The layout of the Punic city-state Carthage, before its fall in 146 BC
Carthage[a] (Arabic:قرطاج,Qarṭājⓘ) was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of theLake of Tunis in what is nowTunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of theclassical world. It became the capital city of the civilization ofAncient Carthage and laterRoman Carthage.
The city developed from aPhoenician colony into the capital of aPunic empire which dominated large parts of the Southwest Mediterranean during the first millennium BC.[1] The legendary Queen Elissa, Alyssa orDido, originally fromTyre, is regarded as the founder of the city,[2] though her historicity has been questioned. In the myth, Dido asked for land from a local tribe, which told her that she could get as much land as an oxhide could cover. She cut the oxhide into strips and laid out the perimeter of the new city.[3] As Carthage prospered at home, the polity sent colonists abroad as well as magistrates to rule the colonies.[4]
The ancient city was destroyed in the nearly three yearsiege of Carthage by theRoman Republic during theThird Punic War in 146 BC. It was re-developed a century later asRoman Carthage, which became the major city of theRoman Empire in the province ofAfrica. The question of Carthaginian decline and demise has remained a subject of literary, political, artistic, and philosophical debates in both ancient and modern histories.[4][5]
Late antique andmedieval Carthage continued to play an important cultural and economic role in theByzantine period. The city was sacked and destroyed byUmayyad forces after theBattle of Carthage in 698 to prevent it from being reconquered by theByzantine Empire.[6] It remained occupied during the Muslim period[7] and was used as a fort by the Muslims until theHafsid period when it was taken by theCrusaders with its inhabitants massacred during theEighth Crusade. The Hafsids decided to destroy its defenses so it could not be used as a base by a hostile power again.[8] It also continued to function asan episcopal see.
TheModern Standard Arabic formQarṭājⓘ (قرطاج) is an adoption of FrenchCarthage, replacing an older local toponym reported asCartagenna that directly continued the Latin name.[15] It also traces back to thePunic name "Qart-ḥadašt", meaning "new city".
Modern reconstruction of Punic Carthage. The circular harbor at the front is theCothon, the military port of Carthage, where all of Carthage's warships (Biremes) were anchored.
Carthage was built on apromontory with sea inlets to the north and the south. The city's location made it master of the Mediterranean's maritime trade. All ships crossing the sea had to pass betweenSicily and the coast of Tunisia, where Carthage was built, affording it great power and influence. Two large, artificial harbors were built within the city, one for harboring the city's prodigious navy of 220 warships and the other for mercantile trade. A walled tower overlooked both harbors. The city had massive walls, 37 km (23 mi) long, which was longer than the walls of comparable cities. Most of the walls were on the shore and so could be less impressive, as Carthaginian control of the sea made attack from that direction difficult. The 4.0 to 4.8 km (2.5 to 3 mi) of wall on theisthmus to the west were truly massive and were never penetrated.
Carthage was one of the largest cities of theHellenistic period and was among the largest cities in preindustrial history. Whereas by AD 14,Rome had at least 750,000 inhabitants and in the following century may have reached 1 million, the cities ofAlexandria andAntioch numbered only a few hundred thousand or less.[16] According to the history ofHerodian, Carthage rivaled Alexandria for second place in the Roman empire.[17]
The Punic Carthage was divided into four equally sized residential areas with the same layout. It had religious areas, market places, a council house, towers, a theatre, and a hugenecropolis; roughly in the middle of the city stood a high citadel called theByrsa. Surrounding Carthage werewalls "of great strength" said in places to rise above 13 m, being nearly 10 m thick, according to ancient authors. To the west, three parallel walls were built. The walls altogether ran for about 33 kilometres (21 miles) to encircle the city.[18][19] The heights of the Byrsa were additionallyfortified; this area being the last to succumb to theRomans in 146 BC. Originally the Romans had landed their army on the strip of land extending southward from the city.[20][21]
Outside the city walls of Carthage is theChora or farm lands of Carthage.Chora encompassed a limited area: the north coastaltell, the lowerBagradas river valley (inland from Utica),Cape Bon, and the adjacentsahel on the east coast. Punic culture here achieved the introduction of agricultural sciences first developed for lands of the eastern Mediterranean, and their adaptation to local African conditions.[22]
Theurban landscape of Carthage is known in part from ancient authors,[23] augmented by modern digs and surveys conducted by archeologists. The "first urban nucleus" dating to the seventh century, in area about 10 hectares (25 acres), was apparently located on low-lying lands along the coast (north of the later harbours). As confirmed by archaeological excavations, Carthage was a "creationex nihilo", built on 'virgin' land, and situated at what was then the end of a peninsula. Here among "mud brick walls and beaten clay floors" (recently uncovered) were also found extensive cemeteries, which yielded evocative grave goods like clay masks. "Thanks to thisburial archaeology we know more about archaic Carthage than about any other contemporary city in the western Mediterranean." Already in the eighth century, fabricdyeing operations had been established, evident from crushed shells ofmurex (from which the 'Phoenician purple' was derived). Nonetheless, only a "meager picture" of the cultural life of the earliest pioneers in the city can be conjectured, and not much about housing, monuments, or defenses.[24][25] The Roman poetVirgil (70–19 BC) imagined early Carthage, when his legendary characterAeneas had arrived there:
"Aeneas found, where lately huts had been, marvelous buildings, gateways, cobbled ways, and din of wagons. There theTyrians were hard at work: laying courses for walls, rolling up stones to build the citadel, while others picked out building sites and plowed a boundary furrow. Laws were being enacted, magistrates and a sacred senate chosen. Here men were dredging harbors, there they laid the deep foundations of a theatre, and quarried massive pillars... ."[26][27]
Archaeological sites of modern Carthage
The two inner harbors, namedcothon in Punic, were located in the southeast; one being commercial, and the other for war. Their definite functions are not entirely known, probably for the construction, outfitting, or repair of ships, perhaps also loading and unloading cargo.[28][29][30] Largeranchorages existed to the north and south of the city.[31] North and west of thecothon were located several industrial areas, e.g., metalworking and pottery (e.g., foramphora), which could serve both inner harbors, and ships anchored to the south of the city.[32]
Considering the importance of theByrsa, thecitadel area to the north,[33] our knowledge of it is patchy. Its prominent heights were the scene of fierce combat during the fiery destruction of the city in 146 BC. The Byrsa was the reported site of the Temple ofEshmun (the healing god), at the top of a stairway of sixty steps.[34][35] A temple ofTanit (the city's queen goddess) was likely situated on the slope of the 'lesser Byrsa' immediately to the east, which runs down toward the sea.[36] Also situated on the Byrsa were luxury homes.[37]
South of the citadel, near thecothon was thetophet, a special and very oldcemetery, which when begun lay outside the city's boundaries. Here theSalammbô was located, theSanctuary of Tanit, not a temple but an enclosure for placing stonestelae. These were mostly short and upright, carved for funeral purposes. The presence of infant skeletons from here may indicate the occurrence of child sacrifice, as claimed in the Bible and Greco-Roman sources, although there has been considerable doubt among archeologists as to this interpretation and many consider it simply a cemetery devoted to infants.[38] Probably thetophet burial fields were "dedicated at an early date, perhaps by the first settlers."[39][40] Recent studies, on the other hand, indicate that child sacrifice was practiced by the Carthaginians.[41][42] According to K.L. Noll, many scholars believe that child sacrifice took place in Carthage.[43]
Between the sea-filledcothon for shipping and the Byrsa heights lay theagora [Greek: "market"], the city-state's central marketplace for business and commerce. Theagora was also an area of public squares and plazas, where the people might formally assemble, or gather for festivals. It was the site of religious shrines, and the location of whatever were the major municipal buildings of Carthage. Here beat the heart of civic life. In this district of Carthage, more probably, the rulingsuffets presided, the council of elders convened, the tribunal of the 104 met, and justice was dispensed at trials in the open air.[44][45]
Early residential districts wrapped around the Byrsa from the south to the north east. Houses usually werewhitewashed and blank to the street, but within werecourtyards open to the sky.[46] In these neighborhoods multistory construction later became common, some up to six stories tall according to an ancient Greek author.[47][48] Severalarchitecturalfloorplans of homes have been revealed by recentexcavations, as well as the general layout of severalcity blocks. Stone stairs were set in the streets, anddrainage was planned, e.g., in the form of soakaways leaching into the sandy soil.[49] Along the Byrsa's southern slope were located not only fine old homes, but also many of the earliest grave-sites, juxtaposed in small areas, interspersed with daily life.[50]
Artisan workshops were located in the city at sites north and west of the harbours. The location of threemetal workshops (implied from iron slag and other vestiges of such activity) were found adjacent to the naval and commercial harbours, and another two were further up the hill toward the Byrsa citadel. Sites ofpotterykilns have been identified, between theagora and the harbours, and further north. Earthenware often used Greek models. Afuller's shop for preparing woolen cloth (shrink and thicken) was evidently situated further to the west and south, then by the edge of the city.[51] Carthage also produced objects of rare refinement. During the 4th and 3rd centuries, thesculptures of thesarcophagi became works of art. "Bronzeengraving and stone-carving reached their zenith."[52]
The elevation of the land at the promontory on the seashore to the north-east (now calledSidi Bou Saïd), was twice as high above sea level as that at the Byrsa (100 m and 50 m). In between runs a ridge, several times reaching 50 m; it continues northwestward along the seashore, and forms the edge of a plateau-like area between the Byrsa and the sea.[53] Newer urban developments lay here in these northern districts.[54]
Punic ruins in ByrsaArchaeological Site of Carthage
Due to the Roman's leveling of the city, the original Punic urban landscape of Carthage was largely lost. Since 1982, French archaeologistSerge Lancel excavated a residential area of the Punic Carthage on top ofByrsa hill near the Forum of the Roman Carthage. The neighborhood can be dated back to early second century BC, and with its houses, shops, and private spaces, is significant for what it reveals about daily life of the Punic Carthage.[55]
The remains have been preserved under embankments, the substructures of the later Roman forum, whose foundation piles dot the district. The housing blocks are separated by a grid of straight streets about 6 m (20 ft) wide, with a roadway consisting of clay;in situ stairs compensate for the slope of the hill. Construction of this type presupposes organization and political will, and has inspired the name of the neighborhood, "Hannibal district", referring to the legendary Punic general orsufet (consul) at the beginning of the second century BC. The habitat is typical, even stereotypical. The street was often used as a storefront/shopfront; cisterns were installed in basements to collect water for domestic use, and a long corridor on the right side of each residence led to a courtyard containing asump, around which various other elements may be found. In some places, the ground is covered withmosaics called punica pavement, sometimes using a characteristic red mortar.
Archaeological Site of CarthageView of two columns at Carthage
Punic culture and agricultural sciences, after arriving at Carthage from the eastern Mediterranean, gradually adapted to the local conditions. The merchant harbor at Carthage was developed after settlement of the nearby Punic town ofUtica, and eventually the surrounding African countryside was brought into the orbit of the Punic urban centers, first commercially, then politically. Direct management over cultivation of neighbouring lands by Punic owners followed.[56] A 28-volume work on agriculture written in Punic byMago, a retired army general (c. 300), was translated into Latin and later into Greek. The original and both translations have been lost; however, some of Mago's text has survived in other Latin works.[57] Olive trees (e.g.,grafting), fruit trees (pomegranate, almond, fig, date palm),viniculture, bees, cattle, sheep, poultry, implements, andfarm management were among the ancient topics which Mago discussed. As well, Mago addresses the wine-maker's art (here a type ofsherry).[58][59][60]
In Punic farming society, according to Mago, the small estate owners were the chief producers. They were, two modern historians write, not absent landlords. Rather, the likely reader of Mago was "the master of a relatively modest estate, from which, by great personal exertion, he extracted the maximum yield." Mago counselled the rural landowner, for the sake of their own 'utilitarian' interests, to treat carefully and well their managers and farm workers, or their overseers and slaves.[61] Yet elsewhere these writers suggest that rural land ownership provided also a new power base among the city's nobility, for those resident in their country villas.[62][63] By many, farming was viewed as an alternative endeavour to an urban business. Another modern historian opines that more often it was the urban merchant of Carthage who owned rural farming land to some profit, and also to retire there during the heat of summer.[64] It may seem that Mago anticipated such an opinion, and instead issued this contrary advice (as quoted by the Roman writer Columella):
The man who acquires an estate must sell his house, lest he prefer to live in the town rather than in the country. Anyone who prefers to live in a town has no need of an estate in the country."[65] "One who has bought land should sell his town house, so that he will have no desire to worship the household gods of the city rather than those of the country; the man who takes greater delight in his city residence will have no need of a country estate.[66]
The issues involved in rural land management also reveal underlying features of Punic society, its structure andstratification. The hired workers might be considered 'rural proletariat', drawn from the local Berbers. Whether there remained Berber landowners next to Punic-run farms is unclear. Some Berbers became sharecroppers. Slaves acquired for farm work were often prisoners of war. In lands outside Punic political control, independent Berbers cultivated grain and raised horses on their lands. Yet within the Punic domain that surrounded the city-state of Carthage, there were ethnic divisions in addition to the usual quasifeudal distinctions between lord and peasant, or master and serf. This inherent instability in the countryside drew the unwanted attention of potential invaders.[67] Yet for long periods Carthage was able to manage these social difficulties.[68]
The manyamphorae with Punic markings subsequently found about ancient Mediterranean coastal settlements testify to Carthaginian trade in locally made olive oil and wine.[69] Carthage's agricultural production was held in high regard by the ancients, and rivaled that of Rome – they were once competitors, e.g., over their olive harvests. Under Roman rule, however, grain production (wheat and barley) for export increased dramatically in 'Africa'; yet these later fell with the rise inRoman Egypt's grain exports. Thereafter olive groves and vineyards were re-established around Carthage. Visitors to the several growing regions that surrounded the city wrote admiringly of the lush green gardens, orchards, fields,irrigation channels, hedgerows (as boundaries), as well as the many prosperous farming towns located across the rural landscape.[70][71]
Accordingly, the Greek author and compilerDiodorus Siculus (fl. 1st century BC), who enjoyed access to ancient writings later lost, and on which he based most of his writings, described agricultural land near the city of Carthage c. 310 BC:
It was divided into market gardens and orchards of all sorts of fruit trees, with many streams of water flowing in channels irrigating every part. There were country homes everywhere, lavishly built and covered with stucco. ... Part of the land was planted with vines, part with olives and other productive trees. Beyond these, cattle and sheep were pastured on the plains, and there were meadows with grazing horses.[72][73]
Greek cities contested with Carthage for the Western Mediterranean culminating in theSicilian Wars and thePyrrhic War overSicily, while theRomans fought three wars against Carthage, known as thePunic Wars,[74][75] from the Latin "Punicus" meaning "Phoenician", as Carthage was a Phoenician colony grown into an empire.
The Carthaginian republic was one of the longest-lived and largest states in the ancient Mediterranean. Reports relay several wars withSyracuse and finally, Rome, which eventually resulted in the defeat and destruction of Carthage in the Third Punic War. TheCarthaginians werePhoenician settlers of primarilySouthern Mediterranean andSouthern European ancestry.[76]Phoenicians had originated in theMediterranean coast of theLevant. They spokeCanaanite, aSemitic language, and followed a local variety of theancient Canaanite religion, thePunic religion. The Carthaginians travelled widely across the seas and set up numerous colonies. Unlike Greek, Phoenician, and Tyrian colonizers who "only required colonies to pay due respect for their home-cities", Carthage is said to have "sent its own magistrates to govern overseas settlements".[4]
Ruins of Carthage
The fall of Carthage came at the end of the Third Punic War in 146 BC at theBattle of Carthage.[77] Despite initial devastating Roman naval losses andHannibal's 15-year occupation of much of Roman Italy, who was on the brink of defeat but managed to recover, the end of the series of wars resulted in the end of Carthaginian power and the complete destruction of the city byScipio Aemilianus.[78] 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. About 50,000 Carthaginians were sold intoslavery.[79] The city was set ablaze and razed to the ground, leaving only ruins and rubble. After the fall of Carthage, Rome annexed the majority of the Carthaginian colonies, including other North African locations such asVolubilis,Lixus, andChellah.[80] Today a "Carthaginian peace" can refer to any brutal peace treaty demanding total subjugation of the defeated side.
When Carthage fell, its nearby rivalUtica, a Roman ally, was made capital of the region and replaced Carthage as the leading center of Punic trade and leadership. It had the advantageous position of being situated on the outlet of theMedjerda River, Tunisia's only river that flowed all year long. However, grain cultivation in the Tunisian mountains caused large amounts ofsilt to erode into the river. This silt accumulated in the harbor until it became useless, and Rome was forced to rebuild Carthage.
By 122 BC,Gaius Gracchus founded a short-livedcolony, calledColonia Iunonia, after the Latin name for the Punic goddessTanit,Iuno Caelestis. The purpose was to obtain arable lands for impoverished farmers. TheSenate abolished the colony some time later, to undermine Gracchus' power.
After this ill-fated effort, a new city of Carthage was built on the same land byJulius Caesar in the period from 49 to 44 BC, and by the first century, it had grown to be the second-largest city in the western half of theRoman Empire, with a peak population of 500,000.[84][unreliable source?] It was the center of theprovince of Africa, which was a major breadbasket of the Empire. Among its major monuments was anamphitheater.
The Vandals underGaiseric invadedAfrica in 429. They relinquished the facade of their allied status to Rome and defeated the Roman generalBonifacius to seize Carthage, the once most treasured province of Rome.[86] The 5th-century Roman bishopVictor Vitensis mentions in hisHistoria Persecutionis Africanae Provincia that the Vandals destroyed parts of Carthage, including various buildings and churches.[87] Once the Vandals were in power, the ecclesiastical authorities were persecuted, the locals were aggressively taxed, and naval raids were routinely launched on Romans in the Mediterranean.[86]
After a failed attempt to recapture the city in the fifth century, theEastern Roman Empire finally subdued the Vandals in theVandalic War in 533–534 and made Carthage capital ofByzantine North Africa. Thereafter, the city became the seat of thepraetorian prefecture of Africa, which was made into anexarchate during the emperorMaurice's reign, as wasRavenna on the Italian Peninsula. These two exarchates were the western bulwarks of the Byzantine Empire, all that remained of its power in the West. In the early seventh centuryHeraclius the Elder, the exarch of Carthage, overthrew the Byzantine emperorPhocas, whereupon his sonHeraclius succeeded to the imperial throne.
The destruction of the Exarchate of Africa marked a permanent end to the Byzantine Empire's influence in the region.
It is clear from archaeological evidence that the town of Carthage continued to be occupied, as did the neighborhood of Bjordi Djedid. TheBaths of Antoninus continued to function in the Arab period and the eleventh-century historianAl-Bakri stated that they were still in good condition at that time. They also had production centers nearby. It is difficult to determine whether the continued habitation of some other buildings belonged to Late Byzantine or Early Arab period. The Bir Ftouha church may have continued to remain in use although it is not clear when it became uninhabited.[7]Constantine the African was born in Carthage.[88]
TheMedina of Tunis, originally a Berber settlement, was established as the new regional center under theUmayyad Caliphate in the early 8th century. Under theAghlabids, the people of Tunis revolted numerous times, but the city profited from economic improvements and quickly became the second most important in the kingdom. It was briefly the national capital, from the end of the reign ofIbrahim II in 902, until 909, when theShi'iteBerbers took overIfriqiya and founded theFatimid Caliphate.
Carthage remained a residential see until thehigh medieval period, and is mentioned in two letters ofPope Leo IX dated 1053,[89] written in reply to consultations regarding a conflict between the bishops of Carthage andGummi. In each of the two letters, Pope Leo declares that, after the Bishop of Rome, the first archbishop and chief metropolitan of the whole ofAfrica is the bishop of Carthage. Later, an archbishop of Carthage named Cyriacus was imprisoned by the Arab rulers because of an accusation by some Christians.Pope Gregory VII wrote Cyriacus a letter of consolation, repeating the hopeful assurances of the primacy of the Church of Carthage, "whether the Church of Carthage should still lie desolate or rise again in glory". By 1076, Cyriacus was set free, but there was only one other bishop in the province. These are the last of whom there is mention in that period of the history of the see.[90][91]
The fortress of Carthage was used by the Muslims untilHafsid era and was captured by the Crusaders during theEighth Crusade. The inhabitants of Carthage were slaughtered by the Crusaders after they took it, and it was used as a base of operations against the Hafsids. After repelling them,Muhammad I al-Mustansir decided to raze Cathage's defenses in order to prevent a repeat.[8]
Carthage is some 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) east-northeast of Tunis; the settlements nearest to Carthage were the town ofSidi Bou Said to the north and the village ofLe Kram to the south. Sidi Bou Said was a village which had grown around the tomb of the eponymoussufi saint (d. 1231), which had been developed into a town underOttoman rule in the 18th century. Le Kram was developed in the late 19th century underFrench administration as a settlement close to the port ofLa Goulette.
In 1881, Tunisia became aFrench protectorate, and in the same yearCharles Lavigerie, who was archbishop of Algiers, becameapostolic administrator of the vicariate of Tunis. In the following year, Lavigerie became acardinal. He "saw himself as the reviver of the ancient Christian Church of Africa, the Church ofCyprian of Carthage",[93] and, on 10 November 1884, was successful in his great ambition of having themetropolitan see of Carthage restored, with himself as its first archbishop.[94] In line with the declaration ofPope Leo IX in 1053,Pope Leo XIII acknowledged the revived Archdiocese of Carthage as theprimatial see ofAfrica and Lavigerie as primate.[95][96]
1833 map from the first modern archeological publication on Carthage, byChristian Tuxen Falbe
The Danish consulChristian Tuxen Falbe conducted a first survey of the topography of the archaeological site (published in 1833).Antiquarian interest was intensified following the publication of Flaubert'sSalammbô in 1858.Charles Ernest Beulé performed some preliminary excavations of Roman remains on Byrsa hill in 1860.[97] In 1866,Muhammad Khaznadar, the son of thePrime Minister of Tunisia, carried out the first locally led excavations. A more systematic survey of both Punic and Roman-era remains is due toAlfred Louis Delattre, who was sent to Tunis by cardinalCharles Lavigerie in 1875 on both an apostolic and an archaeological mission.[98]Audollent cites Delattre and Lavigerie to the effect that in the 1880s, locals still knew the area of the ancient city under the name ofCartagenna (i.e. reflecting the Latinn-stemCarthāgine).[15]
Auguste Audollent divided the area of Roman Carthage into four quarters,Cartagenna,Dermèche,Byrsa andLa Malga. Cartagenna and Dermèche correspond with the lower city, including the site of Punic Carthage; Byrsa is associated with the upper city, which in Punic times was a walled citadel above the harbour; andLa Malga is linked with the more remote parts of the upper city in Roman times.
French-led excavations at Carthage began in 1921, and from 1923 reported finds of a large quantity of urns containing a mixture of animal and children's bones.René Dussaud identified a 4th-century BC stela found in Carthage as depicting a child sacrifice.[99]
A temple atAmman (1400–1250 BC) excavated and reported upon byJ.B. Hennessy in 1966, shows the possibility of bestial and human sacrifice by fire. While evidence of child sacrifice in Canaan was the object of academic disagreement, with some scholars arguing that merely children's cemeteries had been unearthed in Carthage, the mixture of children's with animal bones as well as associated epigraphic evidence involving mention ofmlk led some to believe that, at least in Carthage,child sacrifice was indeed common practice.[100] However, though the animals were surely sacrificed, this does not entirely indicate that the infants were, and in fact the bones indicate the opposite. Rather, the animal sacrifice was likely done to, in some way, honour the deceased.[101]
A study conducted in 1970 by M. Chabeuf, the then Doctor of Science from the University of Paris, showed little difference between 17 modern Tunisians, and 68 Punic remains.[102] An analysis the following year on 42 North-West African skulls dating back to Roman times concluded that they were overall similar to modern Berbers and other Mediterranean populations, especially eastern Iberians. They also noted the presence of one outlier in Tunisia who appears to have inherited mechtoid traits, which led them to hypothesize the persistence of such affinities well into the Punic and Roman era.[103]
M. C. Chamla and D Ferembach (1988) in their entry dealing with the craniometric conclusions of Protohistorical Algerians and Punics in the region of Tunisia, found strong sexual dimorphism with male skulls being robust. Mediterranean elements were dominant, but Mechtoid features, as well as 'Negroid' traits were present in some of the samples. Overall, Punic burials showed affinities with Algerians, Roman Era skulls from Tarragona (Spain), Guanches, and to a lesser extent Abydos (XVIIIth dynasty), Etruscans, Bronze Age Syrians (Euphrates) and skulls from Lozere (France). The anthropological position of the Algerian andPunic people when it comes to populations of the Mediterranean Basin agreed quite well with the geographical situation.[104]
Jehan Desanges stated that "In the Punic burial grounds, negroid remains were not rare and there were black auxiliaries in the Carthaginian army who were certainly not Nilotics".[105]
In 1990, Shomarka Keita, a biological anthropologist, had conducted a craniometric study which featured a set of remains from Northern Africa. He examined a sample of 49 Maghreban crania which included skulls from pre-Roman Carthage and concluded that, although they were heterogeneous, many of them showed physical similarities to crania from equatorial Africa, ancient Egypt, and Kush; with most having traits conforming to the northern (Lower) Egyptian pattern.[106] S.O.Y. Keita's later report in 2018, found the pre-Roman Carthaginian series to be intermediate between the Phoenician and Maghreban. He noted the findings are consistent with an interpretation that it reflects both local and Levantine ancestry due to specific interactions in the ancient period.[107]
Joel. D. Irish, when measuring for dental affinities in 2001, found strong similarities and very small distances between the Canary Islanders and Punic Carthaginians (who originated in West Asia), suggesting a particularly close affinity, despite the geographic distance between these two populations. This result according to Irish, may reflect Berber/Carthaginian admixture. Overall, the findings discovered that "the Canary Island sample is most similar to the four samples from Northwest Africa: the Shawia Berbers, Kabyle Berbers, Bedouin Arabs and Carthaginians, less similar to the three Egyptian samples and least like the three Nubian samples."[108]
In 2016, an ancient Carthaginian individual, who was excavated from a Punic tomb in Byrsa Hill, was found to belong to the rareU5b2c1 maternal haplogroup. The Young Man of Byrsa specimen dates from the late 6th century BC, and his lineage is believed to represent early gene flow fromIberia to theMaghreb. Craniometric analysis of the young man indicated likely Mediterranean/European ancestry as opposed to African or Asian.[109]
Due to its coastal location, Carthage Archeological Site is vulnerable tosea level rise. In 2022, theIPCC Sixth Assessment Report included it in the list of African cultural sites which would be threatened byflooding andcoastal erosion by the end of the century, but only ifclimate change followedRCP 8.5, which is the scenario of high and continually increasinggreenhouse gas emissions associated with the warming of over 4 °C (7.2 °F),[110] and is no longer considered very likely.[111][112] The other, more plausible scenarios result in lower warming levels and consequently lower sea level rise: yet, sea levels would continue to increase for about 10,000 years under all of them.[113] Even if the warming is limited to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F), global sea level rise is still expected to exceed 2–3 m (7–10 ft) after 2,000 years (and higher warming levels will see larger increases by then), consequently exceeding 2,100 levels of sea level rise under RCP 8.5 (~0.75 m (2 ft) with a range of 0.5–1 m (2–3 ft)) well before the year 4000. Thus, it is a matter of time before the Carthage Archeological Site is threatened by rising water levels, unless it can be protected by adaptation efforts such assea walls.[114]
The commune of Carthage was created by a decree of theBey of Tunis on 15 June 1919,[115] during the rule ofNaceur Bey.
In 1920, the firstseaplane base was built on theLake of Tunis for the seaplanes of Compagnie Aéronavale.[116] The Tunis Airfield opened in 1938, serving around 5,800 passengers annually on the Paris-Tunis route.[117]During World War II, the airport was used by theUnited States Army Air ForceTwelfth Air Force as a headquarters and command control base for theItalian Campaign of 1943.Construction on theTunis-Carthage Airport, which was fully funded by France, began in 1944, and in 1948 the airport become the main hub forTunisair.
In the 1950s theLycée Français de Carthage was established to serve French families in Carthage. In 1961 it was given to the Tunisian government as part of theIndependence of Tunisia, so the nearby Collège Maurice Cailloux inLa Marsa, previously an annex of the Lycée Français de Carthage, was renamed to the Lycée Français de La Marsa and began serving thelycée level. It is currently theLycée Gustave Flaubert.[118]
After Tunisian independence in 1956, the Tunis conurbation gradually extended around the airport, and Carthage (قرطاجQarṭāj) is now a suburb of Tunis, covering the area between Sidi Bou Said and Le Kram.[119][120] Its population as of January 2013 was estimated at 21,276,[121]mostly attracting the more wealthy residents.[122] If Carthage is not the capital, it tends to be the political pole, a "place of emblematic power" according toSophie Bessis,[123] leaving to Tunis the economic and administrative roles. TheCarthage Palace (the Tunisian presidential palace) is located in the coast.[124]
The suburb has six train stations of theTGM line between Le Kram and Sidi Bou Said:Carthage Salammbo (named for the ancient children's cemetery where it stands), Carthage Byrsa (named forByrsa hill), Carthage Dermech (Dermèche), Carthage Hannibal (named forHannibal), Carthage Présidence (named for thePresidential Palace) and Carthage Amilcar (named forHamilcar).
The merchants of Carthage were in part heirs of the Mediterranean trade developed by Phoenicia, and so also heirs of the rivalry with Greek merchants. Business activity was accordingly both stimulated and challenged.Cyprus had been an early site of such commercial contests. The Phoenicians then had ventured into the western Mediterranean, founding trading posts, including Utica and Carthage. TheGreeks followed, entering the western seas where the commercial rivalry continued. Eventually it would lead, especially inSicily, to several centuries of intermittent war.[125][126] Although Greek-made merchandise was generally considered superior in design, Carthage also produced trade goods in abundance. That Carthage came to function as a manufacturing colossus was shown during theThird Punic War with Rome. Carthage, which had previously disarmed, then was made to face the fatal Roman siege. The city "suddenly organised the manufacture of arms" with great skill and effectiveness. According toStrabo (63 BC – AD 21) in hisGeographica:
[Carthage] each day produced one hundred and forty finished shields, three hundred swords, five hundred spears, and one thousand missiles for the catapults... . Furthermore, [Carthage although surrounded by the Romans] built one hundred and twenty decked ships in two months... for old timber had been stored away in readiness, and a large number of skilled workmen, maintained at public expense.[127]
The textile industry in Carthage probably started in private homes, but the existence of professional weavers indicates that a sort of factory system later developed. Products included embroidery, carpets, and use of the purple murex dye (for which the Carthaginian isle ofDjerba was famous).Metalworkers developed specialized skills, i.e., making various weapons for the armed forces, as well as domestic articles, such as knives, forks, scissors, mirrors, and razors (all articles found in tombs). Artwork in metals included vases and lamps in bronze, also bowls, and plates. Other products came from such crafts as thepotters, theglassmakers, and thegoldsmiths. Inscriptions on votive stele indicate that many were not slaves but 'free citizens'.[128]
Trade routes of Phoenicia (Byblos, Sidon, Tyre) and Carthage
Phoenician and Punic merchant ventures were often run as a family enterprise, putting to work its members and its subordinate clients. Such family-run businesses might perform a variety of tasks: own and maintain theships, providing the captain and crew; do the negotiations overseas, either bybarter or buying and selling, of their own manufactured commodities and trade goods, and native products (metals, foodstuffs, etc.) to carry and trade elsewhere; and send theiragents to stay at distant outposts in order to make lasting local contacts, and later to establish a warehouse of shipped goods for exchange, and eventually perhaps a settlement. Over generations, such activity might result in the creation of a wide-ranging network of trading operations. Ancillary would be the growth ofreciprocity between different family firms, foreign and domestic.[129][130]
State protection was extended to its sea traders by the Phoenician city ofTyre and later likewise by the daughter city-state of Carthage.[131]Stéphane Gsell, the well-regarded French historian of ancient North Africa, summarized the major principles guiding the civic rulers of Carthage with regard to its policies for trade and commerce:
to open and maintain markets for its merchants, whether by entering into direct contact with foreign peoples using either treaty negotiations or naval power, or by providing security for isolated trading stations
thereservation of markets exclusively for the merchants of Carthage, or where competition could not be eliminated, to regulate trade by state-sponsored agreements with its commercial rivals
suppression ofpiracy, and promotion of Carthage's ability to freely navigate the seas[132]
A "suffet" (possibly two) was elected by the citizens, and held office with no military power for a one-year term. Carthaginian generals marshalled mercenary armies and were separately elected. From about 550 to 450 the Magonid family monopolized the top military position; later the Barcid family acted similarly. Eventually it came to be that, after a war, the commanding general had to testify justifying his actions before a court of 104 judges.[138]
Aristotle (384–322) discusses Carthage in his work,Politica; he begins: "The Carthaginians are also considered to have an excellent form of government." He briefly describes the city as a "mixed constitution", a political arrangement with cohabiting elements ofmonarchy,aristocracy, anddemocracy, i.e., a king (Gk: basileus), a council of elders (Gk: gerusia), and the people (Gk: demos).[139] LaterPolybius of Megalopolis (c. 204–122, Greek) in hisHistories would describe theRoman Republic in more detail as a mixed constitution in which theConsuls were the monarchy, theSenate the aristocracy, and theAssemblies the democracy.[140]
Evidently Carthage also had an institution ofelders who advised the Suffets, similar to a Greekgerusia or theRoman Senate. We do not have a Punic name for this body. At times its members would travel with an army general on campaign. Members also formed permanentcommittees. The institution had several hundred members drawn from the wealthiest class who held office for life. Vacancies were probably filled by recruitment from among the elite, i.e., byco-option. From among its members were selected the104 Judges mentioned above. Later the 104 would come to evaluate not only army generals but other office holders as well. Aristotle regarded the 104 as most important; he compared it to theephorate ofSparta with regard to control over security. In Hannibal's time, such a Judge held office for life. At some stage there also came to be independent self-perpetuating boards of five who filled vacancies and supervised (non-military) government administration.[141]
Popularassemblies also existed at Carthage. When deadlocked the Suffets and the quasi-senatorial institution of elders might request the assembly to vote; also, assembly votes were requested in very crucial matters in order to achieve political consensus and popular coherence. The assembly members had nolegal wealth or birth qualification. How its members were selected is unknown, e.g., whether by festival group or urban ward or another method.[142][143][144]
The Greeks were favourably impressed by the constitution of Carthage;Aristotle had a separate study of it made, which is lost. In hisPolitica he states: "The government of Carthage is oligarchical, but they successfully escape the evils of oligarchy by enriching one portion of the people after another by sending them to their colonies." "[T]heir policy is to send some [poorer citizens] to their dependent towns, where they grow rich."[145][146] Yet Aristotle continues, "[I]f any misfortune occurred, and the bulk of the subjects revolted, there would be no way of restoring peace by legal means." Aristotle remarked also:
Many of the Carthaginian institutions are excellent. The superiority of their constitution is proved by the fact that the common people remain loyal to the constitution; the Carthaginians have never had any rebellion worth speaking of, and have never been under the rule of atyrant.[147]
The city-state of Carthage, whose citizens were mainlyLibyphoenicians (of Phoenician ancestry born in Africa), dominated and exploited an agricultural countryside composed mainly of native Berber sharecroppers and farmworkers, whose affiliations to Carthage were open to divergent possibilities. Beyond these more settled Berbers and the Punic farming towns and rural manors, lived the independent Berber tribes, who were mostly pastoralists.
In the brief, uneven review of government at Carthage found in hisPolitica Aristotle mentions several faults. Thus, "that the same person should hold manyoffices, which is a favorite practice among the Carthaginians." Aristotle disapproves, mentioning the flute-player and the shoemaker. Also, that "magistrates should be chosen not only for their merit but for their wealth." Aristotle's opinion is that focus on pursuit of wealth will lead tooligarchy and its evils.
[S]urely it is a bad thing that the greatest offices... should be bought. The law which allows this abuse makes wealth of more account than virtue, and the whole state becomes avaricious. For, whenever the chiefs of the state deem anything honorable, the other citizens are sure to follow their example; and, where virtue has not the first place, their aristocracy cannot be firmly established.[148]
In Carthage the people seemed politically satisfied and submissive, according to the historian Warmington. They in their assemblies only rarely exercised the few opportunities given them to assent to state decisions. Popular influence over government appears not to have been an issue at Carthage. Being a commercial republic fielding amercenary army, the people were not conscripted for military service, an experience which can foster the feel for popular political action. But perhaps this misunderstands the society; perhaps the people, whose values were based on small-group loyalty, felt themselves sufficiently connected to their city's leadership by the very integrity of the person-to-person linkage within their social fabric. Carthage was very stable; there were few openings fortyrants. Only after defeat by Rome devastated Punic imperial ambitions did the people of Carthage seem to question their governance and to show interest in political reform.[149]
In 196, following theSecond Punic War (218–201),Hannibal, still greatly admired as a Barcid military leader, was electedsuffet. When his reforms were blocked by a financial official about to become a judge for life, Hannibal rallied the populace against the 104 judges. He proposed a one-year term for the 104, as part of a major civic overhaul. Additionally, the reform included a restructuring of the city's revenues, and the fostering of trade and agriculture. The changes rather quickly resulted in a noticeable increase in prosperity. Yet his incorrigible political opponents cravenly went to Rome, to charge Hannibal with conspiracy, namely, plotting war against Rome in league withAntiochus the Hellenic ruler ofSyria. Although the RomanScipio Africanus resisted such manoeuvre, eventually intervention by Rome forced Hannibal to leave Carthage. Thus, corrupt city officials efficiently blocked Hannibal in his efforts to reform the government of Carthage.[150][151]
Mago (6th century) was King of Carthage; thehead of state, war leader, and religious figurehead. His family was considered to possess a sacred quality. Mago's office was somewhat similar to that of apharaoh, but although kept in a family it was not hereditary, it was limited by legal consent. Picard, accordingly, believes that the council of elders and the popular assembly are late institutions. Carthage was founded by the king of Tyre who had a royal monopoly on this trading venture. Thus it was the royal authority stemming from this traditional source of power that the King of Carthage possessed. Later, as other Phoenician ship companies entered the trading region, and so associated with the city-state, the King of Carthage had to keep order among a rich variety of powerful merchants in their negotiations among themselves and over risky commerce across the Mediterranean. Under these circumstance, the office of king began to be transformed. Yet it was not until the aristocrats of Carthage became wealthy owners of agricultural lands in Africa that a council of elders was institutionalized at Carthage.[152]
Most ancient literature concerning Carthage comes from Greek and Roman sources as Carthage's own documents were destroyed by the Romans.[153][154] Apart frominscriptions, hardly anyPunic literature has survived, and none in its own language and script.[155] A brief catalogue would include:[156]
several pages ofHanno the Navigator's log-book concerning his fifth century maritime exploration of the Atlantic coast of west Africa (Greek translation);[160]
fragments quoted fromMago's fourth/third century 28-volume treatise on agriculture (Latin translations);[161][162]
the thousands of inscriptions made inPunic script, thousands, but many extremely short, e.g., a dedication to a deity with the personal name(s) of the devotee(s).[165][166]
"[F]rom the Greek authorPlutarch [(c. 46 – c. 120)] we learn of the 'sacred books' in Punic safeguarded by the city's temples. Few Punic texts survive, however."[167] Once "the City Archives, the Annals, and the scribal lists ofSuffets" existed, but evidently these were destroyed in the horrific fires during the Roman capture of the city in 146 BC.[168]
Yet some Punic books (Latin:libri punici) from the libraries of Carthage reportedly did survive the fires.[169] These works were apparently given by Roman authorities to the newly augmented Berber rulers.[170][171] Over a century after the fall of Carthage, the Roman politician-turned-author Gaius Sallustius Crispus orSallust (86–34) reported his having seen volumes written in Punic, which books were said to be once possessed by the Berber king,Hiempsal II (r. 88–81).[172][173][174] By way of Berber informants and Punic translators, Sallust had used these surviving books to write his brief sketch of Berber affairs.[175][176]
Probably some of Hiempsal II'slibri punici, that had escaped the fires that consumed Carthage in 146 BC, wound up later in the large royal library of his grandsonJuba II (r. 25 BC–AD 24).[177] Juba II not only was aBerber king, and husband ofCleopatra's daughter, but also a scholar and author inGreek of no less than nine works.[178] He wrote for the Mediterranean-wide audience then enjoyingclassical literature. Thelibri punici inherited from his grandfather surely became useful to him when composing hisLibyka, a work on North Africa written in Greek. Only fragments ofLibyka survive, mostly from quotations made by other ancient authors.[179] It may have been Juba II who 'discovered' the five-centuries-old 'log book' ofHanno the Navigator, called thePeriplus, among library documents saved from fallen Carthage.[180][181][182]
In the end, however, most Punic writings that survived the destruction of Carthage "did not escape the immense wreckage in which so many of Antiquity's literary works perished."[183] Accordingly, the long and continuous interactions between Punic citizens of Carthage and the Berber communities that surrounded the city have no local historian. Their political arrangements and periodic crises, their economic and work life, the cultural ties and social relations established and nourished (infrequently as kin), are not known to us directly from ancient Punic authors in written accounts. Neither side has left us their stories about life in Punic-era Carthage.[184]
RegardingPhoenician writings, few remain and these seldom refer to Carthage. The more ancient and most informative are cuneiform tablets, c. 1600–1185, from ancientUgarit, located to the north ofPhoenicia on the Syrian coast; it was a Canaanite city politically affiliated with the Hittites. The clay tablets tell of myths, epics, rituals, medical and administrative matters, and also correspondence.[185][186][187] The highly valued works ofSanchuniathon, an ancient priest of Beirut, who reportedly wrote on Phoenician religion and the origins of civilization, are themselves completely lost, but some little content endures twice removed.[188][189] Sanchuniathon was said to have lived in the 11th century, which is considered doubtful.[190][191] Much later aPhoenician History byPhilo of Byblos (64–141) reportedly existed, written in Greek, but only fragments of this work survive.[192][193] An explanation proffered for why so few Phoenician works endured: early on (11th century) archives and records began to be kept onpapyrus, which does not long survive in a moist coastal climate.[194] Also, both Phoenicians and Carthaginians were well known for theirsecrecy.[195][196]
Thus, of their ancient writings we have little of major interest left to us by Carthage, or byPhoenicia the country of origin of the city founders. "Of the various Phoenician and Punic compositions alluded to by the ancient classical authors, not a single work or even fragment has survived in its original idiom." "Indeed, not a single Phoenicianmanuscript has survived in the original [language] or in translation."[197] We cannot therefore access directly the line of thought or the contour of their worldview as expressed in their own words, in their own voice.[198] Ironically, it was the Phoenicians who "invented or at least perfected and transmitted a form of writing [thealphabet] that has influenced dozens of cultures including our own."[199][200][201]
As noted, the celebrated ancient books on agriculture written byMago of Carthage survives only via quotations in Latin from several later Roman works.
^cf. Marlowe'sDido, Queen of Carthage (c. 1590); Middle English still used the Latin formCarthago, e.g.,John Trevisa,Polychronicon (1387) 1.169:That womman Dido that founded Carthago was comlynge.
Wolfgang David Cirilo de Melo (ed),Amphitryon, Volume 4 of The Loeb Classical Library: Plautus, Harvard University Press, 2011,p. 210Archived 2022-11-26 at theWayback Machine;
D. Gary Miller,Ancient Greek Dialects and Early Authors: Introduction to the Dialect Mixture in Homer, with Notes on Lyric and Herodotus, Walter de Gruyter, 2014,p. 39Archived 2022-11-26 at theWayback Machine.
Knapp, Wilfrid (1977).North West Africa: A Political and Economic Survey. p. 15.ISBN0192156357.
^Harden,The Phoenicians (1962, 2d ed. 1963), text at 34, maps at 31 and 34. According to Harden, the outer walls ran several kilometres to the west of that indicated on the map here.
^Picard and Picard,The Life and Death of Carthage (1968, 1969) at 395–396.
^For an ample discussion of the ancient city: Serge Lancel,Carthage (Paris: Arthème Fayard 1992; Oxford: Blackwell 1995, 1997) at 134–172, ancient harbours at 172–192; archaic Carthage at 38–77.
^Charles-Picard,Daily Life in Carthage (1958; 1968) at 85 (limited area), at 88 (imported skills).
^Serge Lancel,Carthage (Paris 1992), as translated by A. Nevill (Oxford 1997), at 38–45 and 76–77 (archaic Carthage): maps of early city at 39 and 42; burial archaeology quote at 77; short quotes at 43, 38, 45, 39; clay masks at 60–62 (photographs); terracotta and ivory figurines at 64–66, 72–75 (photographs). Ancient coastline from Utica to Carthage: map at 18.
^Cf., B. H. Warmington,Carthage (London: Robert Hale 1960; 2d ed. 1969) at 26–31.
^Virgil (70–19 BC),The Aeneid [19 BC], translated byRobert Fitzgerald (New York: Random House 1983), p. 18–19 (Book I, 421–424). Cf., Lancel,Carthage (1997) p. 38. Here capitalized as prose.
^Virgil here, however, does innocently inject his own Roman cultural notions into his imagined description, e.g., Punic Carthage evidently built no theatersper se. Cf., Charles-Picard,Daily Life in Carthage (1958; 1968).
^The harbours, often mentioned by ancient authors, remain an archaeological problem due to the limited, fragmented evidence found. Lancel,Carthage (1992; 1997) at 172–192 (the two harbours).
^Harden,The Phoenicians (1962, 2d ed. 1963) at 32, 130–131.
^Sebkrit er Riana to the north, andEl Bahira to the south [their modern names]. Harden,The Phoenicians (1962, 2d ed. 1963) at 31–32. Ships then could also be beached on the sand.
^Cf., Lancel,Carthage (1992; 1997) at 139–140, city map at 138.
^The lands immediately south of the hill is often also included by the termByrsa.
^Serge Lancel,Carthage. A history (Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard 1992; Oxford: Blackwell 1995) at 148–152; 151 and 149 map (leveling operations on the Byrsa, circa 25 BC, to prepare for new construction), 426 (Temple of Eshmun), 443 (Byrsa diagram, circa 1859). The Byrsa had been destroyed during theThird Punic War (149–146).
^Charles-Picard,Daily Life in Carthage (Paris 1958; London 1961, reprint Macmillan 1968) at 8 (city map showing the Temple of Eshmoun, on the eastern heights of the Byrsa).
^E. S. Bouchier,Life and Letters in Roman Africa (Oxford: B. H. Blackwell 1913) at 17, and 75. The Roman temple toJuno Caelestis is said to be later erected on the site of the ruined temple toTanit.
^On the Byrsa some evidence remains of quality residential construction of the 2nd century BC. Soren, Khader, Slim,Carthage (1990) at 117.
^B. H. Warmington,Carthage (London: Robert Hale 1960; reprint Penguin 1964) at 15 (quote), 25, 141; (London: Robert Hale, 2d ed. 1969) at 27 (quote), 131–132, 133 (enclosure).
^Xella, Paolo, et al. "Cemetery or sacrifice? Infant burials at the Carthage Tophet: Phoenician bones of contention." Antiquity 87.338 (2013): 1199–1207.
^Smith, Patricia, et al. "Cemetery or sacrifice? Infant burials at the Carthage Tophet: Age estimations attest to infant sacrifice at the Carthage Tophet." Antiquity 87.338 (2013): 1191–1199.
^Lancel,Carthage (Paris 1992; Oxford 1997) at 152–172, e.g., 163–165 (floorplans), 167–171 (neighborhood diagrams and photographs).
^Warmington,Carthage (1960, 1964) at 139 (map of city, re the tophet), 141.
^Lancel,Carthage (Paris 1992; Oxford 1997) at 138–140. These findings mostly relate to the 3rd century BC.
^Picard,The Life and Death of Carthage (Paris 1970; New York 1968) at 162–165 (carvings described), 176–178 (quote).
^Lancel,Carthage (1992; 1997) at 138 and 145 (city maps).
^This was especially so, later in the Roman era. E.g., Soren, Khader, Slim,Carthage (1990) at 187–210.
^Serge Lancel and Jean-Paul Morel, "Byrsa. Punic vestiges";To save Carthage. Exploration and conservation of the city Punic, Roman and Byzantine, Unesco / INAA, 1992, pp. 43–59
^Stéphanie Gsell,Histoire ancienne de l'Afrique du Nord, volume four (Paris 1920).
^Serge Lancel,Carthage. A History (Paris: Arthème Fayard 1992; Oxford: Blackwell 1995) at 273–274 (Mago quoted by Columella), 278–279 (Mago andCato's book), 358 (translations).
^Gilbert andColette Picard,La vie quotidienne à Carthage au temps d'Hannibal (Paris: Librairie Hachette 1958), translated asDaily Life in Carthage (London: George Allen & Unwin 1961; reprint Macmillan, New York 1968) at 83–93: 88 (Mago as retired general), 89–91 (fruit trees), 90 (grafting), 89–90 (vineyards), 91–93 (livestock and bees), 148–149 (wine making). Elephants also, of course, were captured and reared for war (at 92).
^Sabatino Moscati,Il mondo dei Fenici (1966), translated asThe World of the Phoenicians (London: Cardinal 1973) at 219–223. Hamilcar is named as another Carthaginian writing on agriculture (at 219).
^Serge Lancel,Carthage (Paris: Arthème Fayard 1992; Oxford: Blackwell 1995), discussion of wine making and its 'marketing' at 273–276. Lancel says (at 274) that about wine making, Mago was silent. Punic agriculture and rural life are addressed at 269–302.
^G. and C. Charles-Picard,La vie quotidienne à Carthage au temps d'Hannibal (Paris: Librairie Hachette 1958) translated asDaily Life in Carthage (London: George Allen and Unwin 1961; reprint Macmillan 1968) at 83–93: 86 (quote); 86–87, 88, 93 (management); 88 (overseers).
^G. C. and C. Picard,Vie et mort de Carthage (Paris: Librairie Hachette 1970) translated (and first published) asThe Life and Death of Carthage (New York: Taplinger 1968) at 86 and 129.
^Charles-Picard,Daily Life in Carthage (1958; 1968) at 83–84: the development of a "landed nobility".
^B. H. Warmington, in hisCarthage (London: Robert Hale 1960; reprint Penguin 1964) at 155.
^Mago, quoted byColumella at I, i, 18; in Charles-Picard,Daily Life in Carthage (1958; 1968) at 87, 101, n37.
^Mago, quoted by Columella at I, i, 18; in Moscati,The World of the Phoenicians (1966; 1973) at 220, 230, n5.
^Gilbert and Colette Charles-Picard,Daily Life in Carthage (1958; 1968) at 83–85 (invaders), 86–88 (rural proletariat).
^E.g., Gilbert Charles Picard and Colette Picard,The Life and Death of Carthage (Paris 1970; New York 1968) at 168–171, 172–173 (invasion of Agathocles in 310 BC). Themercenary revolt (240–237) following the First Punic War was also largely and actively, though unsuccessfully, supported by rural Berbers. Picard (1970; 1968) at 203–209.
^Plato (c. 427 – c. 347) in hisLaws at 674, a-b, mentions regulations at Carthage restricting the consumption of wine in specified circumstances. Cf., Lancel,Carthage (1997) at 276.
^Warmington,Carthage (London: Robert Hale 1960, 2d ed. 1969) at 136–137.
^Diodorus Siculus,Bibleoteca, at XX, 8, 1–4, transl. asLibrary of History (Harvard University 1962), vol.10 [Loeb Classics, no.390); per Soren, Khader, Slim,Carthage (1990) at 88.
^Lancel,Carthage (Paris 1992; Oxford 1997) at 277.
^François Decret, Early Christianity in North Africa(James Clarke & Co, 2011) p. 200.
^Halbertsma, Ruurd B. (2003). "6. JEAN EMILE HUMBERT. The quest for Carthage".Scholars, Travellers and Trade. London New York: Psychology Press. p. 71-88.ISBN978-0-415-27630-6.
^Keita, S. O. Y. (September 1990)."Studies of ancient crania from northern Africa".American Journal of Physical Anthropology.83 (1):35–48.Bibcode:1990AJPA...83...35K.doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330830105.ISSN0002-9483.PMID2221029.The analyses demonstrate the metric heterogeneity of pre-Roman mid-Holocene Maghreban crania. The range of variation in the restricted area described extends from a tropical African metric pattern to a European one and supports the phenotypic variability observed in and near Carthage by ancient writers and in morphological studies. Thus the population emerges as a composite entity, no doubt also containing hybrid individuals. However, the centroid value of the combined Maghreb series indicates that the major craniometric pattern is most similar to that of northern dynastic Egyptians. Furthermore, the series from the coastal Maghreb and northern (Lower) Egypt are more similar to one another than they are to any other series by centroid values and unknown analyses.
^Keita, S.O.Y. (2018). "Brief Report: Carthaginian Affinities with Ancient and Recent Maghreban and Levantine Groups: Craniometric Analyses Using Distance and Discrimination".The African Archaeological Review.35 (1):133–137.doi:10.1007/s10437-018-9285-3.ISSN0263-0338.JSTOR44988676.S2CID165330295.
^Guatelli-Steinberg, D.; Irish, J. D.; Lukacs, J. R. (2001). "Canary islands-north African population affinities: measures of divergence based on dental morphology".Homo: Internationale Zeitschrift für die Vergleichende Forschung am Menschen.52 (2):173–188.doi:10.1078/0018-442x-00027.ISSN0018-442X.PMID11802567.
^Trisos, C.H., I.O. Adelekan, E. Totin, A. Ayanlade, J. Efitre, A. Gemeda, K. Kalaba, C. Lennard, C. Masao, Y. Mgaya, G. Ngaruiya, D. Olago, N.P. Simpson, and S. Zakieldeen 2022:Chapter 9: Africa. InClimate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, pp. 2043–2121
^David Lambert,Notables des colonies. Une élite de circonstance en Tunisie et au Maroc (1881–1939), éd. Presses universitaires de Rennes, Rennes, 2009, pp. 257–258
^Cf., Charles-Picard,Daily Life in Carthage (Paris 195; Oxford 1961, reprint Macmillan 1968) at 165, 171–177.
^Donald Harden,The Phoenicians (New York: Praeger 1962, 2d ed. 1963) at 57–62 (Cyprus and Aegean), 62–65 (western Mediterranean); 157–170 (trade); 67–70, 84–85, 160–164 (the Greeks).
^Strabo,Geographica, XVII: 3, 15; as translated by H. L. Jones (Loeb Classic Library 1932) at VIII: 385.
^Sabatino Moscati,The World of the Phoenicians (1966; 1973) at 223–224.
^Richard J. Harrison,Spain at the Dawn of History (London: Thames and Hudson 1988), "Phoenician colonies in Spain" at 41–50 [42].
^Cf., Harden,The Phoenicians (1962, 2d ed. 1963) at 157–166.
^E.g., during the reign ofHiram (tenth century) of Tyre. Sabatino Moscati,Il Mondo dei Fenici (1966), translated asThe World of the Phoenicians (1968, 1973) at 31–34.
^Stéphane Gsell,Histoire ancienne de l'Afrique du Nord (Paris: Librairie Hachette 1924) at volume IV: 113.
^Strabo (c. 63 BC – AD 20s),Geographica at III, 5.11.
^Walter W. Hyde,Ancient Greek Mariners (Oxford Univ. 1947) at 45–46.
^Warmington,Carthage (1960, 1964) at 81 (secretive), 87 (monopolizing).
^Strabo,Geographica, XVII: 3, 15; in the Loeb Classic Library edition of 1932, translated by H. L. Jones, at VIII: 385.
^Cf.,Theodor Mommsen,Römische Geschicht (Leipzig: Reimer and Hirzel 1854–1856), translated as theHistory of Rome (London 1862–1866; reprinted by J. M. Dent 1911) at II: 17–18 (Mommsen's Book III, Chapter I).
^Warmington, B. H. (1964) [1960].Carthage. Robert Hale, Pelican. pp. 144–147.
^Aristotle,Politica at Book II, Chapter 11, (1272b–1274b); inThe Basic Works of Aristotle edited by R. McKeon, translated by B. Jowett (Random House 1941),Politica at pages 1113–1316, "Carthage" at 1171–1174.
^Polybius,Histories VI, 11–18, translated asThe Rise of the Roman Empire (Penguin 1979) at 311–318.
^Warmington,Carthage (1960; Penguin 1964) at 147–148.
^Aristotle presents a slightly more expansive interpretation of the role of assemblies.Politica II, 11, (1273a/6–11); McKeon, ed.,Basic Works of Aristotle (1941) at 1172.
^Aristotle,Politica at II, 11, (1273b/17–20), and at VI, 5, (1320b/4–6) re colonies; in McKeon, ed.,Basic Works of Aristotle (1941) at 1173, and at 1272.
^"Aristotle said that the oligarchy was careful to treat the masses liberally and allow them a share in the profitable exploitation of the subject territories." Warmington,Carthage (1960, 1964) at 149, citing Aristotle'sPolitica as here.
^Aristotle,Politica at II, 11, (1273b/23–24) re misfortune and revolt, (1272b/29–32) re constitution and loyalty; in McKeon, ed.,Basic Works of Aristotle (1941) at 1173, 1171.
^Aristotle,Politica at II, 11, (1273b/8–16) re one person many offices, and (1273a/22–1273b/7) re oligarchy; in McKeon, ed.,Basic Works of Aristotle (1941) at 1173, 1172–1273.
^Warmington,Carthage (1960, 1964) at 143–144, 148–150. "The fact is that compared to Greeks and Romans the Carthaginians were essentially non-political."Ibid. at 149.
^H. H. Scullard,A History of the Roman World, 753–146 BC (London: Methuen 1935, 4th ed. 1980; reprint Routledge 1991) at 306–307.
^Warmington,Carthage at 240–241, citing the Roman historianLivy.
^Picard,Life and Death of Carthage (1968) at 80–86
^Picard,Life and Death of Carthage (1968, 1969) at 40–41 (Greeks), .
^Cf., Warmington,Carthage (1960; Penguin 1964) at 24–25 (Greeks), 259–260 (Romans).
^B.H.Warmington, "The Carthiginian Period" at 246–260, 246 ("No Carthaginian literature has survived."), inGeneral History of Africa, volume III. Ancient Civilizations of Africa (UNESCO 1990) Abridged Edition.
^R. Bosworth Smith,Carthage and the Carthaginians (London: Longmans, Green 1878, 1902) at 12. Smith's catalogue has not been appreciably augmented since, but for newly found inscriptions.
^Picard,Life and Death of Carthage (1968, 1969) at 72–73: translation of Romano-Punic Treaty, 509 BC; at 72–78: discussion.
^Polybius (c. 200 – 118),Istorion at III, 22–25, selections translated asRise of the Roman Empire (Penguin 1979) at 199–203. Nota bene: Polybius died well over 70 years before the start of the Roman Empire.
^Cf.,Arnold J. Toynbee,Hannibal's Legacy (1965) at I: 526, Appendix on the treaties.
^Hanno's log translated in full by Warmington,Carthage (1960) at 74–76.
^E.g., byVarro (116–27) in hisDe re rustica; byColumella (fl. AD 50–60) in hisOn trees andOn agriculture, and byPliny (23–79) in hisNaturalis Historia. See below, paragraph on Mago's work.
^Harden,The Phoenicians (New York: Praeger 1962, 2d ed. 1963) at 122–123 (28 books), 140 (quotation of paragraph).
^Cf., H. J. Rose,A Handbook of Lanin Literature (London: Methuen 1930, 3d ed. 1954; reprint Dutton, New York 1960) at 51–52, where a plot summary ofPoenulus (i.e., "The Man from Carthage") is given. Its main characters are Punic.
^Eighteen lines fromPoenulus are spoken inPunic by the character Hanno in Act 5, scene 1, beginning "Hyth alonim vualonuth sicorathi si ma com sith... ." Plautus gives a Latin paraphrase in the next ten lines. The gist is a prayer seeking divine aid in his quest to find his lost kin.The Comedies of Plautus (London: G. Bell and Sons 1912), translated byHenry Thomas Riley. The scholar Bochart considered the first ten lines to be Punic, but the last eight to be 'Lybic'. Another scholar,Samuel Petit, translated the text as if it were Hebrew, a sister-language of Punic. This according to notes accompanying the above scene by H. T. Riley.
^Soren, Ben Khader, Slim,Carthage (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990) at 42 (over 6000 inscriptions found), at 139 (many very short, on religiousstele).
^An example of a longer inscription (of about 279 Punic characters) exists atThugga, Tunisia. It concerns the dedication of a temple to the late kingMasinissa. A translated text appears in Brett and Fentress,The Berbers (1997) at 39.
^Picard and Picard,Life and Death of Carthage (1968, 1969) at 30.
^Cf., Victor Matthews, "Thelibri punici of King Hiempsal" inAmerican Journal of Philology 93: 330–335 (1972); and, Véronique Krings, "Leslibri Punici de Sallust" inL'Africa Romana 7: 109–117 (1989). Cited by Roller (2003) at 27, n110.
^Serge Lancel,Carthage (Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard 1992; Oxford: Blackwell 1995) at 358–360. Lancel here remarks that, following the fall of Carthage, there arose among the Romans there a popular reaction against the lateCato the Elder (234–149), the Roman censor who had notoriously lobbied for the destruction of the city. Lancel (1995) at 410.
^Ronald Syme, however, in hisSallust (University of California, 1964, 2002) at 152–153, discounts any unique value of thelibri punici mentioned in hisBellum Jugurthinum.
^Lancel,Carthage (1992, 1995) at 359, raises questions concerning the provenance of these books.
^Hiempsal II was the great-grandson ofMasinissa (r. 202–148), through Mastanabal (r. 148–140) and Gauda (r. 105–88). D. W. Roller,The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene (2003) at 265.
^Sallust,Bellum Iugurthinum (ca. 42) at ¶17, translated asThe Jugurthine War (Penguin 1963) at 54.
^R. Bosworth Smith, in hisCarthage and the Carthaginians (London: Longmans, Green 1878, 1908) at 38, laments that Sallust declined to directly address the history of the city of Carthage.
^Duane W. Roller,The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene. Royal scholarship on Rome's African frontier (New York: Routledge 2003), at 183, 191, in his Chapter 8: "Libyka" (183–211) [cf., 179]; also at 19, 27, 159 (Juba's library described), 177 (per his book on Hanno).
^Juba II's literary works are reviewed by D. W. Roller inThe World of Jube II and Kleopatra Selene (2003) at chapters 7, 8, and 10.
^Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (Leiden 1923–), ed. Felix Jacoby, re "Juba II" at no. 275 (per Roller (2003) at xiii, 313).
^Duane W. Roller,The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene (2003) at 189, n22; cf., 177.
^Cf., Picard and Picard,The Life and Death of Carthage (Paris: Hachette [1968]; New York: Taplinger 1969) at 93–98, 115–119.
^Serge Lancel,Carthage. A History (Paris 1992; Oxford 1995) at 358–360.
^See section herein onBerber relations. SeeEarly History of Tunisia for both indigenous and foreign reports concerning the Berbers, both in pre-Punic and Punic times.
^Glenn E. Markoe,Phoenicians (London: British Museum, Berkeley: University of California 2000) at 21–22 (affinity), 95–96 (economy), 115–119 (religion), 137 (funerals), 143 (art).
^David Diringer,Writing (London: Thames and Hudson 1962) at 115–116. The Ugarit tablet were discovered in 1929.
^Allen C. Myers, editor,The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: 1987) at 1027–1028.
^Markoe,Phoenicians (2000) at 119.Eusebius of Caesarea (263–339), the Church Historian, quotes the Greek ofPhilo of Byblos whose source was the Phoenician writings of Sanchuniathon. Some doubt the existence of Sanchuniathon.
^Cf., Attridge & Oden,Philo of Byblos (1981); Baumgarten,Phoenician History of Philo of Byblos (1981). Cited by Markoe (2000).
^Donald Harden,The Phoenicians (New York: Praeger 1962, 2d ed. 1963) at 83–84.
^Sabatino Moscati,Il Mondo dei Fenici (1966), translated asThe World of the Phoenicians (London: Cardinal 1973) at 55. Moscati offers the tablets found at ancientUgarit as independent substantiation for what we know about Sanchuniathon's writings.
^The ancient Romanized Jewish historianFlavius Josephus (37–100s) also mentions a lost Phoenician work; he quotes from aPhoenician History of one "Dius". Josephus,Against Apion (c.100) at I:17; found inThe Works of Josephus translated by Whiston (London 1736; reprinted by Hendrickson, Peabody, Massachusetts 1987) at 773–814, 780.
^Glenn E. Markoe,Phoenicians (Univ.of California 2002) at 11, 110. Of course, this also applies to Carthage. Cf., Markoe (2000) at 114.
^Strabo (c. 63 BC – AD 20s),Geographica at III, 5.11.
^"He knows all lingos, but pretends he doesn't. He must be Punic; need we labor it?" FromPoenulus at 112–113, by the Roman playwrightPlautus (c. 250–184). Cited by Hardon,The Phoenicians (1963) at 228, n102.
^Markoe,Phoenicians (2000) at 110, at 11. Inserted in second Markoe quote: [language].
^Cf., Harden,The Phoenicians (1963) at 123. [Ancient Peoples and Places]
^Soren, Ben Khader, Slim,Carthage (New York: Simon and Schuster 1990) at 34–35 (script), at 42 (inserted in quote: [the alphabet]).
^Steven Roger Fischer,A History of Writing (London: Reaktion 2001) at 82–93. Facsimiles of early alphabetical writing from ancient inscriptions are given for: Proto-Canaanite in the Levant of the 2nd millennium (at 88), Phoenician (Old Hebrew) in Moab of 842 (at 91), Phoenician (Punic) in Marseilles [France] c. 300 BC (at 92). Also given (at 92) is a bilingual (Punic and Numidian) inscription fromThugga [Tunisia] circa 218–201, which regards a temple being dedicated to kingMasinissa.
^David Diringer,Writing (London: Thames and Hudson 1962) at 112–121.
Altekamp, Stefan (2024).Karthago. Archäologische Stadtbiographie [Carthage. Archaeological biography of the city]. Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter,ISBN978-3-11-133217-8.
Aubet, Maria Eugenia (1987),The Phoenicians and the West: Politics, Colonies, and Trade,Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bath, Tony (1981),Hannibal's Campaigns, New York: Barnes & Noble Books.
Beschaouch, Azedine (1993),La légende de Carthage[The Legend of Carthage],Découvertes Gallimard, vol. 172, Paris: Gallimard.(in French)
Charles-Picard, Gibert; et al. (1958),La vie quotidienne à Carthage au temps d'Hannibal[Daily Life in Carthage in the Time of Hannibal], Paris: Hachette.(in French)
Freed, J. (2011),Bringing Carthage Home: The Excavations of Nathan Davis, 1856–1859.
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