one town in Sicily [it] became a struggle for the whole island." The conflict developed into a naval war in which the Romans learned how to fight at sea and then decisively defeated the Punic fleet
Battle of the Aegates Islands
The Battle of the Aegates Islands or Aegusa was the final naval battle fought between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic during the First Punic War...
. Carthage lost Sicily (all of its western portion) and paid a huge indemnity. Following their defeat, the Mercenary revolt
Mercenary revolt
Mercenary Revolt may refer to:*The Mercenary War : an uprising of mercenary armies formerly employed by Carthage, backed by Libyan settlements revolting against Carthaginian control...
erupted, which threatened the survival of the Punic social order; yet Carthage endured, under their opposing leaders Hanno II the Great
Hanno the Great
There were three leaders of ancient Carthage who were known as Hanno the Great, according to two historians . These figures they call for convenience: Hanno I the Great, Hanno II the Great, and Hanno III the Great...
, and Hamilcar Barca
Hamilcar Barca
Hamilcar Barca or Barcas was a Carthaginian general and statesman, leader of the Barcid family, and father of Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Mago. He was also father-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair....
. During this crisis at Carthage, Rome refused to aid the rebels, but later occupied Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
.
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
(218-201), the ancient Greek historian Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
gives three causes: the anger of Hamilcar Barca
Hamilcar Barca
Hamilcar Barca or Barcas was a Carthaginian general and statesman, leader of the Barcid family, and father of Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Mago. He was also father-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair....
(father of Hannibal) whose army in Sicily the Romans never defeated in the first war; the Roman seizure of Sandinia during the Mercenary revolt
Mercenary revolt
Mercenary Revolt may refer to:*The Mercenary War : an uprising of mercenary armies formerly employed by Carthage, backed by Libyan settlements revolting against Carthaginian control...
; and, creation by the Barcid military family of a new Punic power base in Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
. Nonetheless, the immediate cause was a dispute concerning Saguntum (near modern Valencia) in Hispania. After prevailing there, Hannibal Barca set out, eventually leading his armies over the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
into Italy. At first Hannibal ("grace of Baal") won great military victories against Rome on their own territory, at Trasimeno (217), and at Cannae
Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
(216), which came close to destroying Rome's ability to wage war. But the majority of Rome's Italian allies remained loyal; Rome drew on all her resources and managed to rebuild her military strength. For many years Hannibal enjoyed the support of those cities who defected from Rome, including Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
and Tarentum
History of Taranto
The history of Taranto dates back to the 8th century BC when it was founded as a Greek colony, known as Taras.-Foundation and splendour:Taranto was founded in 706 BC by Dorian immigrants as the only Spartan colony, and its origin is peculiar: the founders were Partheniae, sons of unmarried Spartan...
in the south; he remained on campaign there in southern Italy, maintaining his army and posing a dangerous threat to Rome and her Italian allies. Yet the passage of the years appeared to forestall Hannibal's chances.
Meanwhile, Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
remained throughout 211 the domain of armies under Hannibal's three brothers: Hasdrubal, Mago, and Hanno
Hanno the Elder
Hanno the Elder was a Carthaginian general who served under Hannibal during the Second Punic War. According to the historian Livy, his track record was terrible: in 215 BC he was defeated by Tiberius Sempronius Longus at Grumentum, in 214 BC he was defeated by Gracchus at Beneventum, two years...
, and also the Punic leader Hasdrubal Gisco
Hasdrubal Gisco
Hasdrubal Gisco or Hasdrubal son of Gisco was a Carthaginian general who fought against Rome in Iberia and North Africa during the Second Punic War. He should not be confused with Hasdrubal Barca, the brother of Hannibal....
. Yet Roman armies soon began contesting Carthage for control of Hispania. In 207 an overland attempt by his brother Hasdrubal to reinforce Hannibal in Italy failed. By 206, fortune had turned; the Roman general Cornelius Scipio (later Africanus) had defeated Punic power in the peninsula.
Utica, Tunisia
Utica is an ancient city northwest of Carthage near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally considered to be the first colony founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa...
near Carthage, which forced Hannibal's return to Africa. One Numidian king, Syphax
Syphax
Syphax was a king of the ancient Algerian tribe Masaesyli of western Numidia during the last quarter of the 3rd century BC. His story is told in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita .-Biography:...
, supported Carthage; however, Syphax met an early defeat. Rome found an old ally in another Berber king of Numidia, Masinissa
Masinissa
Masinissa — also spelled Massinissa and Massena — was the first King of Numidia, an ancient North African nation of ancient Libyan tribes. As a successful general, Masinissa fought in the Second Punic War , first against the Romans as an ally of Carthage an later switching sides when he saw which...
, who would soon grow in power and fame. Decisively he fought with Rome against Carthage. At the Battle of Zama
Battle of Zama
The Battle of Zama, fought around October 19, 202 BC, marked the final and decisive end of the Second Punic War. A Roman army led by Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus defeated a Carthaginian force led by the legendary commander Hannibal...
in 202 the Roman general Scipio Africanus
Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , also known as Scipio Africanus and Scipio the Elder, was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic...
, with Masinissa commanding Numidian cavalry on his right wing, defeated Hannibal Barca, ending the long war. Carthage lost all of its trading cities and silver mines in Hispania, and other possessions in the Western Mediterranean; also lost: its influence over the Berber Kingdoms (Numidia and Mauretania
Mauretania
Mauretania is a part of the historical Ancient Libyan land in North Africa. It corresponds to present day Morocco and a part of western Algeria...
), which became independent Roman allies (Masinissa being the most important). Carthage became reduced to its immediate surroundings, its actions restricted by treaty, and required to pay a large indemnity to Rome.
Carthage soon revived under the reforms initiated by Hannibal and, free of defense burdens, prospered as never before. In 191 Carthage offered to pay off early the idemnity due Rome, causing alarm in the anti-Punic faction there. The corrupt and rigid oligarchy in Carthage joined with this Roman faction to terminate the Punic reforms; eventually Hannibal was forced to flee the city. Many Romans continued to nurse a blind opposition to Carthage.
The Third Punic War
Third Punic War
The Third Punic War was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage, and the Roman Republic...
(149-146) began following a war between Carthage and the Numidian king Masinissa
Masinissa
Masinissa — also spelled Massinissa and Massena — was the first King of Numidia, an ancient North African nation of ancient Libyan tribes. As a successful general, Masinissa fought in the Second Punic War , first against the Romans as an ally of Carthage an later switching sides when he saw which...
(240-148), who for decades had been attacking and provoking Carthage. By this Numidian war Carthage had broken its treaty with Rome, and hence surrendered due to Rome's superior strength. But the war faction in Rome was determined to undo Carthage; cleverly hiding its true aims while talks proceeded (wherein Carthage gave up significant military capabilities), it then presented Carthage with an ultimatum: either evacuate the city which would then be destroyed; or war. Roman armies landed in Africa and began to lay siege to the magnificent city of Carthage, which rejected further negotiations. The end came: Carthage was destroyed; its surviving citizens enslaved.
In the aftermath, the region (much of modern Tunisia) was annexed by the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
as the new Province of Africa. The city of Carthage was eventually rebuilt by the Romans (beginning in 46 BCE. under Julius Caesar). It became capital of Africa Province and a leading city of the Empire. The entire province, Berber and Punic with a large Latin influx, then experienced a centuries-long renaissance. Long after the fall of Rome, the re-built city of Carthage would be again undone.
See also
- History of Punic-era Tunisia, part IIHistory of Punic-era Tunisia, part IIPunic-Ear Tunisia: state, and religion addresses the historical and cultural creations of the people of the city-state of Carthage. Unfortunately very few writings from that era survived. Hence, a history of its Punic literature is impossible. Most presently-existing works that address civic and...
- CarthageCarthageCarthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
- Early Berber History of Tunisia
- History of TunisiaHistory of TunisiaThe History of Tunisia is subdivided into the following articles:*Outlines of early Tunisia*History of Punic era Tunisia*History of Roman era Tunisia*History of early Islamic Tunisia*History of medieval Tunisia*History of Ottoman era Tunisia...