Punics
Encyclopedia
The Punics were a group of western Semitic
-speaking peoples from Carthage
in North Africa
who traced their origins to a group of Phoenicia
n and Cypriot
settlers, but also to North African Berber
s (more than 70%). Punics were probably a mix of Berbers and Phoenicians in terms of culture and ancestry. Unlike other Phoenicians, Punics had a landowning aristocracy
who established a rule of the hinterland
in Northern Africa and trans-Sahara traderoutes
. In later times one of these clans conquered a Hellenistic
-inspired empire in Iberia
, possibly having a foothold in western Gaul
. Like other Phoenician people their urbanized culture and economy was strongly linked to the sea. Overseas they established control over coastal regions of the Maghreb
, Tripolitania
, Sardinia
, Corsica
, Sicily
, the Baleares, Malta
, other small islands of the Western Mediterranean and possibly along the Atlantic coast
of Iberia, although this is disputed. In the Baleares, Sardinia, Corsica and Sicily they had strong economic and political ties to the independent natives in the hinterland. Their naval presence and trade extended throughout the Mediterranean to the British Isles
, the Canaries
, and West Africa
. Famous technical achievements of the Punic people of Carthage include the development of uncolored glass and the use of lacustrine
limestone
to improve the purity of molten iron.
Most of the Punic culture was destroyed as a result of the Punic Wars
fought between Rome
and Carthage
from 264 to 146 BCE, while traces of language, religion and technology could still be found in Africa
during the early Christianisation, 325 to 650 CE. After the Punic Wars
, Romans used the term Punic as an adjective meaning treacherous.
In archaeological and linguistic usage Punic refers to a Hellenistic and later-era culture and dialect from Carthage
that had developed into a distinct form from the Phoenicia
n of the mother city of Tyre. Phoenicians also settled in Northwest Africa (the Maghreb
) and other areas under Carthaginian rule and their culture and political organisation were a distinct form. Remains of the Punic culture can be found in settlements from the Iberian Peninsula
in the West to Cyprus
in the East.
but merged Phoenician ideas with Numidian deities and some Greek
and Egyptian, such as Apollo
, Tanit
and Dionysis, with Baal Hammon being clearly the most important Punic deity. Punic culture became a melting pot, since Carthage was a big trading port in the known world but they retained some of their old cultural identities and practices, such as child sacrifice. This was not outside of regional norms, as many cultures of the time made human sacrifices, including the Greeks, Celts, and Romans.
The Punics carried out significant sea explorations around Africa and elsewhere from their base in Carthage. In the fifth century BC Hanno the Navigator
played a significant role in exploring coastal areas of present day Morocco and other parts of the African coast, specifically noting details of indigenous peoples such as at Mogador. Punics pushed westerly into the Atlantic and established important settlements in Lixus
, Volubilis
, Chellah
and Mogador, among other locations.
in the Greek-Punic Wars from 600 - 265 BCE. They eventually fought Rome
in the Roman-Punic Wars
, between 265 - 146 BCE, but lost due to being outnumbered, lack of full governmental involvement and reliance on their navy. This enabled a Roman settlement of Africa and eventual domination of the Mediterranean Sea. Cato the Elder
famously ended all his speeches, regardless of subject, with the imperative that Carthage be utterly crushed, a view summarised in Latin by the phrase Praeterea censeo Carthaginem esse delendam meaning, "Moreover, I declare, Carthage must be destroyed!". They were eventually incorporated into the Roman Republic in 146 BC with the destruction of Carthage but Cato never got to see his victory, having died in 149 BC.
. Carthage was rebuilt about 46 BC by Julius Caesar
. Places in the area were granted for settlement as benefits to soldiers that had served in Roman armies. Carthage again prospered and even became the number two trading city in the Roman Empire, until Constantinople
took over that position. As Christianity
spread in the Roman Empire, it was especially successful in Northern Africa. Carthage became a Christian city even before Christianity was legal. It is possible that Saint Augustine himself was Punic, as he was aware of Punic words. One of his more well known passages reads: "It is an excellent thing that the Punic Christians call Baptism
itself nothing else but salvation, and the Sacrament of Christ's Body nothing else but life." ("Forgiveness and the Just Deserts of Sins, and the Baptism of Infants", 1.24.34, AD 412)
The last remains of a distinct Punic culture probably disappeared somewhere in the chaos during the Fall of Rome. The demographic and cultural characteristics of the region were thoroughly transformed by turbulent events such as the Vandals
' wars with Byzantines, the forced population movements that followed and the Arabic conquest in the 7th century.
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
-speaking peoples from 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...
in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
who traced their origins to a group of 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...
n and Cypriot
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
settlers, but also to North African Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
s (more than 70%). Punics were probably a mix of Berbers and Phoenicians in terms of culture and ancestry. Unlike other Phoenicians, Punics had a landowning aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
who established a rule of the hinterland
Hinterland
The hinterland is the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast. The area from which products are delivered to a port for...
in Northern Africa and trans-Sahara traderoutes
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...
. In later times one of these clans conquered a Hellenistic
Hellenistic civilization
Hellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE...
-inspired empire 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...
, possibly having a foothold in western Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
. Like other Phoenician people their urbanized culture and economy was strongly linked to the sea. Overseas they established control over coastal regions of the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
, Tripolitania
Tripolitania
Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
, 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[],...
, Corsica
Corsica
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....
, 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,...
, the Baleares, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, other small islands of the Western Mediterranean and possibly along the Atlantic coast
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
of Iberia, although this is disputed. In the Baleares, Sardinia, Corsica and Sicily they had strong economic and political ties to the independent natives in the hinterland. Their naval presence and trade extended throughout the Mediterranean to the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, the Canaries
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, and West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. Famous technical achievements of the Punic people of Carthage include the development of uncolored glass and the use of lacustrine
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
to improve the purity of molten iron.
Most of the Punic culture was destroyed as a result of the Punic Wars
Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 B.C.E. to 146 B.C.E. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had ever taken place...
fought between Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
and 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...
from 264 to 146 BCE, while traces of language, religion and technology could still be found in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
during the early Christianisation, 325 to 650 CE. After the Punic Wars
Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 B.C.E. to 146 B.C.E. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had ever taken place...
, Romans used the term Punic as an adjective meaning treacherous.
In archaeological and linguistic usage Punic refers to a Hellenistic and later-era culture and dialect from 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...
that had developed into a distinct form from 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...
n of the mother city of Tyre. Phoenicians also settled in Northwest Africa (the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
) and other areas under Carthaginian rule and their culture and political organisation were a distinct form. Remains of the Punic culture can be found in settlements from the Iberian Peninsula
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...
in the West to Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
in the East.
814 BC to 146 BC
The Punic religion was based on that of their Phoenician forefathers, who worshiped Baal Hammon and MelqartMelqart
Melqart, properly Phoenician Milk-Qart "King of the City", less accurately Melkart, Melkarth or Melgart , Akkadian Milqartu, was tutelary god of the Phoenician city of Tyre as Eshmun protected Sidon. Melqart was often titled Ba‘l Ṣūr "Lord of Tyre", the ancestral king of the royal line...
but merged Phoenician ideas with Numidian deities and some Greek
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
and Egyptian, such as Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
, 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...
and Dionysis, with Baal Hammon being clearly the most important Punic deity. Punic culture became a melting pot, since Carthage was a big trading port in the known world but they retained some of their old cultural identities and practices, such as child sacrifice. This was not outside of regional norms, as many cultures of the time made human sacrifices, including the Greeks, Celts, and Romans.
The Punics carried out significant sea explorations around Africa and elsewhere from their base in Carthage. In the fifth century BC 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...
played a significant role in exploring coastal areas of present day Morocco and other parts of the African coast, specifically noting details of indigenous peoples such as at Mogador. Punics pushed westerly into the Atlantic and established important settlements in Lixus
Lixus
Lixus refers to the following things:* lixus, the Latin word for "boiled"* Lixus in Morocco* Lixus , a genus of true weevils...
, 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, among other locations.
Greek-Punic and Roman-Punic Wars
Being trade rivals with Magna Grecia, the Punics had several clashes with the Greeks over the island of SicilySicily
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,...
in the Greek-Punic Wars from 600 - 265 BCE. They eventually fought Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in the Roman-Punic Wars
Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 B.C.E. to 146 B.C.E. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had ever taken place...
, between 265 - 146 BCE, but lost due to being outnumbered, lack of full governmental involvement and reliance on their navy. This enabled a Roman settlement of Africa and eventual domination of the Mediterranean Sea. Cato the Elder
Cato the Elder
Marcus Porcius Cato was a Roman statesman, commonly referred to as Censorius , Sapiens , Priscus , or Major, Cato the Elder, or Cato the Censor, to distinguish him from his great-grandson, Cato the Younger.He came of an ancient Plebeian family who all were noted for some...
famously ended all his speeches, regardless of subject, with the imperative that Carthage be utterly crushed, a view summarised in Latin by the phrase Praeterea censeo Carthaginem esse delendam meaning, "Moreover, I declare, Carthage must be destroyed!". They were eventually incorporated into the Roman Republic in 146 BC with the destruction of Carthage but Cato never got to see his victory, having died in 149 BC.
146 BC to 700 AD
The annexation of Carthage wasn't the end of the Punics. After the wars, the vicinity of Carthage was placed under a curse by the Romans, so that no one would live there and the place would not be repopulated. There were, however, other Punic cities in North Africa. Although the area was partially romanized and the some of the population adopted the Roman religion (while fusing it with aspects of their beliefs and customs), the language and the ethnicity persisted for some time. People of Punic origin prospered again as traders, merchants and even politicians of the Roman EmpireRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Carthage was rebuilt about 46 BC by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. Places in the area were granted for settlement as benefits to soldiers that had served in Roman armies. Carthage again prospered and even became the number two trading city in the Roman Empire, until Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
took over that position. As Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
spread in the Roman Empire, it was especially successful in Northern Africa. Carthage became a Christian city even before Christianity was legal. It is possible that Saint Augustine himself was Punic, as he was aware of Punic words. One of his more well known passages reads: "It is an excellent thing that the Punic Christians call Baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
itself nothing else but salvation, and the Sacrament of Christ's Body nothing else but life." ("Forgiveness and the Just Deserts of Sins, and the Baptism of Infants", 1.24.34, AD 412)
The last remains of a distinct Punic culture probably disappeared somewhere in the chaos during the Fall of Rome. The demographic and cultural characteristics of the region were thoroughly transformed by turbulent events such as the Vandals
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
' wars with Byzantines, the forced population movements that followed and the Arabic conquest in the 7th century.
Noted Punic
- Septimus Severus (Roman emperor from the mainly Punic LibyaLibyaLibya 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....
n city of Lepcis Magna, founded by PhoeniciaPhoeniciaPhoenicia , 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) - CaracallaCaracallaCaracalla , was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he murdered the latter in 211...
, his son - TertullianTertullianQuintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian , was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and...
, an early ChristianChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
theologian (born in the highly multiethnic, Phoenician-founded city of 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...
) - Vibia Perpetua (early Christian martyr, also born in 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...
) - CyprianCyprianCyprian was bishop of Carthage and an important Early Christian writer, many of whose Latin works are extant. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education...
(also born in 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...
) - Hannibal, greatest Carthaginian general
See also
- Phoenician languagesPhoenician languagesPhoenician was a language originally spoken in the coastal region then called "Canaan" in Phoenician, Arabic, Hebrew, and Aramaic, "Phoenicia" in Greek and Latin, and "Pūt" in Ancient Egyptian. Phoenician is a Semitic language of the Canaanite subgroup; its closest living relative is Hebrew, to...
- 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...
- 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...
- PoenulusPoenulusPoenulus, also called The Little Carthaginian or The Puny Punic, is a Latin comedic play for the early Roman theatre by Titus Maccius Plautus. The play is noteworthy for containing text in Carthaginian Punic, spoken by the character Hanno in the fifth act.-Plot:Agorastocles is in love with...
("The Puny Punic"), a comedy by PlautusPlautusTitus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus...
, shows the vision the Romans had of Punics. A number of lines are in the Punic language. - PunicaPunicaPunica is a small genus of fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small trees. Its best known species is the pomegranate . The only other species in the genus, the Socotra pomegranate , is endemic on the island of Socotra...
, the genus of pomegranatePomegranateThe 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...
s, known to Romans as mala punica ("the Punic apple").