Ancient Carthage (/ˈkɑːrθɪdʒ/ KAR-thij; Punic: 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕, lit. 'New City') was an ancient Semitic civilisation based in North Africa.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5][6][7]
Carthage 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 Qart-ḥadašt | |||||||||||||||
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c. 814 – 146 BC | |||||||||||||||
![]() Carthaginian territory ca. 270 BC | |||||||||||||||
Capital | Carthage | ||||||||||||||
Common languages | Punic, Phoenician, Berber, Numidian, Iberian, Ancient Greek | ||||||||||||||
Religion | Punic religion | ||||||||||||||
Demonym(s) | Carthaginian | ||||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy until c. 480 BC, republic led by Shophets thereafter[1] | ||||||||||||||
Historical era | Classical antiquity | ||||||||||||||
• Foundation | c. 814 BC | ||||||||||||||
• Independence from Tyre | middle of the 6th century BC | ||||||||||||||
146 BC | |||||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||||
• 221 BC[2] | 3,700,000–4,300,000 | ||||||||||||||
Currency | Carthaginian currency | ||||||||||||||
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Today part of |
Carthage was settled around 814 BC by colonists from Tyre, a leading Phoenician city-state located in present-day Lebanon. In the seventh century BC, following Phoenicia's conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Carthage became independent, gradually expanding its economic and political hegemony across the western Mediterranean. By 300 BC, through its vast patchwork of colonies, vassals, and satellite states, held together by its naval dominance of the western and central Mediterranean Sea, Carthage controlled the largest territory in the region, including the coast of northwestern Africa, southern and eastern Iberia, and the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta, and the Balearic Islands.[8] Tripoli remained autonomous under the authority of local Libyco-Phoenicians, who paid nominal tribute.[9]
Among the ancient world's largest and richest cities, Carthage's strategic location provided access to abundant fertile land and major maritime trade routes[10] that reached West Asia and Northern Europe, providing commodities from all over the ancient world, in addition to lucrative exports of agricultural products and manufactured goods. This commercial empire was secured by one of the largest and most powerful navies of classical antiquity, and an army composed heavily of foreign mercenaries and auxiliaries, particularly Iberians, Balearics, Gauls, Britons, Sicilians, Italians, Greeks, Numidians, and Libyans.
As the dominant power in the western Mediterranean, Carthage inevitably came into conflict with many neighbours and rivals, from the Berbers of North Africa to the nascent Roman Republic.[11] Following centuries of conflict with the Sicilian Greeks, its growing competition with Rome culminated in the Punic Wars (264–146 BC), which saw some of the largest and most sophisticated battles in antiquity. Carthage narrowly avoided destruction after the Second Punic War, but was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC after the Third Punic War. The Romans later founded a new city in its place.[12] All remnants of Carthaginian civilization came under Roman rule by the first century AD, and Rome subsequently became the dominant Mediterranean power, paving the way for the Roman Empire.
Despite the cosmopolitan character of its empire, Carthage's culture and identity remained rooted in its Canaanite heritage, albeit a localised variety known as Punic. Like other Phoenician peoples, its society was urban, commercial, and oriented towards seafaring and trade; this is reflected in part by its notable innovations, including serial production, uncolored glass, the threshing board, and the cothon harbor. Carthaginians were renowned for their commercial prowess, ambitious explorations, and unique system of government, which combined elements of democracy, oligarchy, and republicanism, including modern examples of the