Site of Carthage*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Tunisia
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, vi
Reference	37
Region†	Arab States
Inscription history
Inscription	1979  (3rd Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Carthage (Greek: Καρχηδών: Karkhēdōn, Latin: Carthago, from the Phoenician קרת חדשת Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers both to an ancient city in Tunisia and to the civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex As of 2008 there are a total of 878 World Heritage Sites located in 145 "State Parties" Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Phoenician was a language originally spoken in the coastal region then called Pūt in Ancient Egyptian Canaan in Phoenician, Hebrew, and Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. The city of Carthage is located on the eastern side of Lake Tunis across from the center of Tunis. The Lake of Tunis ( البحيرة El Bahira, 'Lac de Tunis' is a natural Lagoon located between the Tunisian capital city of Tunis Tunis ( Arabic: تونس Tūnis) is the Capital of the Tunisian Republic and also the Tunis According to legend it was founded by Phoenician colonists under the leadership of Elissa (Queen Dido). Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Dido was according to Greek and Roman sources the founder and first Queen of Carthage (in modern-day Tunisia) It became a large and rich city and thus a major power of the Mediterranean until its destruction in the Third Punic War in 146 BC. The Third Punic War ( 149 BC to 146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage Although the center of the Punic culture was destroyed, it continued into Roman times. Rome also refounded Carthage, which became one of the three most important cities of the Empire, a position that would last until the Muslim conquest when it was destroyed a second time in 698. Today Carthage is being resettled as a suburb of Tunis.

Contents 1 Topography 2 History 2.1 Question 2.2 Foundation 2.3 Legends of the foundation 2.3.1 Queen Elissa 2.3.2 Queen Dido 2.4 Carthaginian Empire 2.4.1 Army 2.4.2 Navy 2.4.3 Fall 2.5 Roman Carthage 2.6 Arabs 3 Culture 3.1 Language 3.2 Commerce 3.3 Government 3.4 Carthaginian ethnicity and citizenship 4 Religion 4.1 Pantheon 4.2 Caste of priests and acolytes 4.3 Punic stelae 4.4 Child sacrifice 5 Modern times 6 References 7 Sources 7.1 Religion 7.2 Navy 8 See also 9 External links

Topography

Carthage was built on a promontory with inlets to the sea to the north and south. The city's location made it master of the Mediterranean's maritime trade. All ships crossing the sea had to pass between Sicily and the coast of Tunisia, where Carthage was built, affording it great power and influence. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy.

Two large, artificial harbors were built within the city, one for harboring the city's massive navy of 220 warships and the other for mercantile trade. A walled tower overlooked both harbors.

The city had massive walls, 23 miles (37 kilometers) in length, longer than the walls of comparable cities. Most of the walls were located on the shore, and thus could be less impressive as Carthaginian control of the sea made attack from that direction difficult. The 2½–3 miles (4–4. 8 kilometers) of wall on the isthmus to the west were truly large and in fact were never penetrated. An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas

The city had a huge necropolis or burial ground, religious area, market places, council house, towers, and a theatre, and was divided into four equally-sized residential areas with the same layout. A necropolis (plural necropoleis or necropoles) is a large Cemetery or burial place (from Greek nekropolis "city of the dead" Roughly in the middle of the city stood a high citadel called the Byrsa. It was one of the largest cities in Hellenistic times (by some estimates only Alexandria was larger) and was among the largest cities in pre-industrial history. This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period. Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια

History

Main article: History of Carthage

Question

The historical study of Carthage is problematic. The study of the history of Carthage is often problematic Due to the subjugation of the civilization by the Romans at the end of the Third Punic War, very few Carthaginian Because its culture and records were destroyed by the Romans at the end of the Third Punic War, very few Carthaginian primary historical sources survive. The Third Punic War ( 149 BC to 146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines In Historiography, a primary source (also called original source) is a Document, Recording There are a few ancient translations of Punic texts into Greek and Latin, as well as inscriptions on monuments and buildings discovered in North Africa. The Punics, (from Latin pūnicus meaning Phoenician were a group of Western Semitic speaking peoples originating from Carthage ^[1] However, the main sources are Greek and Roman historians, including Livy, Polybius, Appian, Cornelius Nepos, Silius Italicus, Plutarch, Dio Cassius, and Herodotus. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Titus Livius (traditionally 59 BC &ndash AD 17 known as Livy in English, was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories Cornelius Nepos (Κορνήλιος Νέπως in Ancient Greek literature (c Silius Italicus, in full Tiberius Catius Silius Italicus (25 or 26 - 101 was a Latin epic Poet. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus ( Greek:) (c 155 or 163/164 to after 229 known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash

The cultures of these authors were in competition and often in conflict with Carthage. Greek cities contested with Carthage for Sicily,^[2] and the Romans fought three Punic Wars against Carthage. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage between 264 and 146 BC and were probably the largest wars yet of the ancient ^[3] Inevitably, accounts of Carthage by outsiders include significant bias.

Recent excavation has brought much more primary material to light. Some of these finds contradict or confirm aspects of the traditional picture of Carthage, but much of the material is still ambiguous.

Foundation

Carthage was founded in 814 BC by Phoenician settlers from the city of Tyre, bringing with them the city-god Melqart. Events and trends 817 BC — Pedubastis I declares himself king of Egypt, founding the Twenty-third Dynasty. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew A tutelary spirit or patron deity serves as the guardian of or an entity to watch over and protect a particular site person culture or nation Melqart, properly Phoenician Milk-Qart "King of the City" less accurately Melkart, Melkarth ^[4]

Legends of the foundation

According to tradition, the city was founded by Queen Dido (or Elissa or Elissar) who fled Tyre following the murder of her husband in an attempt by her younger brother to bolster his own power. A number of foundation myths have survived through Greek and Roman literature, see Byrsa for one example. Greek literature refers to those writings autochthonic to the areas of Greek influence typically though not necessarily in one of the Greek dialects throughout the Latin literature, the body of written works in the Latin language remains an enduring legacy of the culture of Ancient Rome. Byrsa was the walled Citadel above the harbour in ancient Carthage.

Queen Elissa

Queen Elissa (also known as "Alissar", and by the Arabic name^[5] اليسار also اليسا and عليسا), who in later accounts became known as Queen Dido, was a princess of Tyre who founded Carthage. Dido was according to Greek and Roman sources the founder and first Queen of Carthage (in modern-day Tunisia) Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew At its peak, her metropolis came to be called the "shining city," ruling 300 other cities around the western Mediterranean and leading the Phoenician (or Punic) world.

Elissa was a princess of Tyre. Her brother, King Pygmalion of Tyre, had murdered her husband, the high priest. Elissa escaped the tyranny of her own country and founded the "new city" of Carthage and subsequently its later dominions. Details of her life are sketchy and confusing, but the following can be deduced from various sources. According to Justin, Princess Elissa was the daughter of King Matten of Tyre (also known as Muttoial or Belus II). When he died, the throne was jointly bequeathed to her and her brother, Pygmalion. She married her uncle Acherbas (also known as Sychaeus) the High Priest of Melqart, a man with both authority and wealth comparable to the king. Melqart, properly Phoenician Milk-Qart "King of the City" less accurately Melkart, Melkarth Pygmalion was a tyrant, lover of both gold and intrigue, who desired the authority and fortune enjoyed by Acherbas. Pygmalion assassinated Acherbas in the temple and kept the misdeed concealed from his sister for a long time, deceiving her with lies about her husband's death. At the same time, the people of Tyre called for a single sovereign, causing dissent within the royal family.

Queen Dido

In the Roman epic of Virgil, the Aeneid, Queen Dido, the Greek name for Queen Elissa, is first introduced as an extremely respected character in his legend. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or For the group of nine Ancient Egyptian deities see Ennead. The Aeneid (əˈniːɪd in Dido was according to Greek and Roman sources the founder and first Queen of Carthage (in modern-day Tunisia) In just seven years, since their exodus from Tyre, the Carthaginians have rebuilt a successful kingdom under her rule. Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew Her subjects adore her and present her with a festival of praise. Her character is perceived by Virgil as even more noble when she offers asylum to Aeneas and his men, who have recently escaped from Troy. This article is about the Roman hero For other uses see Aeneas (disambiguation. Troy ( Greek: grc Τροία Troia, also, Ilion; Latin: Trōia, Īlium, Hittite: Wilusa or The messenger god, Mercury, sent by Jupiter, reminds Aeneas that his mission is not to stay in Carthage with his new-found love, Dido, but to sail to Italy to found Rome. "Alipes" redirects here For the Centipede Genus, see Alipes (centipede. In Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods and the god of Sky and Thunder. Virgil ends his legend of Dido with the story that, when Aeneas tells Dido, her heart broken, she orders a pyre to be built where she falls upon Aeneas' sword. A pyre (from the Greek: πυρά pyrá, from πυρ pýr, fire is a structure usually made of Wood, for burning a body as part of a As she lay dying, she predicted eternal strife between Aeneas' people and her own: "rise up from my bones, avenging spirit" (4. 625, trans. Fitzgerald) she says, an obvious invocation of Hannibal. Hannibal (Pronounced in Phoenician: Hanniba'al means " Ba'al is my grace " or " Ba'al has given me grace " 247 BC &ndash

Carthaginian Empire

Main article: Carthaginian Empire

The Carthaginian Empire was one of the longest living and largest empires in the ancient Mediterranean. The Carthaginian Empire was an informal empire of Phoenician City-states throughout North Africa and modern Spain from 575 BC until 146 BC Reports state several wars with Syracuse and Rome, leading finally to the destruction of Punic Carthage during her third war with Rome.

Army

Main article: Punic Military Forces

According to Polybius, Carthage relied heavily, though not exclusively, on foreign mercenaries,^[6] especially in overseas warfare. The military forces of the Punic people are all military forces from the State of Carthage in North Africa and troops of Punic ethnicity after the destruction The core of its army was from its own territory in Africa (ethnic Libyans and Numidians, as well as "Liby-Phoenicians" — i. e. Punics proper). These troops were supported by mercenaries from different ethnic groups and geographic locations across the Mediterranean who fought in their own national units; Celtic, Balearic, and Iberian troops were especially common. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts Balearic is the name given collectively to the group of Catalan variants spoken in the Balearic Islands, Spain. Later, after the Barcid conquest of Iberia, Iberians came to form an even greater part of the Carthaginian forces. Carthage seems to have fielded a formidable cavalry force, especially in its African homeland; a significant part of it was composed of Numidian contingents of light cavalry. Other mounted troops were African Forest Elephants, trained for war, which were used for frontal assaults or as anti-cavalry protection and were used for many other uses. The African Forest Elephant ( Loxodonta cyclotis) was until recently considered a Subspecies of the African Bush Elephant ( Loxodonta africana An army could field up to several hundreds of these animals, but on most reported occasions less than a hundred were deployed. The riders of these elephants were armed with a spike and hammer to kill the elephants in case they charged toward their own army

Navy

The navy of Carthage was one of the largest in the Mediterranean, using serial production to maintain high numbers at moderate cost. Mass production (also called flow production, repetitive flow production, series production, or serial production) is the production of The reputation of her skilled sailors implies that there was in peacetime a training of oarsmen and coxswains, giving their navy a cutting edge in naval matters. The trade of Carthaginian merchantmen was by land across the Sahara and especially by sea throughout the Mediterranean and far into the Atlantic to the tin-rich islands of Britain and to West Africa. There is evidence that at least one Punic expedition under Hanno sailed along the West African coast to regions south of the Equator, describing how the sun was in the north at noon. Hanno the Navigator was a Carthaginian explorer who flourished c The equator (sometimes referred to colloquially as "the Line") is the intersection of the Earth 's surface with the plane perpendicular to the

Polybius wrote in the sixth book of his History that the Carthaginians were "more exercised in maritime affairs than any other people. Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories "^[7] Their navy included some 300 to 350 warships. The Romans, who had little experience in naval warfare prior to the First Punic War, managed to finally defeat Carthage with a combination of reverse engineering captured Carthaginian ships, recruitment of experienced Greek sailors from the ranks of its conquered cities, the unorthodox corvus device, and their superior numbers in marines and rowers. The First Punic War ( 264 to 241 BC) was the first of three major wars fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic. The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions A corvus (meaning "crow" or "raven" in Latin) or harpago (probably the correct ancient name) was a Roman military In the Third Punic War Polybius describes a tactical innovation of the Carthaginians, augmenting their few triremes with small vessels that carried hooks (to attack the oars) and fire (to attack the hulls). The Third Punic War ( 149 BC to 146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage With this new combination, they were able to stand their ground against the superior Roman numbers for a whole day.

Fall

The fall of Carthage was at the end of the Third Punic War in 146 BC. The Third Punic War ( 149 BC to 146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage ^[8] In spite of the initial devastating Roman naval losses at the beginning of the series of conflicts and Rome's recovery from the brink of defeat after the terror of a 15-year occupation of much of Italy by Hannibal, the end of the series of wars resulted in the end of Carthaginian power and the complete destruction of the city by Scipio Aemilianus. Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus (185 - 129 BC also known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a leading general and The Romans pulled the Phoenician warships out into the harbor and burned them before the city, and went from house to house, capturing and enslaving the people. Fifty thousand Carthaginians were sold into slavery. The institution of Slavery in ancient Rome increased those held to a condition of more than persons under their legal system. ^[9] The city was set ablaze, and in this way was razed with only ruins and rubble to field the aftermath. After the fall of Carthage, Rome annexed the majority of the Carthaginian colonies, including other North African locations such as Volubilis, Lixus, Chellah and Mogador. Volubilis (وليلي Walili) is an archaeological site in Morocco situated near Meknes between Fez and Rabat along the Chellah, or Chella, (شالة is a Necropolis and complex of ancient and Medieval Ruins that lie on the outskirts of Rabat, Essaouira (الصويرة eṣ-ṣauīrah formerly known as Mogador, its older name is a City / Wilaya and tourist resort in the western Moroccan ^[10] Through a series of misunderstandings, a belief that the Carthaginian farmland was salted to ensure that no crops could be grown there developed in the modern period. ^[11]

Roman Carthage

When Carthage fell, its nearby rival Utica, a Roman ally, was made capital of the region and replaced Carthage as the leading center of Punic trade and leadership. 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 It had the advantageous position of being situated on the Lake of Tunis and the outlet of the Majardah River, Tunisia's only river that flowed all year long. The Medjerda River (نهر مجردا (also known as the Wadi Majardah Wadi Medjerha Oued Majardah and Bagradas is a river in Algeria and Tunisia. However, grain cultivation in the Tunisian mountains caused large amounts of silt to erode into the river. Silt is Soil or rock derived Granular material of a Grain size between sand and clay This silt was accumulated in the harbor until it was made useless, and Rome was forced to rebuild Carthage.

By 122 BC, Gaius Gracchus founded a short-lived colonia, called Colonia Iunonia, after the Latin name for the punic goddess Tanit, Iuno caelestis. Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( Latin: C·SEMPRONIVS·TI·F·P·N·GRACCVS (154 BC-121 BC was a Roman politician of the 2nd century BC A Roman colonia (plural coloniae) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it The purpose was to obtain arable lands for impoverished farmers. The Senate abolished the colony some time later, in order to undermine Gracchus power. The Roman Senate was a political institution in Ancient Rome. After this ill-fated attempt, a new city of Carthage was built on the same land, and by the 1st century it had grown to the second largest city in the western half of the Roman empire, with a peak population of 500,000. The 1st century was the Century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial It was the center of the Roman province of Africa, which was a major breadbasket of the empire. The Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War.

Carthage also became a center of early Christianity. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings In the first of a string of rather poorly reported Councils at Carthage a few years later, no fewer than seventy bishops attended. Tertullian later broke with the mainstream that was represented more and more by the bishop of Rome, but a more serious rift among Christians was the Donatist controversy, which Augustine of Hippo spent much time and parchment arguing against. The Donatists (named for the Berber Christian Donatus Magnus) were followers of a belief considered a Schism by the broader churches of the In 397 at the Council at Carthage, the biblical canon for the western Church was confirmed. Synods of Carthage During the 3rd 4th and 5th centuries the town of Carthage in Africa served as the meeting-place of a large number of church synods of which however only A Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or Set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as Scripture by a particular religious

The political fallout from the deep disaffection of African Christians is supposedly a crucial factor in the ease with which Carthage and the other centres were captured in the 5th century by Gaiseric, king of the Vandals, who defeated the Roman general Bonifacius and made the city his capital. Geiseric the Lame (c 389 &ndash January 25, 477) also spelled as Gaiseric or Genseric, was the King of the Vandals The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial See also Saint Boniface (Bonifacius in Latin Comes Bonifacius (anglicized in Count Boniface) (d Gaiseric was considered a heretic too, an Arian, and though Arians commonly despised Catholic Christians, a mere promise of toleration might have caused the city's population to accept him. Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. After a failed attempt to recapture the city in the 5th century, the Byzantines finally subdued the Vandals in the 6th century.

During the emperor Maurice's reign, Carthage was made into an Exarchate, as was Ravenna in Italy. Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (Φλάβιος Μαυρίκιος Τιβέριος Αύγουστος Մավրիկ Mavrig; 539 &ndash November 27 This article is about Byzantine governors and ecclesiastical ranks Ravenna is a City and Comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest These two exarchates were the western bulwarks of Byzantium, all that remained of its power in the west. In the early 7th century, it was the Exarch of Carthage, Heraclius (of Armenian origin), who overthrew Emperor Phocas. Heraclius, or Herakleios (Flavius Heraclius Augustus;) (c 575 - February 11, 641) was a Byzantine Emperor, who ruled the East The Armenians (Հայեր Hayer) are a Nation and Ethnic group originating in the Caucasus and in the Armenian Highlands A large Flavius Phocas Augustus, (el Φωκάς Phokas; reigned 602–610 called the Tyrant, usurped the Byzantine throne from the Emperor Maurice

Arabs

The Byzantine Exarchate was not, however, able to withstand the Muslim conquerors of the 7th century. The initial Arab Muslim conquests (632–732 (فتح Fatah, literally opening, also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik in 686 AD sent a force led by Zuhayr ibn Qais who won a battle over Byzantines and Berbers led by Kusaila, on the Qairawan plain, but could not follow that up. Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (646-705 (عبد الملك بن مروان was the 5th Umayyad Caliph. Events By Place Europe The Kingdom of Kent is attacked and conquered by West Saxons under Caedwalla. Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. Kusaila (? - 690 (also spelled Kusayla, Kosaila, Koceila in French spelling or Kasila (the preferred pronunciation by modern researchers Kairouan ( Arabic القيروان (also known as Kirwan, Al Qayrawan) is a Muslim holy city which ranks after Mecca, Medina In 695 AD Hasan ibn al-Nu'man captured Carthage and advanced into the Atlas Mountains. Events By Place Byzantine Empire The people of Byzantium revolt against Justinian II. Hasān ibn an-Nu'mān al-Ghassānī (حسن ابن النعمان الغساني (d The Atlas Mountains ( Kabyle: Idurar n leṭles جبال الأطلس) is a Mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about 2400 A Byzantine fleet arrived, retook Carthage but in 698 AD Hasan ibn al-Nu'man returned and defeated Tiberios III at the Battle of Carthage. Events By Place Byzantine Empire Tiberius III deposes Leontius and becomes Byzantine Emperor. Hasān ibn an-Nu'mān al-Ghassānī (حسن ابن النعمان الغساني (d Tiberios III or Tiberius III ( Greek: Τιβέριος Γ' (d The Battle of Carthage was fought in 698 CE between a Byzantine expeditionary force and the armies of the Umayyad Caliphate. The Byzantines withdrew from all of Africa except Ceuta. Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, which The Roman Carthage was destroyed, just as the Romans had done in 146 BC. Carthage was replaced by Tunis as the major regional center. Tunis ( Arabic: تونس Tūnis) is the Capital of the Tunisian Republic and also the Tunis The destruction of the Exarchate of Africa marked a permanent end to Roman or Byzantine influence there, as the rising tide of Islam shattered the empire.

Culture

Language

Carthaginians spoke Punic, a subset of Phoenician. The Punic language is an extinct Semitic language formerly spoken in the Mediterranean region of North Africa and several Mediterranean islands, by people of Phoenician was a language originally spoken in the coastal region then called Pūt in Ancient Egyptian Canaan in Phoenician, Hebrew, and

Commerce

Carthaginian commerce was by sea throughout the Mediterranean and far into the Atlantic and by land across the Sahara desert. According the Aristotles the Carthaginians and others had treaties of commerce to regulate their exports and imports. ^[12]

The empire of Carthage depended heavily on its trade with Tartessos and other cities of the Iberian peninsula, from which it obtained vast quantities of silver, lead, and, even more importantly, tin ore, which was essential to the manufacture of bronze objects by the civilizations of antiquity. Tartessos (also Tartessus) was a harbor city and its surrounding culture on the south coast of the Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly Tin is a Chemical element with the symbol Sn (stannum and Atomic number 50 Bronze is any of a broad range of Copper alloys, usually with Tin as the main additive but sometimes with other elements such as Phosphorus Its trade relations with the Iberians and the naval might that enforced Carthage's monopoly on trade with tin-rich Britain and the Canary Islands allowed it to be the sole significant broker of tin and maker of bronze. Maintaining this monopoly was one of the major sources of power and prosperity for Carthage, and a Carthaginian merchant would rather crash his ship upon the rocky shores of Britain than reveal to any rival how it could be safely approached. In addition to being the sole significant distributor of tin, its central location in the Mediterranean and control of the waters between Sicily and Tunisia allowed it to control the eastern nations' supply of tin. Carthage was also the Mediterranean's largest producer of silver, mined in Iberia and the North African coast, and, after the tin monopoly, this was one of its most profitable trades. One mine in Iberia provided Hannibal with 300 Roman pounds(3,75 talents) of silver a day. The talent ( Latin: talentum, from Ancient Greek: "scale balance" is an ancient unit of Mass. ^[13]

Carthage's economy began as an extension of that of its parent city, Tyre. Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew Its massive merchant fleet traversed the trade routes mapped out by Tyre, and Carthage inherited from Tyre the art of making the extremely valuable dye Tyrian Purple. It was one of the most highly-valued commodities in the ancient Mediterranean, being worth fifteen to twenty times its weight in gold. High Roman officials could only afford togas with a small stripe of it. Carthage also produced a less-valuable crimson pigment from the cochineal. Cochineal is the name of both Crimson or Carmine Dye and the cochineal insect ( Dactylopius coccus) a scale

Carthage produced finely embroidered and dyed textiles of cotton, linen, wool, and silk, artistic and functional pottery, faience, incense, and perfumes. A textile is a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial Fibres often referred to as thread or Yarn. Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp Linen is a Textile made from the Fibers of the Flax plant Linum usitatissimum. Wool is the fiber derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles of animals in the Caprinae family principally sheep, but the hair of certain species Silk is a natural Protein Fiber, some forms of which can be woven into Textiles The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware For the architectural material see Glazed architectural terra-cotta. Incense is composed of Aromatic biotic materials It releases fragrant Smoke when burned It worked with glass, wood, alabaster, ivory, bronze, brass, lead, gold, silver, and precious stones to create a wide array of goods, including mirrors, highly-admired furniture and cabinetry, beds, bedding, and pillows, jewelry, arms, implements, and household items. Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct Minerals Gypsum (a hydrous sulfate of Calcium) and Calcite It traded in salted Atlantic fish and fish sauce, and brokered the manufactured, agricultural, and natural products of almost every Mediterranean people.

In addition to manufacturing, Carthage practiced highly advanced and productive agriculture, using iron plows, irrigation, and crop rotation. Mago wrote a famous treatise on agriculture which the Romans ordered translated after Carthage was captured. Mago was a Carthaginian writer author of an Agricultural manual in Punic which was a record of the farming knowledge of Carthage After the Second Punic War, Hannibal promoted agriculture to help restore Carthage's economy and pay the war indemnity to Rome (10000 talents or 800,000 Roman pounds of silver^[14]), and he was largely successful. Hannibal (Pronounced in Phoenician: Hanniba'al means " Ba'al is my grace " or " Ba'al has given me grace " 247 BC &ndash

Carthage produced wine, which was highly prized in Rome, Euturia (Etruscans), and Greece. Rome was a major consumer of raisin wine, a Carthaginian specialty. Fruits, nuts, grain, grapes, dates, and olives were grown, and olive oil was exported in competition with Greece. Carthage also raised fine horses, similar to today's Arabian horses, which were greatly prized and exported. The Arabian horse is a breed of Horse with a reputation for Intelligence, spirit and stamina

Carthage's merchant ships, which surpassed even those of the cities of the Levant, visited every major port of the Mediterranean, Britain, the coast of Africa, and the Canary Islands. See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish These ships were able to carry over 100 tons of goods. The commercial fleet of Carthage was comparable in size and tonnage to the fleets of major European powers in the 18th century.

Merchants at first favored the ports of the east: Egypt, the Levant, Greece, Cyprus, and Asia Minor. But after Carthage's control of Sicily brought it into conflict with Greek colonists, it established commercial relations in the western Mediterranean, including trade with the Etruscans. Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy

Carthage also sent caravans into the interior of Africa and Persia. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia It traded its manufactured and agricultural goods to the coastal and interior peoples of Africa for salt, gold, timber, ivory, ebony, apes, peacocks, skins, and hides. Its merchants invented the practice of sale by auction and used it to trade with the African tribes. In other ports, they tried to establish permanent warehouses or sell their goods in open-air markets. They obtained amber from Scandinavia and tin from the Canary Islands. From the Celtiberians, Gauls, and Celts, they obtained amber, tin, silver, and furs. Sardinia and Corsica produced gold and silver for Carthage, and Phoenician settlements on islands such as Malta and the Balearic Islands produced commodities that would be sent back to Carthage for large-scale distribution. Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands The Balearic Islands ( Catalan and official Illes Balears; Spanish: Islas Baleares) are an Archipelago in the western Mediterranean Carthage supplied poorer civilizations with simple things, such as pottery, metallic products, and ornamentations, often displacing the local manufacturing, but brought its best works to wealthier ones such as the Greeks and Etruscans. Carthage traded in almost every commodity wanted by the ancient world, including spices from Arabia, Africa, and India and slaves.

These trade ships went all the way down the Atlantic coast of Africa to Senegal and Nigeria. Senegal (le Sénégal officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. One account has a Carthaginian trading vessel exploring Nigeria, including identification of distinguishing geographic features such as a coastal volcano and an encounter with gorillas (See Hanno the Navigator). Hanno the Navigator was a Carthaginian explorer who flourished c Irregular trade exchanges occurred as far west as Madeira and the Canary Islands, and as far south as southern Africa. The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish Carthage also traded with India by traveling through the Red Sea and the perhaps-mythical lands of Ophir (India/Arabia?) and Punt, which may be present-day Somalia. This article is about the history of South Asia prior to the Partition of British India in 1947 The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. Ophir ( is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth See also Puntland The Land of Punt, also called "Pwenet" by the Ancient Egyptians at times synonymous with Ta netjer, the 'land of Somalia ( Soomaaliya; الصومال) officially the Somali Republic ( Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, جمهورية الصومال) and formerly known

Archaeological finds show evidence of all kinds of exchanges, from the vast quantities of tin needed for a bronze-based metals civilization to all manner of textiles, ceramics and fine metalwork. Before and in between the wars, Carthaginian merchants were in every port in the Mediterranean, buying and selling, establishing warehouses where they could, or just bargaining in open-air markets after getting off their ship.

The Etruscan language has not yet been deciphered, but archaeological excavations of Etruscan cities show that the Etruscan civilization was for several centuries a customer and a vendor to Carthage, long before the rise of Rome. The Etruscan city-states were, at times, both commercial partners of Carthage and military allies.

Government

The government of Carthage was an oligarchal republic, which relied on a system of checks and balances and ensured a form of public accountability. Oligarchy' ( Greek, Oligarkhía) is a Form of government where Political power effectively rests with a small elite segment A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance The Carthaginian heads of state were called Suffets (thus rendered in Latin by Livy 30. Suffete redirects here In Hebrew and several other Semitic languages, shofet (plural shoftim) literally means "Judge" Titus Livius (traditionally 59 BC &ndash AD 17 known as Livy in English, was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome 7. 5, attested in Punic inscriptions as SPΘM /ʃuftˤim/, meaning "judges" and obviously related to the Biblical Hebrew ruler title Shophet "Judge"). Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Greek and Roman authors more commonly referred to them as "kings". SPΘ /ʃufitˤ/ might originally have been the title of the city's governor, installed by the mother city of Tyre. In the historically attested period, the two Suffets were elected annually from among the most wealthy and influential families and ruled collegially, similarly to Roman consuls (and equated with these by Livy). Consul (abbrev cos; Latin plural consules) was the highest elected Political office of the Roman Republic and the Empire. This practice might have descended from the plutocratic oligarchies that limited the Suffet's power in the first Phoenician cities. Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy or power provided by wealth The aristocratic families were represented in a supreme council (Roman sources speak of a Carthaginian "Senate", and Greek ones of a "council of Elders" or a gerousia), which had a wide range of powers; however, it is not known whether the Suffets were elected by this council or by an assembly of the people. A senate is a Deliberative body, often the Upper house or chamber of a Legislature or Parliament. The Gerousia was the Spartan Senate (council of elders It was created by the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus in the seventh century BC in his Great Suffets appear to have exercised judicial and executive power, but not military. Although the city's administration was firmly controlled by oligarchs, democratic elements were to be found as well: Carthage had elected legislators, trade unions and town meetings. Aristotle reported in his Politics that unless the Suffets and the Council reached a unanimous decision, the Carthaginian popular assembly had the decisive vote - unlike the situation in Greek states with similar constitutions such as Sparta and Crete. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Aristotle's Politics ( Greek Πολιτικά is a work of Political philosophy. The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the Polybius, in his History book 6, also stated that at the time of the Punic Wars, the Carthaginian public held more sway over the government than the people of Rome held over theirs (a development he regarded as evidence of decline). Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories Finally, there was a body known as the Hundred and Four, which Aristotle compared to the Spartan ephors. The Hundred and Four, or Council of 104 was a Carthaginian tribunal of judges An ephor ( Classical Greek) (from the Greek, epi, "on" or "over" and, horaō, "to see" i These were judges who oversaw the actions of generals, who could sometimes be sentenced to crucifixion. Crucifixion (from Latin crucifixio, noun of process crucifixio, from perfect passive participle crucifixus, fixed to a cross from

Eratosthenes, head of the Library of Alexandria, noted that the Greeks had been wrong to describe all non-Greeks as barbarians, since the Carthaginians as well as the Romans had a constitution. Eratosthenes of Cyrene ( Greek; 276 BC - 194 BC was a Greek Mathematician, Poet, athlete, Geographer and The Royal Library of Alexandria or Ancient Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was once the largest library in the ancient world Aristotle also knew and discussed the Carthaginian constitution in his Politics (Book II, Chapter 11). Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.

During the period between the end of the First Punic War and the end of the Second Punic War, members of the Barcid family dominated in Carthaginian politics. The Barcid family was a notable family in the ancient city of Carthage; many of its members were fierce enemies of the Roman Republic. They were given control of the Carthaginian military and all the Carthaginian territories outside of Africa.

Carthaginian ethnicity and citizenship

In Carthaginian society, advancement was largely relegated to those of distinctly Carthaginian descent, and the children of foreign men generally had no opportunities. However, there are several notable exceptions to this rule. The Barcid family after Hamilcar himself was half Iberian through their mother, Hamilcar's wife — a member of the Iberian nobility, whose children all rose to leading positions in both their native cultures. The Barcid family was a notable family in the ancient city of Carthage; many of its members were fierce enemies of the Roman Republic. The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources (among others Hecataeus of Miletus, Avienus, Herodot and Strabo Adherbal the Red and Hanno the Navigator were also of mixed origin, the former identified from his Celtiberian epithet, and the latter from a coupling much like the later Barcids. Adherbal or Ad Herbal (Gr) was name of two different Carthaginian commanders Ad Herbal (1 (died 230 BC was the Admiral Hanno the Navigator was a Carthaginian explorer who flourished c The Celtiberians (or Celt-Iberians were a Celtic people of Hallstatt culture Other exceptions to this rule include children of prominent Carthaginians with Celtic nobles, as well as a single half-Sardinian admiral who was elevated simply by virtue of his own ability. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts

Owing to this social organization, citizenship in Carthage was exclusive only to those of a select ethnic background (with an emphasis on paternal relationships), though those of exceptional ability could escape the stigma of their background. Regardless, acceptance of the local religious practices was requisite of citizenship — and by extension any sort of advancement, which left many prominent and well regarded peoples out of the empire's administration.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Carthage

Carthaginian religion was based on Phoenician religion, a form of polytheism. See also Religions of the Ancient Near East The foundation of Carthage at the end of the ninth century B Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple Gods (usually assembled in a pantheon) together with associated Mythology and Rituals Many of the gods the Carthaginians worshiped were localized and are now known only under their local names.

Pantheon

The supreme divine couple was that of Tanit and Ba'al Hammon. Tanit was a Phoenician lunar Goddess, worshiped as the Patron goddess at Carthage where from the fifth century BCE onwards her name is associated Ba'al (pronounced; Hebrew בעל (ordinarily spelled Baal in English is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" The goddess Astarte seems to have been popular in early times. Astarte (from Greek Ἀστάρτη ( Astártē) is the name of a Goddess as known from Northwestern Semitic regions cognate in name origin At the height of its cosmopolitan era, Carthage seems to have hosted a large array of divinities from the neighbouring civilizations of Greece, Egypt and the Etruscan city-states. A pantheon was presided over by the father of the gods, but a goddess was the principal figure in the Phoenician pantheon.

Caste of priests and acolytes

Surviving Punic texts are detailed enough to give a portrait of a very well organized caste of temple priests and acolytes performing different types of functions, for a variety of prices. Priests were clean shaven, unlike most of the population. In the first centuries of the city ritual celebrations included rhythmic dancing, derived from Phoenician traditions.

Punic stelae

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

Child sacrifice

Carthage under the Phoenicians was notorious to its neighbors for child sacrifice. See also Religious abuse, and Infanticide Child sacrifice is the Ritualistic Killing of Children in Plutarch (c. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c 46–120) mentions the practice, as do Tertullian, Orosius, Philo and Diodorus Siculus. Year 46 was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, Anglicised as Tertullian, (ca Paulus Orosius (b circa 375 d 418? was a Christian Historian, theologian and disciple of St Philo (20 BC - 50 AD) known also as Philo of Alexandria (gr Φίλων ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria ^[15] Livy and Polybius do not. Titus Livius (traditionally 59 BC &ndash AD 17 known as Livy in English, was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories The Hebrew Bible also mentions child sacrifice practiced by the Canaanites, ancestors of the Carthaginians, and by some Israelites. The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic

Modern archaeology in formerly Punic areas has discovered a number of large cemeteries for children and infants. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos But there is some argument that the reports of child sacrifice were based on a misconception, later used as blood libel by the Romans who destroyed the city. Blood libels are sensationalized allegations that a person or group engages in Human sacrifice, often accompanied by the claim that the Blood of victims is used in These cemeteries may have been used as graves for stillborn infants or children who died very early. Modern archeological excavations have been interpreted as confirming Plutarch's reports of Carthaginian child sacrifice. ^[16] In a single child cemetery called the Tophet by archaeologists, an estimated 20,000 urns were deposited between 400 BC and 200 BC, with the practice continuing until the early years of the Christian period. For the sacred precinct of Carthage with that name see Carthage. Events By place Persian Empire Artaxerxes II King of Persia appoints Tissaphernes to take over all the districts in Events By place Seleucid Empire Antiochus III's forces continue their invasion of Coele Syria and Palestine. The urns contained the charred bones of newborns and in some cases the bones of fetuses and 2-year-olds. These remains have been interpreted to mean that in the cases of stillborn babies, the parents would sacrifice their youngest child. There is a clear correlation between the frequency of cremation and the well-being of the city. In bad times (war, poor harvests) cremations became more frequent, but it is not possible to know why. The correlation could be because bad times inspired the Carthaginians to pray for divine intervention (via child sacrifice), or because bad times increased child mortality, leading to more child burials (via cremation).

Accounts of child sacrifice in Carthage report that beginning at the founding of Carthage in about 814 BC, mothers and fathers buried their children who had been sacrificed to Ba`al Hammon and Tanit there. Events and trends 817 BC — Pedubastis I declares himself king of Egypt, founding the Twenty-third Dynasty. The practice was apparently distasteful even to Carthaginians, and they began to buy children for the purpose of sacrifice or even to raise servant children instead of offering up their own. However, in times of crisis or calamity, like war, drought or famine, their priests demanded the flower of their youth. Special ceremonies during extreme crisis saw up to 200 children of the most affluent and powerful families slain and tossed into the burning pyre.

It has been argued by some modern scholars that evidence of Carthaginian child sacrifice is incomplete, and that it is far more likely to have been Roman blood libel against the Carthaginians to justify their conquest and destruction. Blood libels are sensationalized allegations that a person or group engages in Human sacrifice, often accompanied by the claim that the Blood of victims is used in Skeptics suggest that the bodies of children found in Carthaginian and Phoenician cemeteries were merely the cremated remains of children that died naturally. Sergio Ribichini has argued that the Tophet was "a child necropolis designed to receive the remains of infants who had died prematurely of sickness or other natural causes, and who for this reason were "offered" to specific deities and buried in a place different from the one reserved for the ordinary dead". ^[17] The few Carthaginian texts which have survived make absolutely no mention of child sacrifice, though most of them pertain to matters entirely unrelated to religion, such as the practice of agriculture.

Modern times

Carthage remains a popular tourist attraction and residential suburb. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California.

In February 1985, Ugo Vetere, the mayor of Rome, and Chedly Klibi, the mayor of Carthage, signed a symbolic treaty "officially" ending the conflict between their cities, which had been supposedly extended by the lack of a peace treaty for more than 2100 years. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 There are several claims of wars extended by diplomatic irregularity, often by a small country named in a Declaration of war being accidentally omitted from the concluding

References

Sources

Religion

• Polybius [1]
• Hannibal's Campaigns. Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories Hannibal (Pronounced in Phoenician: Hanniba'al means " Ba'al is my grace " or " Ba'al has given me grace " 247 BC &ndash Tony Bath. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble Books, 1981.
• La vie quotidienne à Carthage au temps d'Hannibal. Gilbert et Colette Charles-Picard. Paris: Hachette, 1958.
• La légende de Carthage. Azedine Beschaouch. Paris: Gallimard, 1993.
• Carthage: Uncovering the Mysteries and Splendors of Ancient Tunisia. David Soren, Aicha Ben Abed Ben Kader, Heidi Slim. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990.
• The Phoenicians and the West: Politics, colonies and trade. Maria Eugenia Aubet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
• Itineraria Phoenicia. Edward Lipinski. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oosterse Studies, 2004. "Aeneid" Virgil

Navy

• Polybius. Ancient History Sourcebook: Polybius (c 200–118 BC): Rome at the End of the Punic Wars History, Book 6. Events By place Seleucid Empire Antiochus III's forces continue their invasion of Coele Syria and Palestine.

See also

• List of Kings of Carthage
• Carthaginian Empire
• History of Tunisia
• Phoenician languages
• Umayyad conquest of North Africa
• Hannibal: Published by Decapo Books, an excellent source of military history about ancient Carthage and the tactics of Hannibal and the Roman Republic

External links

• Brian K. Garnand: "From infant sacrifice to the ABC'S: ancient Phoenicians and modern identities" - (University of Chicago). Until 308 BC, Carthage was ruled at least officially by Monarchs The Carthaginian Empire was an informal empire of Phoenician City-states throughout North Africa and modern Spain from 575 BC until 146 BC Phoenician was a language originally spoken in the coastal region then called Pūt in Ancient Egyptian Canaan in Phoenician, Hebrew, and The Umayyad conquest of North Africa continued the century of rapid Arab Muslim expansion following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE Earlier version presented in Standford Colloquium "Past Narratives / Narratives Pasts"
• Livius.org: Carthage
• Ancient History Sourcebook: Aristotle: On the Constitution of Carthage, c. 340 BC

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