The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians [1] (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), [2] were a Semitic people who migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean [3] during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term Punic, the Latin equivalent of the Greek-derived term Phoenician, is exclusively used to refer to Phoenicians in the western Mediterranean, following the line of the Greek East and Latin West. The largest Punic settlement was Ancient Carthage, but there were 300 other settlements along the North African coast from Leptis Magna in modern Libya to Mogador in southern Morocco, [4] as well as western Sicily, southern Sardinia, the southern and eastern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, Malta, and Ibiza. Their language, Punic, was a variety of Phoenician, one of the Northwest Semitic languages originating in the Levant. [5]
Literary sources report two moments of Tyrian [ citation needed ] settlements in the west, the first in the 12th century BC (the cities Utica, Lixus, and Gadir) that hasn't been confirmed by archaeology, and a second at the end of the 9th century BC, documented in written references in both east and west, which culminated in the foundation of colonies in northwest Africa (the cities Auza, Carthage, and Kition) [6] and formed part of trading networks linked to Tyre, Arvad, Byblos, Berytus, Ekron, and Sidon in the Phoenician homeland. Although links with Phoenicia were retained throughout their history, they also developed close trading relations with other peoples of the western Mediterranean, such as Sicilians, Sardinians, Berbers, Greeks, and Iberians, and developed some cultural traits distinct from those of their Phoenician homeland. Some of these were shared by all western Phoenicians, while others were restricted to individual regions within the Punic sphere.
The western Phoenicians were arranged into a multitude of self-governing city-states. Carthage had grown to be the largest and most powerful of these city-states by the 5th century BC and gained increasingly close control over Punic Sicily and Sardinia in the 4th century BC, but communities in Iberia remained outside their control until the second half of the 3rd century BC. In the course of the Punic wars (264–146 BC), the Romans challenged Carthaginian hegemony in the western Mediterranean, culminating in the destruction of Carthage in 146 BC, but the Punic language and Punic culture endured under Roman rule, surviving in some places until late antiquity.
The English adjective "Punic" is used in modern academic writing to refer to the western Phoenicians. The proper nouns "Punics" and "Punes" were used in the 16th century, but are obsolete and there is no proper noun in current use. "Punic" derives from the Latin poenus and punicus , which were used mostly to refer to the Carthaginians and other western Phoenicians. These terms derived from the Ancient Greek word Φοῖνιξ ("Phoinix"), plural form Φοίνικες ("Phoinikes"), which was used indiscriminately to refer to both western and eastern Phoenicians. Latin later borrowed the Greek term a second time as "Phoenix", plural form "Phoenices", also used indiscriminately. [7]
Numismatic evidence from Sicily shows that some western Phoenicians made use of the term "Phoinix", [8] but it is not clear what term (if any) they used for themselves; they may have called themselves 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍𐤌 (knʿnm, "Canaanites"). [9] A passage from Augustine has often been interpreted as indicating that they called themselves Canaanites (Chanani in Latin), [10] Augustine writes:
When our rural peasants are asked what they are, they reply, in Punic, "Chanani", which is only a corruption by one letter of the alphabet of what we would expect: What else should they reply except that they are "Chananei"? [11]
It has been argued by J.C. Quinn that this is a misreading, [12] since although this term is "applied to Levantine people" in the Hebrew Bible, "there is no other evidence for self-identification as Canaanite, and so we might suspect him of learned optimism." [13] However, this opinion is not shared by all scholars. [14]
In modern academic writing, the term Punic exclusively refers to Phoenicians in the western Mediterranean. Specific Punic groups are often referred to with hyphenated names, like Siculo-Punic or Sardo-Punic. (This practice has ancient roots: Hellenistic Greek authors sometimes referred to the Punic inhabitants of central northern Africa (Libya) as Liby-Phoenicians.)
Like other Phoenician people, their urbanized culture and economy were strongly linked to the sea. They settled over Northwest Africa in what is now Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya and established some colonies in Southern Iberia, Sardinia, Sicily, Ebusus, Malta and other small islands of the western Mediterranean. In Sardinia 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 and beyond, to Atlantic Iberia, the British Isles, the Canaries. [15]
Technical achievements of the Punic people of Carthage include the development of uncolored glass and the use of limestone from lakeside deposits to improve the purity of smelted iron.
The Punic religion was a direct continuation of the Phoenician variety of the polytheistic ancient Canaanite religion. At Carthage, the chief gods were Baal Hammon (purportedly "Lord of the Brazier") [16] and his consort Tanit, but other deities are attested, such as Eshmun, Melqart, [17] Ashtart, Reshef, Sakon, and Shamash. [18] The Carthaginians also adopted the Greek goddesses Demeter and Kore in 396 BC, [19] as well as the Egyptian deities Bes, Bastet, Isis, Osiris, and Ra. [20] [21] [22] Different Punic centres had their own distinct pantheons; in Punic Sardinia, for example, Sid or Sid Babi (known to the Romans as Sardus Pater and apparently an indigenous deity) received worship as the son of Melqart and was particularly associated with the island. [23]
The Carthaginians appear to have had both part-time and full-time priests, the latter called khnm (singular khn, cognate with the Hebrew term kohen), led by high priests called rb khnm, as well as lower-ranking religious officials, called "servants" or "slaves" of the sanctuary (male: ˤbd, female: ˤbdt or mt), and functionaries like cooks, butchers, singers, and barbers. [24] [25] Sanctuaries had associations, referred to as mrzḥ in Punic and Neo-Punic inscriptions, who held ritual banquets. [25] Some Phoenician communities practiced sacred prostitution; in the Punic sphere this is archeologically attested at Sicca Veneria (El Kef) in western Tunisia and the sanctuary of Venus Erycina at Eryx in western Sicily. [25] Punic sacred prostitution is mentioned by Latin author Valerius Maximus, who describes how Carthaginian women gained gifts by engaging in prostitution with visitors at Sicca Veneria. [26]
Various Greek and Roman sources describe and criticize the Carthaginian practice of sacrificing children by burning. [27] Many ancient Greek and Latin authors describe some version of child sacrifice to "Cronos" (Baal Hammon). [28] [29] These descriptions were compared to those found in the Hebrew Bible describing the sacrifice of children by burning to Baal and Moloch at a place called Tophet . [28] The ancient descriptions were seemingly confirmed by the discovering of the so-called Tophet of Salammbô in Carthage in 1921, which contained the urns of cremated children. [30] However, modern historians and archaeologists debate the reality and extent of this practice. [31] [32] Some scholars propose that all remains at the tophet were sacrificed, whereas others propose that only some were. [33]
Tunisia was among the areas settled during the first wave of Phoenician expansion into the west, with the foundation of Utica and Hippo Regius taking place around the end of the twelfth century. [34] Further Phoenician settlements, were established in the following centuries, including Hippo Diarrhytus [35] and Hadrumetum. [36]
The foundation of Carthage on the site of modern Tunis is dated to the late 9th century BC by Greek literary sources and archaeological evidence. The literary sources attribute the foundation to a group of Tyrian refugees led by Dido and accompanied by Cypriots. Archaeologically, the new foundation is characterised by the focus of religious cult on the gods Tanit and Baal Hammon, by the development of a new religious structure, the tophet, and by a marked degree of cosmopolitanism. [37]
Carthage gained direct control over the Cap Bon peninsula, operating a sandstone quarry at El Haouaria from the middle of the seventh city and establishing the city of Kerkouane in the early sixth century. [38] The region was very fertile and allowed Carthage to be economically self-sufficient. [39] The site of Kerkouane has been extensively excavated and provides the best-known example of a Punic city from North Africa.
Punic control also extended inland over the Libyans. Punic influence on inland regions is seen from the early 6th century, notably at Althiburos, where Punic construction techniques and red-slip pottery appear at the time. [38] Armed conflicts with the Libyans are first attested in the early 5th century, with several revolts attested in the fourth century (398, 370s, 310-307 BC). In the late 4th century, Aristotle reports that the Carthaginians dealt with local discontent by resettling poor citizens in cities in Libya. [40] [41] These settlements had to provide tribute and military manpower when required, but remained self-governing. There is some onomastic evidence for intermarriage between Punic people and Libyans in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. [42]
From the 8th century BC, Phoenicians founded several cities and strongholds on strategic points in the south and west of Sardinia, often peninsulas or islands near estuaries, easy to defend and natural harbours, such as Tharros, Bithia, Sulci, Nora and Caralis (Cagliari). The north, the eastern coast and the interior of the island continued to be dominated by the indigenous Nuragic civilization, whose relations with the Sardo-Punic cities were mixed, including both trade and military conflict. Intermarriage and cultural mixing took place on a large scale. The inhabitants of the Sardo-Punic cities were a mixture of Phoenician and Nuragic stock, with the latter forming the majority of the population. [43] [44] Sardinia had a special position because it was central in the western Mediterranean between Carthage, Spain, the river Rhône, and Etruria. Iglesiente was an important mining area for the metals lead and zinc.
The island came under Carthaginian dominance around 510 BC, after that a first attempt at conquest in 540 BC that ended in failure. [45] They expanded their influence to the western and southern coast from Bosa to Caralis, consolidating the existing Phoenician settlements, administered by plenipotentiaries called Suffetes, and founding new ones such as Olbia, Cornus, and Neapolis; [46] Tharros was probably the main centre. [46] Carthage encouraged the cultivation of grain and cereals and prohibited fruit trees. [47] Tharros, Nora, Bithia, Monte Sirai etc. are now important archaeological sites where Punic architecture and city planning can be studied.
In 238 BC, following the First Punic War the Romans took over the whole island, incorporating it into the province of Corsica et Sardinia, under a praetor. The existing power structures, infrastructure, and urbanized culture continued largely unchanged. In 216 BC, two Sardo-Punic notables from Cornus and Tharros, Hampsicora and Hanno, led a revolt against the Romans. [48] Punic culture remained strong during the first centuries of the Roman domination, but over time the civic elites adopted Roman cultural practices and Latin became first the prestige language, and later the speech of the majority of the inhabitants. [49]
The island of Ibiza derives its name from Phoenician : 𐤀𐤁𐤔𐤌, ʾBŠM, [50] "Dedicated to Bes". [51] [52] (Latin Ebusus). A city, the Sa Caleta Phoenician Settlement, which has been excavated, was established in the mid-seventh century. Diodorus dates this foundation to 654 BC and attributes it to the Carthaginians. [53] [54]
From the 11th century BC, Phoenician merchants, sailors, and artisans begin to settle in western Sicily, having already started colonies on the nearby parts of North Africa. Within a century, they established major Phoenician settlements at Soloeis (Solunto), present day Palermo and Motya (an island near present-day Marsala). Others included Drepana (Trapani) and Mazara del Vallo.
As Carthage later grew in power, these settlements sometimes came into conflict with them, such as Motya, and Phoenician city-states in western Sicily were eventually fully integrated into Carthage by the 6th century BC.
The Phoenicians integrated with the local Elymian population as shown in archaeology as a distinctive "West Phoenician cultural identity". [55]
It is unclear when the Phoenicians began to seriously colonize North Africa. Writers in antiquity, such as Pliny the Elder, [56] dated the beginning of the colonization efforts to the 12th and 11th centuries BC, as several legends describe interactions between Phoenician colonists and famous figures from the Trojan War, such as Aeneas. Archaeological evidence, on the other hand, generally implies that the colonies began in the 8th century BC as, barring a few exceptional sites,[ which? ] any material evidence of Phoenician habitation before this time period is lacking.
The Phoenician colonial system was motivated by economic opportunity, not expansionist ideology, and as such, the Phoenicians lacked the numbers or even the desire to establish an "empire" overseas. The colonies were therefore independent city-states, though most were relatively small, probably having a population of less than 1,000. Some colonies, such as Carthage, were able to grow much larger. [57] Effectively establishing a monopoly on the continent's natural resources, the colonies' wealth exploded, which was compounded by an influx of Phoenician traders fleeing from increasing tributary obligations to foreign powers and trade interference. [58] [59] [60]
Within a century, the population of Carthage rose to 30,000, meanwhile, the "mother city" of Tyre, once the economic and political capital of Phoenicia, began to lose its status in the seventh century BC. [61] Phoenicia was eventually conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, [62] [63] by which point Carthage had become the wealthiest and most powerful of all the Phoenician colonies. Around this time, a distinct culture began to emerge from the admixture of local customs with Phoenician traditions, which also gave rise to a nascent sense of national identity. Tyre's status and power continued to diminish under Neo-Assyrian, and subsequently Neo-Babylonian, vassalage, and by the sixth century BC, its voluntary submission to the Achaemenid Empire had severely circumscribed what little power it retained. Its status as the pre-eminent Phoenician city was then usurped by its rival city-state, Sidon – but Sidon too was under Persian subjugation, leading the way for Carthage to fill the power vacuum as the leading Phoenician political power.
With Phoenicia's decline, Carthage had become effectively independent from Tyre by 650 BC. Carthaginians carried out significant sea explorations around Africa and elsewhere from their base in Carthage. In the 5th 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 Essaouira. [64] [65] Carthaginians pushed westerly into the Atlantic and established important settlements in Lixus, Volubilis, Chellah, and Mogador, among other locations.
Being trade rivals with Magna Graecia, the Carthaginians had several clashes with the Greeks over the island of Sicily in the Sicilian Wars from 600 to 265 BC. The Carthaginians eventually also fought Rome in three Punic Wars between 265 and 146 BC but they were defeated in each one. In the First Punic War, they lost control of Sicily. In the Second Punic War, an invasion of Italy by Hannibal was unsuccessful in forcing the Romans to surrender and the Carthaginians were subsequently defeated by Scipio Africanus in Spain and at the Battle of Zama in northern Africa in 202 BC, marking the end of Carthage's position as a major Mediterranean power. Finally, in the Third Punic War, Carthage was destroyed in 146 BC. Victory in the Punic Wars enabled Roman settlement of Africa and eventual domination of the entire Mediterranean Sea.
The destruction of Carthage did not mean the end of the Punic people. After the wars, the city of Carthage was completely razed and the land around it was turned into farmland for Roman citizens. There were, however, other Punic cities in northwest Africa, and Carthage itself was rebuilt and regained some importance, if a shadow of its ancient influence. Although the area was partially romanized and 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.[ citation needed ]
The cult to Baal Hammon, and the consequent sacrifice of children, though banned by Rome, [66] continued openly under the guise of worshipping Saturn until at least the proconsulate of Tiberius Iulius Secundus in Africa (131–132). This is attested by Tertullian in his Apologeticus , where he reports that Tiberius crucified the priests of "Saturn" on the same trees they consecrated to the god. Tertullian also mentions the goddess Juno Caelestis as a romanization of Tanit. [67] [68]
Carthage was rebuilt about 46 BC by Julius Caesar, and settlements in the surrounding area were granted to soldiers who had retired from the Roman army. People of Punic origin prospered again as traders, merchants and even politicians of the Roman Empire. The emperor Septimius Severus had Punic ancestry. [69]
As Christianity spread in the Roman Empire, it was especially successful in northwest Africa, and Carthage became a Christian city even before Christianity was legal. Saint Augustine, born in Thagaste (modern-day Algeria), considered himself Punic, and left some important reflections on Punic cultural history in his writing. [70] [ full citation needed ] 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'. [71]
Augustine is the last ancient writer to indicate that the Punic language was widely spoken. [72] The last remains of a distinct Punic culture probably disappeared somewhere in the chaos during the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The demographic and cultural characteristics of the region were thoroughly transformed by turbulent events such as the Vandals' wars with Byzantines and the population movements that followed, as well as the Muslim conquest of North Africa in the 7th century AD. [73] After the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, the geographer al-Bakri described a people who spoke a language which was not Berber, Latin, or Coptic, [74] living in Sirte, where spoken Punic survived well past written use. [75] Whether this refers to some remnant Punic population is uncertain; if it does, it represents the last known record of the people's existence.
In 1994, a Punic burial crypt was discovered on Byrsa Hill, near the entry to the National Museum of Carthage in Tunisia. Inside this crypt were the remains of a young man along with a range of burial goods, all dating to the late 6th century BCE. An osteological analysis of the young man from Byrsa, or Ariche, as he has become known, determined that he was approximately 1.7 m tall and aged between 19 and 24 years, and a craniometric analysis indicated likely Mediterranean/European ancestry as opposed to African or Asian. In 2016, it was revealed that the individual belonged to the rare U5b2c1 (found in Spain), which is the earliest evidence of this European lineage in North Africa. [76]
Mitochondrial analysis of 10 Punic samples from the necropolis of Tharros in Sardinia (5th – 3rd century BC) shows affinities with North African and Iberian populations. [77]
A recent genetic study has linked haplogroups E-M81, E-FGC18960 and E-V65 to the diffusion of the Phoenician language in the Western Mediterranean. According to Penninx (2019):
Recent genetics studies based on Ancient DNA showed that Punic people from Sardinia, Ibiza, South Iberia and Italy had strong genetic relationships to ancient north African and eastern Mediterranean sources.
Zalloua, P., Collins, C.J., Gosling, A. et al. in 2018 showed that Eastern Mediterranean and North African influence in the Punic population of Ibiza was primarily male dominated. [79]
According to Olalde et al. (2018): [80]
According to Fernandes et al. (2020): [81]
Iran_Ganj_Dareh_Neolithic
and 89.2 ± 2.7% Morocco_LN
ancestry)."According to Marcus et al. (2020): [82]
Two other studies published in 2021 in the journal Annals of Human Biology also show a strong genetic proximity with the populations of North Africa of several individuals from Sardinia and Italy. According to Sarno, Cillion, de Fanti, et al. (2021):
Accorging to de Angelis, Veltre, Romboni, et al. (2021):
In 2022, [85] 30 ancient individuals from Carthaginian and Etruscan port cities around the central Mediterranean, in Tunisia, Sardinia, and central Italy were sequenced. In Tunisia a highly heterogeneous population was observed in Kerkouane, spanning from modern Mozabite populations to modern Sicilian populations, consisting of three primary genetic clusters. One of the genetic groups includes four individuals who have genetic continuity with preceding Maghrebi neolithic farmers, suggesting that these individuals represent an autochthonous North African population. One individual can be modeled with 100% Morocco Late Neolithic farmer ancestry, while three individuals can be modeled predominantly with this component, along with the addition of Steppe-related ancestry. A second cluster contains seven individuals who are genetically similar to Bronze Age Sicilian and central Italian populations, as well as some individuals from the Hellenistic Iberian Greek colony of Empúries. A last individual, who projects near modern Mozabite and Moroccan populations in PCA space can be modelled with a combination Morocco Early Neolithic and Anatolia Neolithic ancestry. When compared to other ancient individuals, this individual forms a clade with ancient Canary Island inhabitants thought to be representative of the original founding population. Surprisingly, no individuals with large amounts of Levantine ancestry were detected in this group of Tunisian Punics. One possible explanation is that the colonial expansion of Phoenician city-states at the start of the Iron Age did not involve large amounts of population mobility, and may have been based on trade relationships rather than occupation. According to the authors:
Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classical world. It became the capital city of the civilization of Ancient Carthage and later Roman Carthage.
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and greatest naval war of antiquity, the two powers struggled for supremacy. The war was fought primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters, and also in North Africa. After immense losses on both sides, the Carthaginians were defeated and Rome gained territory from Carthage.
The Second Punic War was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Italy and Iberia, but also on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia and, towards the end of the war, in North Africa. After immense materiel and human losses on both sides, the Carthaginians were once again defeated. Macedonia, Syracuse and several Numidian kingdoms were drawn into the fighting, and Iberian and Gallic forces fought on both sides. There were three main military theatres during the war: Italy, where Hannibal defeated the Roman legions repeatedly, with occasional subsidiary campaigns in Sicily, Sardinia and Greece; Iberia, where Hasdrubal, a younger brother of Hannibal, defended the Carthaginian colonial cities with mixed success before moving into Italy; and Africa, where Rome finally won the war.
Archaeological evidence of prehistoric human settlement on the island of Sardinia is present in the form of nuraghes and other prehistoric monuments, which dot the land. The recorded history of Sardinia begins with its contacts with the various people who sought to dominate western Mediterranean trade in classical antiquity: Phoenicians, Punics and Romans. Initially under the political and economic alliance with the Phoenician cities, it was partly conquered by Carthage in the late 6th century BC and then entirely by Rome after the First Punic War. The island was included for centuries in the Roman province of Sardinia and Corsica, which would be incorporated into the diocese of Italia suburbicaria in 3rd and 7th centuries.
The history of North Africa during the period of classical antiquity can be divided roughly into the history of Egypt in the east, the history of ancient Libya in the middle and the history of Numidia and Mauretania in the west.
In the Hebrew Bible, Tophet or Topheth is a location in Jerusalem in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna), where worshipers engaged in a ritual involving "passing a child through the fire", most likely child sacrifice. Traditionally, the sacrifices have been ascribed to a god named Moloch. The Bible condemns and forbids these sacrifices, and the tophet is eventually destroyed by king Josiah, although mentions by the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah suggest that the practices associated with the tophet may have persisted.
The Province of Sardinia and Corsica was an ancient Roman province including the islands of Sardinia and Corsica.
Tharros was an ancient city and former bishopric on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy.
The naval Battle of Alalia took place between 540 BC and 535 BC off the coast of Corsica between Greeks and the allied Etruscans and Carthaginians. A Greek force of 60 Phocaean ships defeated a Punic-Etruscan fleet of 120 ships while emigrating to the western Mediterranean and the nearby colony of Alalia.
The Punic religion, Carthaginian religion, or Western Phoenician religion in the western Mediterranean was a direct continuation of the Phoenician variety of the polytheistic ancient Canaanite religion. However, significant local differences developed over the centuries following the foundation of Carthage and other Punic communities elsewhere in North Africa, southern Spain, Sardinia, western Sicily, and Malta from the ninth century BC onward. After the conquest of these regions by the Roman Republic in the third and second centuries BC, Punic religious practices continued, surviving until the fourth century AD in some cases. As with most cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, Punic religion suffused their society and there was no stark distinction between religious and secular spheres. Sources on Punic religion are poor. There are no surviving literary sources and Punic religion is primarily reconstructed from inscriptions and archaeological evidence. An important sacred space in Punic religion appears to have been the large open air sanctuaries known as tophets in modern scholarship, in which urns containing the cremated bones of infants and animals were buried. There is a long-running scholarly debate about whether child sacrifice occurred at these locations, as suggested by Greco-Roman and biblical sources.
The military of Carthage was one of the largest military forces in the ancient world. Although Carthage's navy was always its main military force, the army acquired a key role in the spread of Carthaginian power over the native peoples of northern Africa and southern Iberian Peninsula from the 6th century BC and the 3rd century BC. Carthage's military also allowed it to expand into Sardinia and the Balearic Islands. This expansion transformed the military from a body of citizen-soldiers into a multinational force composed of a combination of allies, citizens and foreign mercenary units.
The Sicilian Wars, or Greco-Punic Wars, were a series of conflicts fought between ancient Carthage and the Greek city-states led by Syracuse over control of Sicily and the western Mediterranean between 580 and 265 BC.
The Treaty of Lutatius was the agreement between Carthage and Rome of 241 BC, that ended the First Punic War after 23 years of conflict. Most of the fighting during the war took place on, or in the waters around, the island of Sicily and in 241 BC a Carthaginian fleet was defeated by a Roman fleet commanded by Gaius Lutatius Catulus while attempting to lift the blockade of its last, beleaguered, strongholds there. Accepting defeat, the Carthaginian Senate ordered their army commander on Sicily, Hamilcar Barca, to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romans, on whatever terms he could negotiate. Hamilcar refused, claiming the surrender was unnecessary, and the negotiation of the peace terms was left to Gisco, the commander of Lilybaeum, as the next most senior Carthaginian on the island. A draft treaty was rapidly agreed upon, but when it was referred to Rome for ratification it was rejected.
The city of Carthage was founded in the 9th century BC on the coast of Northwest Africa, in what is now Tunisia, as one of a number of Phoenician settlements in the western Mediterranean created to facilitate trade from the city of Tyre on the coast of what is now Lebanon. The name of both the city and the wider republic that grew out of it, Carthage developed into a significant trading empire throughout the Mediterranean. The date from which Carthage can be counted as an independent power cannot exactly be determined, and probably nothing distinguished Carthage from the other Phoenician colonies in Northwest Africa and the Mediterranean during 800–700 BC. By the end of the 7th century BC, Carthage was becoming one of the leading commercial centres of the West Mediterranean region. After a long conflict with the emerging Roman Republic, known as the Punic Wars, Rome finally destroyed Carthage in 146 BC. A Roman Carthage was established on the ruins of the first. Roman Carthage was eventually destroyed—its walls torn down, its water supply cut off, and its harbours made unusable—following its conquest by Arab invaders at the close of the 7th century. It was replaced by Tunis as the major regional centre, which has spread to include the ancient site of Carthage in a modern suburb.
Carthaginian Iberia was a province of the larger Carthaginian Empire. The Carthaginians conquered the Mediterranean part of Iberia and remained there until the 2nd Punic war and the Roman conquest of the peninsula.
Ancient Carthage was an ancient Semitic civilisation based in North Africa. Initially a settlement in present-day Tunisia, it later became a city-state, and then an empire. Founded by the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC, Carthage reached its height in the fourth century BC as one of the largest metropoleis in the world. It was the centre of the Carthaginian Empire, a major power led by the Punic people who dominated the ancient western and central Mediterranean Sea. Following the Punic Wars, Carthage was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC, who later rebuilt the city lavishly.
In several ancient Semitic-speaking cultures and associated historical regions, the shopheṭ or shofeṭ was a community leader of significant civic stature, often functioning as a chief magistrate with authority roughly equivalent to Roman consular powers.
The Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon. They developed a maritime civilization which expanded and contracted throughout history, with the core of their culture stretching from Arwad in modern Syria to Mount Carmel. The Phoenicians extended their cultural influence through trade and colonization throughout the Mediterranean, from Cyprus to the Iberian Peninsula, evidenced by thousands of Phoenician inscriptions.
Hampsicora was a Sardo-Punic political leader and landowner of Sardinia, and the leader of the major anti-Roman revolt in the province of 215 BC.
The history of Phoenician and Carthaginian Sardinia deals with two different historical periods between the 9th century BC and the 3rd century BC concerning the peaceful arrival on the island of the first Phoenician merchants and their integration into the Nuragic civilization by bringing new knowledge and technologies, and the subsequent Carthaginian presence aimed at exploiting mineral resources of the Iglesiente and controlling the fertile plains of the Campidano.
5th century B. C
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