Il reste peu
de ruines d’avant la destruction totale de Carthage lors de la 3e Guerre
Punique avec Rome,(en 134 avant Jésus-Christ)! « Carthago delenda
est » comme se plaisait à répéter Caton l’Ancien à la fin de ses discours
pour inciter ses collègues du Sénat (pas besoin de traduire, avec l’usage
courant du terme « delete »; on aura compris!) . Et Scipion, général romain, ne l’a pas raté! Sa destruction
était-elle nécessaire? Pas vraiment puisque Carthage avait déjà été battue
cinquante ans auparavant lors de la 2e Guerre Punique, mais certains arguent (comme
Caton!) que c’était nécessaire pour que Rome s’impose vraiment comme maître de
la Méditerranée, et ouvrir ainsi la voie à l’ « Empire Romain »!
Après la 1ère Guerre Punique (qui se déroule en Sicile et où les
mercenaires de Carthage perdent devant les armées de citoyens romains), Hannibal
envahit l’Italie (avec ses éléphants par les Alpes, venu de l’Espagne – Carthagène)
et y reste pendant plus de 15 ans sans jamais attaquer Rome. En effet, c’est Rome
qui attaque Carthage ! C’est cette dernière qui rappelle
Hannibal chez
elle, mais qui perd contre les Romains à Zama, sur leur sol même. (C’est la 2e
Guerre Punique où les Carthaginois perdent encore une fois – ce qui n’est pas
suffisant aux yeux des Romains, d’où la 3e Guerre Punique!) Mais
Carthage a une histoire qui remonte bien avant les Guerres Puniques! (Pour plus
là-dessus, voir les reproductions de sites internet – en anglais – qui suivent…)
Pour s’y rendre de l’hôtel (à pied): il faut compter
un 15 minutes pour traverser la médina (en empruntant la rue Jamaa ez-zitouna - derrière la mosquée du même nom),puis au
moins une demi-heure sur l’Avenue de France et le Boulevard Bourguiba
jusqu’au terminus (il faut passer la Tour de l’Horloge et le viaduc) pour
prendre le TGM (train de banlieue), à partir de la station Tunis-Nord (le
terminus) pour une autre bonne demi-heure de train jusqu’à la station
Carthage-Hannibal! Ouf!
J’ai donc visité la colline de Byrsa où se trouve
l’essentiel de ce qui reste de Carthage (et où se trouvait la citadelle, le
centre de la ville) : les ruines du quartier du temps d’Hannibal (2e
siècle B.C.), le musée, etc.) Ai visité auparavant ce qu’on appelle maintenant l’Acropolium
(l’Ex Cathédrale Saint-Louis – il serait mort dans les environs au retour de la
8e et dernière croisade – au 13e siècle)
Après avoir déjeuné au restaurant de l’Hôtel Villa
Didon, j’ai pris un taxi pour me rendre à Sidi bou Said, d’où je suis rentré à
Tunis (en faisant le trajet inverse de ce matin !) J’ai visité Sidi
bou Said à la suggestion de la propriétaire de l’hôtel Dar el Médina où je suis
descendu – bonne suggestion de visiter cette ville tout en blanc et bleu
(c’est le règlement !)
Ai dîné à Tunis au
Dar El Jeld, tout près de l'hôtel
Historique de Carthage :
Dido's city: 814
BC
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Carthage is the
largest of the towns founded by the Phoenicians on the north African coast. It
rapidly assumes a leading position among the neighbouring colonies. The
traditional date of its founding (by Dido) is 814 BC, but
archaeological evidence suggests that it is probably settled around the
middle of the 8th century.
The subsequent spread and growth of Phoenician colonies in the western
Mediterranean, and even out to the Atlantic coasts of Africa and Spain, is as
much the achievement of Carthage as of the original Phoenician trading cities
such as Tyre and Sidon. But no doubt links are maintained with the homeland,
and new colonists continue to come west.
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Colonies and rivals:
6th - 3rd century BC
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In the 6th
century the Carthaginians establish colonies beyond the straits of Gibraltar
- southwards on the Moroccan coast at Larache and to the north at Cadiz
(where they conquer a city already founded by settlers from Phoenicia).
And there is trade much further afield in both directions. A colony is
established on the African coast near Essaouira (by this time the Phoenicians
have sailed round the entire continent - see First sea voyage round Africa). Carthaginian
coins have been found in the Azores and in Britain. The tin mines of Cornwall
are the focus of trade with Britain, just as the gold, silver and copper of
southern Spain are the important commodities of Cadiz.
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Carthage's main
rivals for economic power in the western Mediterranean are their nearest
neighbors - the Greeks of Sicily, separated from them only by the Sicilian
Channel.
For more than a century, from 409 BC, there is almost continual warfare
between Carthaginians and Greeks for the control of Sicily. By about 275
BC the advantage has gone to the Carthaginians. But by then a third power is
in the field, and one with which Carthage will be less evenly matched - Rome (see the Sicilian Wars).
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The Punic Wars: 264-146 BC
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The three wars between
Carthage and Rome include astonishing Carthaginian successes - in particular
the 15-year campaign of Hannibal in Italy, after his famous crossing of the
Alps.
But the end is disaster for the Carthaginians. The final event of this long
and brutal conflict is a siege of Carthage by a Roman army and fleet.
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The city's
defences are so strong, and the resistance of the Carthaginians so desperate,
that the siege lasts for three years. When Carthage is finally starved into
submission, in 146 BC, a population of 250,000 has been reduced to 50,000.
These survivors are sold into slavery. The city burns for seventeen days,
after which the ground is cleared and ploughed. Salt is scattered in the
furrows, and a curse is pronounced to ensure that neither houses nor crops
ever rise here again.
This obsessive frenzy of destruction has a sting in the tail for the Romans.
When they later wish to found a new city on this strategic site, the curse
proves something of a psychological obstacle for potential settlers.
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Colonia Julia
Carthago: from 122 BC
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A first attempt
to establish a Roman colony on the site of Carthage is made within a quarter
of a century, in 122 BC. The place is considered ill-omened from the start.
Macabre tales circulate in Rome of wolves tearing up the boundary markers.
Within thirty years the scheme is abandoned. But a new colony is proposed by
Julius Caesar. After his death it develops into a thriving Roman city, known
as Colonia Julia Carthago.
By the middle of the 1st century AD Carthage is the second largest city
(after Rome) in the western half of the empire and is the hub of the
prosperous Roman provinces of north Africa.
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These provinces,
rich from agriculture, run in a continuous coastal strip along the northern
parts of present-day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya before linking with
the province of Egypt, where the Nile allows Roman penetration further south
into the continent.
Carthage also plays an important part in Christian history. The most poignant
martyrdom of early Christians is that of a
young Carthaginian woman, Saint Perpetua. In 313 the
city provides the emperor Constantine with his first
Christian dispute. In 439 Carthage falls to an Arian Christian -
Gaiseric, king of the Vandals.
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The Vandals in
Carthage: AD 439-533
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With Carthage as
his base, Gaiseric dominates the western Mediterranean - much as the
Carthaginians once did. He annexes Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic
islands. In 455 he even invades Italy, reaching and capturing Rome. His
troops plunder systematically for two weeks, carrying off many treasures
(including those which Titus, in this game
of imperial plunder, has taken four centuries previously from the Temple in
Jerusalem). The empress and her two daughters are taken as hostages.
The independent Vandal kingdom, a thorn in the side of Rome, lasts almost a
century - until destroyed by a Byzantine expedition in 533.
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The last years
of Carthage: 533-698
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Justinian, the Byzantine
emperor, orders the restoration of the city and gives it its final name -
Colonia Justiniana Carthago, commemorating himself and echoing the earlier
involvement of Julius Caesar. Its last
chapter comes to an end with the Arab conquest of north
Africa. The governor of Egypt, Hasan ibn Noman, captures Carthage from the
Byzantines in 698 and orders its complete destruction.
But this strategic site on the Mediterranean coast is too valuable to waste.
Another city grows a little to the south of ancient Carthage. It thrives today as Tunis.
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And from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
History of Carthage
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 historical
primary sources survive. 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.[1] However, the majority of available primary source
material about Carthaginian civilization was written by Greek
and Roman
historians, such as Livy,
Polybius, Appian, Cornelius
Nepos, Silius Italicus, Plutarch, Dio Cassius,
and Herodotus.
These authors came from cultures
which were nearly always in competition, and often in conflict, with Carthage.
The Greeks contested with Carthage for Sicily,[2] for instance, and the Romans
fought the Punic
Wars against Carthage.[3] Inevitably the accounts of Carthage written by
outsiders include significant bias. Recent excavation of ancient Carthaginian
sites 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.
Contents
Beginning
Carthage was one of a number of
Phoenician settlements in the western Mediterranean that were created to
facilitate trade from the cities of Sidon, Tyre and others from Phoenicia,
which was situated in the coast of what is now Lebanon. In the 10th century BC,
the eastern Mediterranean shore was inhabited by various Semitic populations,
who had built up flourishing civilizations. The people inhabiting what is now
Lebanon, were referred to as Phoenicians by the Greeks.
The Phoenician language was very close to ancient
Hebrew, to such a degree that the latter is often used as an aid in translation
of Phoenician inscriptions.
The Phoenician cities were highly
dependent on both land- and seaborne trade and their cities included a number
of major ports in the area. In order to provide a resting place for their
merchant fleets, to maintain a Phoenician monopoly on an area's natural
resource, or to conduct trade on its own, the Phoenicians established numerous
colonial cities along the coasts of the Mediterranean, stretching from Iberia
to the Black Sea. They were stimulated to found their cities by a need for
revitalizing trade in order to pay the tribute extracted from Tyre,
Sidon, and Byblos by the
succession of empires that ruled them and later by fear of complete Greek
colonization of that part of the Mediterranean suitable for commerce. The
initial Phoenician colonization took place during a time when other neighboring
kingdoms (Hellenic/Greek and Hattian/Hittite) were suffering from a “Dark Age”,
perhaps after the activities of the Sea Peoples.
Extent
of Phoenician settlement
The Phoenicians' leading city was
Tyr,
which established a number of trading posts around the Mediterranean.
Ultimately Phoenicians established 300 colonies in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Iberia,
and to a much lesser extent, on the arid coast of Libya. The
Phoenicians lacked the population or necessity to establish self-sustaining
cities abroad, and most cities had fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, but Carthage
and a few other cities later developed into large, self-sustaining, independent
cities. The Phoenicians controlled Cyprus, Sardinia, Corsica, and the Balearic
Islands, as well as obtaining minor possessions in Crete and Sicily; the latter
settlements were in perpetual conflict with the Greeks. The Phoenicians managed
to control Sicily for a limited time, but Phoenician control did not extend inland
and was limited to the coast only.
The first colonies were made on
the two paths to Iberia's mineral wealth—along the African coast and on Sicily,
Sardinia and
the Balearic Islands. The center of the Phoenician
world was Tyre, serving as an economic and political hub. The power of this
city waned following numerous sieges and its eventual destruction by Alexander the Great, and the role as leader
passed to Sidon,
and eventually to Carthage. Each colony paid tribute to either Tyre or Sidon,
but neither mother city had actual control of the colonies. This changed with
the rise of Carthage, since the Carthaginians appointed their own magistrates
to rule the towns and Carthage retained much direct control over the colonies.
This policy resulted in a number of Iberian towns siding with the Romans during
the Punic
Wars.
Ancient sources concur that
Carthage had become perhaps the wealthiest city in the world via its trade and
commerce, yet few remains of its riches exist. This is due to the fact that
most of it was short-lived materials—textiles,
unworked metal, foodstuffs, and slaves; its trade in fabricated goods was only a part of its
wares. There can be no doubt that the most fruitful trade was that acquired
from the Phoenicians
in the western Mediterranean, in which tin, silver, gold, and iron were gained in
return for consumer goods.[4] Like their Phoenician predecessors the
Carthaginians produced and exported the very valuable tyrian
purple dye that was extracted from shellfish.[5] The Phoenician colony of Mogador on the
Northeastern coast of Africa was a centre of Tyrian dye production.[6]
Foundation
Carthage was founded by Phoenician
settlers from the city of Tyre, who brought with them the city-god
Melqart. Philistos of Syracuse dates the founding of
Carthage to c 1215 BC, while the Roman historian Appian dates the
founding 50 years prior to the Trojan War (i.e. between 1244 and 1234 BC,
according to the chronology of Eratosthenes).
The Roman poet Virgil imagines that the city's founding
coincides with the end of the Trojan War. However, it is most likely that the
city was founded sometime between 846 and 813 BC.[7]
Foundation
myths
According to tradition, the city
was founded by Queen Dido (or Elissa or Elissar) [8] who fled Tyre
(modern day Lebanon)
following the murder of her husband in an attempt by her younger brother, the
King of Tyre, to bolster his own power. A number of foundation myths have
survived through Greek and Roman
literature, see Byrsa
for one example.
Queen
Elissar
Queen Elissar (also known as
"Elissa", and by the Arabic
name اليسار also اليسا and عليسا) who in later accounts became Queen Dido, was a princess of Tyre
who founded the city of Carthage.[9] At its peak her metropolis came to be called the
"shining city", ruling 300 other cities around the western
Mediterranean and leading the Phoenician Punic world.
Elissar was the Princess of Tyre,
married to the High Priest of the city, who was wealthy and enjoyed widespread
respect and power among the citizens. Details of her life are sketchy and
confusing, but the following can be deduced from various sources. According to
Justin, Princess Elissar 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) High Priest of Melqart, a man with both authority and wealth comparable to
the king. Pygmalion was a tyrant, lover of both gold and intrigue, and desired
the authority and fortune enjoyed by Acherbas. Pygmalion assassinated Acherbas
in the temple and managed to keep 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.
After learning the truth, Elissar
fled Tyre with her husband's gold, and managed to trick the Tyrian ships sent
in pursuit to join her fleet. When her ship was overtaken by the Tyrian ships,
she threatened to throw the gold overboard and let the would-be captors face
the wrath of her brother for failing their mission. They opted to join her, and
the augmented fleet sailed on towards the West. Elissa eventually sailed to
Africa after a brief stop at Cyprus, where she rescued 80 virgins from a
temple. She requested land to establish a new city from the king of the Libyan
tribe living near Byrsa
after reaching Africa. Told that she could have as much land that can be covered
by an oxhide, she cut the hide into thin strips and managed to surround the
hill of Byrsa. The initial city of Carthage was founded on the spot. When the
Libyan king later sought to marry her, which would have caused the city to
become part of the king's domain, she chose instead to kill herself.
Colony
of Tyre
Little is known of the internal
history and dealings of the early Phoenician city. The initial city covered the
area around Byrsa, paid an annual tribute to the nearby Libyan tribes, and may
have been ruled by a governor from Tyre, whom the Greeks identified as
"king". Utica, then the leading Phoenician city in Africa,
aided the early settlement in her dealings. The date from which Carthage can be
counted as an independent power cannot exactly be determined, and probably
nothing distinguished Carthage from the other Phoenician colonies in Africa
during 800 - 700 BC.
It has been noted that the
culture of Phoenician colonies had gained a distinct "Punic"
characteristic by the end of the 7th century BC, indicating the emergence of a distinct
culture in Western Mediterranean.[10] In 650 BC, Carthage planted her own colony,[11] and in 600 BC, she was warring with Greeks on her
own away from the African mainland. By the time King Nebuchadnezzar
II of Babylon was conducting the 13-year siege of Tyre starting from 585
BC, Carthage was probably independent of her mother city in political matters.
However, close ties with Tyre still remained, Carthage continued to send annual
tribute to Tyre (for the temple of Melqart) at irregular intervals over the
centuries. Carthage inherited no colonial empire from Tyre and had to build her
own. It is likely that Carthage did not have an empire prior to 6th century BC.
Exactly what
social/political/geographic/military factors influenced the citizens of Carthage,
and not the other Mediterranean Phoenician colonial members to create an
economic and political hegemony is not clearly known. The city of Utica was far
older than Carthage and enjoyed the same geographical/political advantages as
Carthage, but it opted to be an allied entity, not a leader of the Punic
hegemony that came into being probably sometime around the 6th century BC. When
the Phoenician trade monopoly was challenged by Etruscans and
Greeks in the west and their political and economic independence by successive
empires in the east, Phoenician influence from the mainland decreased in the
west and Punic Carthage ultimately emerged at the head of a commercial empire.
One theory is that refugees from Phoenicia swelled the population and enhanced
the culture of Carthage during the time the Phoenician homeland came under
attack from the Babylonians and Persians, transferring the tradition of Tyre to
Carthage.[12]
Beginning
of Carthaginian Hegemony
The mainland Greeks began their
colonization efforts in the western Mediterranean with the founding of Naxos
and Cumae in
Sicily and Italy respectively, and by 650 BC Phoenicians in Sicily had
retreated to the western part of that island. Around this time the first
recorded independent action by Carthage takes place, which is the colonization
of Ibiza. By the
end of the 7th century BC, Carthage was becoming one of the leading commercial
centers of the West Mediterranean region, a position it retained until
overthrown by the Roman Republic. Carthage would establish new
colonies, repopulate old Phoenician ones, come to the defense of other Punic
cities under threat from natives/Greeks, as well as expand her territories by
conquest. While some Phoenician colonies willingly submitted to Carthage,
paying tribute
and giving up their foreign policy, others in Iberia and Sardinia
resisted Carthaginian efforts.
Carthage, unlike Rome,
did not concentrate on conquering lands adjacent to the city prior to embarking
on overseas ventures. Her dependence on trade and focus on protecting that
trade network saw the evolution of an overseas hegemony before Carthage pushed
inland into Africa. It may be possible that the power of the Libyan tribes
prevented expansion in the neighborhood of the city for some time.[13] Until 550 BC, Carthage paid rent to the Libyans
for use of land in the city surroundings[14] and in Cape Bon for agricultural purposes. The
Africa dominion controlled by Carthage was relatively small. The payment would
be finally stopped around 450 BC, when the second major expansion inland into
Tunisia would take place. Carthage probably colonized the Syrtis
region (Area between Thapsus in Tunisia and Sabratha in
Libya) between 700-600 BC. Carthage also focused on bringing the existing
Phoenician colonies along the African coast into the hegemony, but exact
details are lacking. Emporia had fallen under Carthaginian influence prior to
509 BC, as the first treaty with Rome indicated. The eastward expansion of
Carthaginian influence along the African coast (through what is now Libya) was
blocked by the Greek colony of Cyrene
(established 630 BC).
Carthage spread her influence
along the west coast relatively unhindered, but the chronology is unknown. Wars
with the Libyans, Numidians and Mauri
took place but did not end with the creation of a Carthaginian empire like the
one the Romans created almost half a millennium later.
Nature
of the Hegemony
The degree of control Carthage
exerted over her territories varied in their severity. In ways, the
Carthaginian hegemony shared some of the characteristics of the Delian
League (allies sharing defense expenditure), the Spartan Kingdom
(serfs tilling for the Punic elite and state) and to a lesser extent, the Roman
Republic (allies contributing manpower/tribute to furnish the Roman war
machine).
Conquered
People
The African lands near to the
city faced the harshest control measures, with Carthaginian officers
administering the area and Punic troops garrisoning the cities. Many cities had
to destroy their defensive walls, while the Libyans living in the area had few
rights. The Libyans could own land[15] but had to pay an annual tribute (50% of
agricultural produce and 25% of their town income) and serve in the
Carthaginian armies as conscripts.
Tributary
Allies
Other Phoenician cities (Like Leptis
Magna) paid an annual tribute and ran their own internal affairs, retained
their defensive walls but had no independent foreign policy. Other cities had
to provide personnel for the Punic army and the Punic navy along with tribute
but retained internal autonomy. Allies like Utica and Gades were more
independent and had their own government. Carthage stationed troops and some
type of central administration in Sardinia and Iberia to control her domain.
The cities, in return for surrendering these privileges, obtained Carthaginian
protection, which provided the fleet to combat piracy and fought
wars needed to protect these cities from external threats.
Citizens
and their status
Carthaginian citizenship was more
exclusive, and the goal of the state was more focused on protecting the trade
infrastructure than expanding the citizen body. This contrasts with the Roman
Republic, which in the course of her wars created an alliance system in
Italy that expanded her lands and also expanded her citizen body and military
manpower by adding allies (with varying degrees of political rights). Carthage,
while she continued to expand until 218 BC, did not have a similar system to
increase her citizen numbers. She had treaties in place with various Punic and
non-Punic cities (the most famous and well known ones being the ones with
Rome), detailing the rights of each power and their sphere of influence. The Punic cities not under
direct Carthaginian control probably had similar treaties in place. The
Libyo-Phoenicians, who lived in the African domain controlled by Carthage, also
had rights similar to those of Carthaginian citizens.
Carthaginian citizens were exempt
from taxation and were primarily involved in commerce as traders or industrial
workers. As a result, Carthage, unlike the other agricultural nations, could
not afford to have her citizens serve in a long war, as it diminished her
commercial activities.
The
reign of "Kings"
Carthage was initially ruled by
"kings", who were elected by the Carthaginian "senate" and
served for a specific time period. The election took place in Carthage, and the
kings at first were war leaders, civic administrators and performed certain
religious duties. According to Aristotle, kings were elected on merit, not by the people
but by the senate, and the post was not hereditary. However, the crown and
military commands could also be purchased by the highest bidder. Initially
these kings may have enjoyed near absolute power, which was curtailed as
Carthage moved towards a more democratic government. Gradually, military
command fell to professional officers, and a pair of suffets replaced the king
in some of the civic functions and eventually kings were no longer elected.
Records show that two families had held the kingship with distinction during
550-310 BC. The Magonid
family produced several members who were elected kings between 550 BC and
370 BC, who were in the forefront of the overseas expansion of Carthage. Hanno
"Magnus", along with his son and grandson, held the kingship for some
years between 367 and 310 BC. Records of other elected kings or their impact on
Carthaginian history are not available. The suffets, who would
ultimately displace the kings, were elected by the people. Suffets would
ultimately discard their military duties and become purely civic officials.
The Phoenicians encountered
little resistance in developing their trade monopoly during
1100-900 BC. The emergence of the Etruscans as a sea power did little to dent
the Phoenician trade. The power of the Etruscans was localized around Italy,
and their trade with Corsica, Sardinia and Iberia had not hindered Phoenician
activity. Trade had also developed between Punic and Etruscan cities, and
Carthage had treaties with the Etruscan cities to regulate these activities,
while mutual piracy had not led to full-blown war between the powers.
Carthage's economic successes, and its dependence on shipping to conduct most
of its trade, led to the creation of a powerful Carthaginian navy to discourage
both pirates and rival nations. This, coupled with its success and growing
hegemony, ultimately brought Carthage into increasing conflict with the Greeks, the other
major power contending for control of the central Mediterranean. In conducting
these conflicts, which spanned between 600 - 310 BC, the overseas empire of
Carthage also came into being under the military leadership of the
"kings". The Etruscans, also in conflict with the Greeks, became
allies of Carthage in the ensuing struggle.
Conflict
with the Greeks
The nature of the conflict
between Carthage and the Greeks was more due to economic factors rather than
ideological and cultural differences. The Greeks did not wage a crusade to save
the world from Imperium Barbaricum but to extend their own area of
influence, neither was Carthage interested in wiping out Greek ideals. It was
the vulnerability of the Carthaginian economy to Greek commercial competition
that caused Carthage to take on the Greeks during the early years of her
empire.
Vulnerability
of Punic trade
The trade network which Carthage
inherited from Tyre depended heavily on Carthage keeping commercial rivals at
arm's length. The goods produced by Carthage were mainly for the local African
market[16] and were initially inferior to Greek goods.
Carthage was the middleman between mineral resource-rich Iberia and the east.
She bartered low-priced goods for metals, then bartered those for finished
goods in the east and distributed these through their network. The threat from
the Greek colonists was threefold:
- Undercutting the Phoenicians by
offering better products
- Taking over the distribution network
- Preying on Punic shipping
While the Greek colonies also
offered increased opportunities for trade and piracy, their nosing into areas
of Punic influence caused the Punic cities to look for protection from their
strongest city. Carthage took up the challenge.
Greeks
go West.
The Greek colonization in the
Western Mediterranean started with the establishment of Cumae in Italy and Naxos
in Sicily after 750 BC. Over the next century, hundreds of Greek colonies
sprang up along the Southern Italian and Sicilian coastlines (except Western
Sicily). There are no records of Phoenicians initially clashing with Greeks
over territory; in fact, the Phoenicians had withdrawn to the Western corner of
Sicily in the face of Greek expansion. However, the situation changed sometime
after 638 BC, when the first Greek trader visited Tartessos,
and by 600 BC Carthage was actively warring with the Greeks to curb their
colonial expansion. By 600 BC, the once-Phoenician lake had turned into a
conflict zone with the Greeks rowing about in all corners. Carthaginian
interests in Iberia, Sardinia and Sicily were threatened, which led to a series
of conflicts between Carthage and various Greek city-states.
Twenty years after the
establishment of Massalia, the Phoenician cities in Sicily repelled an
invasion of Dorian Greek settlers in Sicily while aiding the Elymians of Segesta against
the Greek city of Selineus in 580 BC. The result was
the defeated Greeks establishing themselves in Lipera, which became a pirate
hub, a threat to all commerce (Greek included). Shortly after this event,
Carthaginians under a "king" called Malchus warred successfully
against the Libyan tribes in Africa, and then defeated the Greeks in Sicily,
sending a part of the Sicilian booty to Tyre as tribute to Melquart. Malchus
next moved to Sardinia, but suffered a severe defeat against the natives. He
and his entire army were banished by the Carthaginian senate. They in turn
returned to Africa and besieged Carthage, which duly surrendered. Malchus
assumed power, but was later deposed and executed. The Carthaginian army, which
up to this point had been a predominantly citizen militia, became one primarily
made up of mercenaries.[17]
Cyrene
and Carthage
No records of any confrontations between
the two powers are available, but a legend describes how the powers agreed on a
border in Libya.
Two pairs of champions set out
for Carthage and Cyrene on the same day, each pair running towards the other
city. When the runners met, the Carthaginian pair had covered more ground.
Accused of cheating by the Greeks, they consented to be buried alive on the
meeting spot, so that the territory between that spot and Carthage would become
part of the Carthaginian domain. The Carthaginian champions were brothers,
called Philaeni, and the border was marked by two pillars called the
"Altars of the Philaeni". The African territorial boundary between
the Western and Eastern Roman Empires was later set on this
spot.[18]
Mago and
the Magonids
Mago I, a general of the army, had assumed power
in Carthage by 550 BC. Mago and his sons, Hasdrubal I and Hamilcar I, established the warlike
tradition of Carthage by their successes in Africa, Sicily and Sardinia.[19] In 546 BC, Phocaeans fleeing from a Persian
invasion established Alalia in Corsica (Greeks had settled there since 562 BC), and
began preying on Etruscan and Punic commerce. Between 540 and 535 BC, a
Carthaginian-Etruscan alliance had expelled the Greeks from Corsica after the Battle
of Alalia. The Etruscans took control of Corsica, Carthage concentrated on
Sardinia, ensuring that no Greek presence would be established in the island.
The defeat also ended the westward expansion of Greeks for all time.
A war with Greek Massalia
followed. Carthage lost battles but managed to safeguard Phoenician Iberia and
close the Strait of Gibraltar to Greek shipping,[20] while Massalians retained their Iberian colonies
in Eastern Iberia above Cape Nao.[21] Southern Iberia was closed to the Greeks.
Carthaginians in support of the Phoenician colony Gades in Iberia,[22] also brought about the collapse of Tartessos in
Iberia by 530 BC, either by armed conflict or by cutting off Greek trade.
Carthage also besieged and took over Gades at this time. The Persians had taken
over Cyrene by this time, and Carthage may have been spared a trial of arms
against the Persian Empire when the Phoenicians refused to lend ships to Cambyses in 525
BC for an African expedition. Carthage may have paid tribute irregularly to the
Great King. It is not known if Carthage had any role in the Battle
of Cumae in 524 BC, after which Etruscan power began to wane in Italy.
Hasdrubal, the son of Mago, was
elected as "king" eleven times, was granted a triumph four times (the
only Carthaginian to receive this honor - there is no record of anyone else
being given similar treatment by Carthage) and had died of his battle wounds
received in Sardinia.[23] Carthage had engaged in a 25-year struggle in
Sardinia, where the natives may have received aid from Sybaris, then the
richest city in Magna Graecia and an ally of the Phocaeans. The Carthaginians
faced resistance from Nora and Sulci in Sardinia, while Carales and Tharros had
submitted willingly to Carthaginian rule.[24] Hasdrubal’s war against the Libyans failed to
stop the annual tribute payment.[25]
Carthaginians managed to defeat
and drive away the colonization attempt near Leptis Magna in Libya by the
Spartan prince Dorieus
after a three-year war (514-511 BC).[26] Dorieus was later defeated and killed at Eryx in Sicily in 510
BC while attempting to establish a foothold in Western Sicily. Hamilcar, either
the brother or nephew (son of Hanno)[27] of Hasdrubal, followed him to power in Carthage.
Hamilcar had served with Hasdrubal in Sardinia and had managed to put down the
revolt of Sardinians which had started in 509 BC.
Treaty
with Rome
Carthage had concluded treaties
with several powers, but those with Rome are the most well-known. In 509 BC, a
treaty was signed between Carthage and Rome
indicating a division of influence and commercial activities. This is the first
known source indicating that Carthage had gained control over Sicily and Sardinia, as
well as Emporia and the area south of Cape Bon in
Africa. Carthage may have signed the treaty with Rome, then an insignificant
backwater, because Romans had treaties with the Phocaeans and Cumae, who were
aiding the Roman struggle against the Etruscans at that time. Carthage had
similar treaties with Etruscan, Punic and Greek cities in Sicily.
By the end of the 6th century BC,
Carthage had conquered most of the old Phoenician colonies e.g. Hadrumetum,
Utica
and Kerkouane,
subjugated some of the Libyan tribes, and had taken control of parts of the
North African coast from modern Morocco to the borders of Cyrenaica. It
was also fighting wars in defense of Punic colonies and commerce. However, only
the details of her struggle against the Greeks have survived - which often
makes Carthage seem "obsessed with Sicily".
First
Sicilian War
The island of Sicily, lying at
Carthage's doorstep, became the arena in which this conflict played out. From
their earliest days, both the Greeks and Phoenicians had been attracted to the
large island, establishing a large number of colonies and trading posts along
its coasts. Small battles had been fought between these settlements for
centuries. Carthage had to contend with at least three Greek incursions, in 580
BC, in 510 BC and a war in which the city of Heraclea was destroyed. Gelo had fought in the
last war and had secured terms for the Greeks.
The Punic domain in Sicily by 500
BC contained the cities of Motya, Panormus and Soluntum. By 490 BC, Carthage had concluded treaties with
the Greek cities of Selinus, Himera, and Zankle in Sicily. Gelo, the tyrant of Greek Syracuse,
backed in part by support from other Greek city-states,
had been attempting to unite the island under his rule since 485 BC. When Theron
of Akragas, father-in-law of Gelo, deposed the tyrant of Himera in 483 BC,
Carthage decided to intervene at the instigation of the tyrant of Rhegion, who was
the father-in-law of the deposed tyrant of Himera.
Hamilcar prepared the largest
Punic overseas expedition to date and, after three years of preparations,
sailed for Sicily. This enterprise coincided with the expedition of Xerxes against mainland Greece in 480 BC,
prompting speculations about a possible alliance between Carthage and Persia
against the Greeks, although no documentary evidence of this exists. The Punic
fleet was battered by storms en route, and the Punic army was destroyed and
Hamilcar killed in the Battle of Himera by the combined armies
of Himera, Akragas and Syracuse under Gelo. Carthage made peace with the Greeks
and paid a large indemnity of 2000 silver talents, but lost no territory in
Sicily.
A
republican empire
Defeat in the First Sicilian War
had far reaching consequences, both political and economic, for Carthage.
Politically, the old government of entrenched nobility was ousted, replaced by
the Carthaginian Republic. The “King” was still elected, but their power began
to erode, with the senate and the "Tribunal of 104" gaining dominance
in political matters, and the position of "Suffet" becoming more
influential. Economically, sea-borne trade with the Middle East was cut off by
the mainland Greeks[28] and Magna Graecia boycotted Carthaginian traders.
This led to the development of trade with the West and of caravan-borne trade
with the East. Gisco, son of Hamilcar was exiled, and Carthage for the next 70
years made no recorded forays against the Greeks nor aided either the
Elymians/Sicels or the Etruscans, then locked in struggle against the Greeks,
or sent any aid to the Greek enemies of Syracuse, then the leading Greek city
in Sicily. Based on this abstinence from Greek affairs, it is assumed that
Carthage was crippled after the defeat of Himera.[29]
How far
crippled?
If Carthage was indeed crippled,
she was not immobile. Focus was shifted on expansion in Africa and Sardinia,
and on the exploration of Africa and Europe for new markets. The grandsons of
Mago I, Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Sappho (sons of Hasdrubal), together with
Hanno, Gisco and Himilco (sons of Hamilcar) are said to have played prominent
parts in these activities, but specific details of their roles are lacking. By
450 BC, Carthage had finally stopped paying tribute to the Libyans, and a line
of forts was built in Sardinia, securing Carthaginian control over the island
coastline.
Hanno, son of Hamilcar may be the
famous Hanno the Navigator, which places his expedition around
460–425 BC, and Himilco may be the same as Himilco the Navigator, which puts his
expedition sometimes after 450 BC. Hanno the Navigator sailed down the African
coast as far as Cameroon, and Himilco the Navigator explored the European
Atlantic coast up to England in search of tin. These expeditions took place
when Carthage was at the zenith of its power. If Hanno and Himilco are indeed
related to Mago, then Carthage had recovered quite rapidly from her
"crippled" state. If Hanno and Himilco are not of the Magoniod
family, then these expeditions may have taken place before 500 BC and Cathage
might have been crippled for 70 years.
Carthage took no known part in
the activities of the Sicilian chief Ducetius in
Sicily against Syracuse, nor in the wars between Akrages and Syracuse, or the
battles of the Etruscans against Syracuse and Cumae. Carthage's fleet also took
no recorded part in the shattering defeat of the Etruscan fleet at the naval Battle
of Cumae in 474 BC at the hands of the Greeks. She sat out the Peloponnesian
War, refused to aid Segesta against Selinus in 415 BC and Athens against
Syracuse in 413 BC. Nothing is known of any military activities Carthage might
have taken in Africa or Iberia during this time. In 410 BC, Segesta, under
attack from Selinus, appealed to Carthage again. The Carthaginian senate agreed
to send help.
By 410 BC, Carthage had conquered
much of modern day Tunisia, strengthened and founded new colonies in North
Africa, and had sponsored Mago Barca's journey across the Sahara
Desert, Although, in that year, the Iberian colonies seceded — cutting off
Carthage's major supply of silver and copper.
The
Sicilian Wars
Second
Sicilian War
"King" Hannibal Mago
(son of Gisco and grandson of Hamilcar, who had died at Himera in 480 BC), led
a small force to Sicily to aid Segesta, and defeated the army of Selinus in 410
BC. Hannibal Mago invaded Sicily with a larger force in 409 BC, landed at Motya
and stormed Selinus (modern Selinunte); which fell before Syracuse could intervene
effectively. Hannibal then attacked and destroyed Himera despite
Syracusan intervention. Approximately 3,000 Greek prisoners were executed by
Hannibal after the battle to avenge the death of Hamilcar at Himera, and the
city was utterly destroyed. The Carthaginians did not attack Syracuse or Akragas, but
departed for Africa with the spoils of war, and a three-year lull fell in
Sicily.
In retaliation for Greek raids on Punic Sicilian
possessions in 406 BC, Hannibal Mago led a second Carthaginian expedition,
perhaps aiming to subjugate all Sicily. Carthaginians first moved against
Akragas, during the siege
of which the Carthaginian forces were ravaged by plague, Hannibal Mago himself
succumbing to it. His kinsman and successor, Himilco (the son
of Hanno[35]
), successfully captured Akragas, then captured the
cities of Gela and Camarina while
repeatedly defeating the army of Dionysius, the new tyrant of Syracuse, in
battle. Himilco ultimately concluded a treaty with Dionysius (an outbreak of
plague may have caused this), which allowed the Greek settlers to return to
Selinus, Akragas, Camarina and Gela, but these were made tributary to Carthage.
The Elymian and Sicel cities were kept free of both Punic and Greek dominion,
and Dionysius, who had usurped power in Syracuse, was confirmed as tyrant of Sy
Syracuse, was confirmed as tyrant
of Syracuse. The home-bound Punic army carried the plague back to Carthage.
Dionysius
the Elder[
Dionysius ruled for 38 years and
engaged in four wars against Carthage with varying results. In 398 BC, after
building up the power of Syracuse while Carthage was suffering from the plague,
Dionysius broke the peace treaty. His soldiers massacred the Carthaginian
traders in Syracuse, and Dionysius then besieged, captured and destroyed the
Carthaginian city of Motya
in Western Sicily while foiling the relief effort of Himilco through a
brilliant stratagem. Himilco, who had been elected "king", responded
decisively the following year, leading an expedition which not only reclaimed
Motya, but also captured Messina. Finally, he laid siege to Syracuse itself
after Mago, his kinsman, crushed the Greek fleet off Catana. The siege met with
great success throughout 397 BC, but in 396 BC plague ravaged the Carthaginian
forces, and they collapsed under Syracusan attack. Himilco paid an indemnity of
300 talents for safe passage of Carthaginian citizens to Dionysius. He
abandoned his mercenaries and sailed to Carthage, only to commit suicide after
publicly assuming full responsibility for the debacle (After his death, the
power of "kings" would be severely curtailed, and the power of the
oligarchy, ruling through the "Council of Elders" and the newly created
"Tribunal of 104," correspondingly increased).[36]
The plague, brought back from
Sicily, ravaged Carthage and a severe rebellion in Africa occurred at the same
time. Carthage was besieged and her naval power was crucial in supplying the
city. Himilco was succeeded by his kinsman Mago, who was occupied with subduing
the rebellion while Dionysius consolidated his power in Sicily. The next clash
against Carthage took place during 393 BC. Mago, in an attempt to aid the
Sicels under attack from Syracuse, was defeated by Dionysius. Carthage
reinforced Mago in 392 BC, but before he could engage the forces of Dionysius
the Sicels had switched sides. The Carthaginian army was outmaneuvered by
Dionysius, and peace soon followed, which allowed Carthage to retain her domain
in Sicily while allowing Syracuse a free hand against the Sicels. The treaty
lasted nine years.
Dionysius began the next war in
383 BC, but details of the first 4 years of clashes are unavailable. Carthage
sent a force under Mago to Southern Italy for the first time to aid Italian
Greeks against Syracuse in 379 BC. The expedition met with success, but during
the same year, Libyans and Sardinians revolted, and a plague again swept
through Africa. The stalemate in Sicily was broken when Dionysius defeated and
killed Mago at the battle of Cabala in 378 BC (Mago was the last
"suffet" to lead troops personally in battle. The Magonid dynasty
ended with the death of his son Himilco).
Carthage initiated peace
negotiations, which dragged for a year but ultimately faltered. Dionysius had
consolidated his gains during the lull, and attacked Punic Sicily. He was
decisively defeated in the battle of Cronium in 376 BC by Himilco, the son of
Mago. Carthage did not follow up the victory but settled for an indemnity
payment of 1000 talents and restoration of Carthaginian holdings in Sicily.[37] Nothing is known of how or when Carthage subdued
the African and Sardinian rebellion.
Dionysius initiated hostilities
again in 368 BC, and after initial successes besieged Lilybaeum,
but the defeat of his fleet at Drepanum led to a stalemate and the war ended with his death
in 367 BC. Carthaginian holdings west of the Halycas river remained secure.
Hanno, a wealthy aristocrat, was in command in Sicily, and he and his family
played a leading role in the politics of Carthage for the next fifty years.
Carthage had entered into an alliance with the Etruscans, while Tarentum and
Syracuse concluded a similar treaty.
Hanno
"Magnus"
A power struggle saw Hanno
eventually depose his rival Suniatus (Leader of the Council of Elders) through
the judicial process and execute him.[38] With Sicily secure, Carthage launched campaigns
in Libya, Spain and Mauretania, which eventually earned Hanno the title
"Magnus",[39] along with great wealth, while Hamilcar and
Gisco, his sons, served with distinction in the campaigns. However, Hanno aimed
to obtain total power and planned to overthrow the "Council of
Elders". His scheme failed, leading to his execution along with Hamilcar
and most of his family. Gisco was exiled.[40]
Treaty
with Rome
Carthage and Rome (by now a
significant power in Central Italy), concluded a second treaty in 348 BC.[41] Romans were allowed to trade in Sicily, but not
to settle there, and Iberia, Sardinia and Libya were forbidden to Roman
exploration, trade and settlement activities. Romans were to hand over any
settlements they captured there to Carthage. Carthaginians pledged to be
friendly with the Latins, and return to Rome cities captured in Latium (The Latin
League would be incorporated into the Roman Republic by 338 BC), and not to
spend the night in Roman territory under arms. This shows that the Iberian
Phoenician colonies were in the Carthaginian "Sphere of Influence" by
348 BC.
Sicily
Again
The death of Dionysius ultimately
led to a power struggle between Dion,
Dionysius II of Syracuse and other
aspirants. The Punic holdings in Sicily were secure as Syracuse had begun to
lose its hegemony over other Sicilian cities because of internal political
conflict that turned to open warfare. Carthage had done little directly during
366 -346 BC to interfere, but in 343 BC decided to oppose Timoleon.
Carthaginian army and fleet activity failed to stop his assumption of power in
Syracuse. Mago, the Carthaginian commander, had the advantage of numbers, the
support of allied Greeks, and was even admitted into Syracuse. But he bungled
so much that he killed himself instead of facing the tribunal of 104 after
returning to Carthage.
Timoleon managed to gain support
of the tyrants in league with Carthage, and the Punic expedition sent to Sicily
in retaliation of Syracusan raids was crushed in the Battle of the Crimissus in 341 BC by the
combined Greek force. Gisco, the son of Hanno "Magnus" was recalled
and elected as "king", but he achieved little and after Timoleon had
captured some pro-Carthaginian Greek cities, a peace treaty was concluded in
338 BC. The accord left the Punic possessions in Sicily unchanged,[42] with Syracuse free to deal with other cities in
Sicily.
Alexander
and the Diadochi
While Carthage was engaged in
Sicily, the rise of Macedon under Philip II and Alexander the Great saw the defeat of Greek
city-states and the fall of the Achaemenid
Empire. All the mainland Phoenician cities had submitted to Alexander
except Tyre, which was besieged and sacked in 332 BC, while the Carthaginian
citizens present in the city were spared. Carthage sent two delegations to
Alexander, one in 332 BC and another in 323 BC, but little was achieved.
Alexander was raising a fleet in Cilicia for the invasion of Carthage, Italy
and Iberia when he died, sparing Carthage an ordeal. Battles among the Diadochi
and the ultimate three-way struggle among Antagonid Macedon, Ptolemic Egypt and
Selucid Syria spared Carthage any further clashes with the successor states for
some time. Trade relations were opened with Egypt, giving Carthage sea-borne
access to the Eastern markets, which were cut off since 480 BC.
Third
Sicilian War (315 BC–307 BC)
In 315 BC, Agathocles,
the tyrant of Syracuse and considered as one of the Diadochi, seized the city
of Messene
(present-day Messina). In 311 BC, he invaded the Carthaginian holdings on
Sicily, breaking the terms of the current peace treaty, and laid siege to Akragas. Hamilcar,
grandson of Hanno "Magnus",[43] led the Carthaginian response and met with
tremendous success. By 310 BC, he controlled almost all of Sicily and besieged Syracuse itself.
In desperation, Agathocles
secretly led an expedition of 14,000 men to the mainland, hoping to save his
rule by leading a counterstrike against Carthage itself. The expedition ravaged
Carthaginian possessions in Africa. Troops recalled from Sicily under the joint
command of Hanno and Bomilcar (two political rivals) were defeated by
Agathocles, Hanno himself falling in battle. Ophellas, one of the Diadochi,
came from Cyrene with 10,000 troops to aid the Syracusans. Agathocles
eventually murdered Ophellas and took over his army. Although the Greeks
eventually managed to capture Utica, Carthage continued to resist, and Syracuse
remained blockaded.
In Sicily, Hamilcar led a night
attack on Syracuse, which failed, leading to his capture and subsequent
execution by the Syracusans. Agathocles returned to Syracuse in 308 BC and
defeated the Punic army, thus lifting the blockade, then returned to Africa. In
307, the war came to an end when Carthage finally managed to defeat the Greeks
in Africa, after surviving a coup attempt by Bomilcar. Agathocles abandoned his
army and returned to Syracuse, where a treaty divided Sicily between Punic and
Greek domains.
Treaty
with Rome
Carthage and Rome signed another treaty in 306 BC,
according to the Greek historian Philinus. The main feature of this treaty is
the agreement by Rome not to interfere in
Sicily and Carthage not to exert
influence over events in Italy. The historian Polybius considers this treaty a
forgery.
Pyrrhic
War
Between 280 and 275 BC, Pyrrhus
of Epirus waged two major campaigns in an effort to protect and extend the
influence of the Macedonians in the western Mediterranean: one against the
emerging power of the Roman Republic in southern Italy, the other against
Carthage in Sicily.
The Greek city of Tarentum had
attacked and sacked the city of Thurii and expelled the newly installed Roman garrison in 282
BC. Committed to war, they appealed to Pyrrhus, who ultimately arrived with an
army and defeated the Romans in the Battle of Heraclea and the Battle
of Asculum. In the midst of Pyrrhus' Italian campaigns, he received envoys
from the Sicilian cities of Agrigentum, Syracuse,
and Leontini,
asking for military aid to remove the Carthaginian dominance over that island.[44]
Carthage had attacked Syracuse
and besieged the city after seizing Akragas. Mago, the Carthaginian admiral,
had 100 ships blockading the city. Pyrrhus agreed to intervene, and sailed for
Sicily. Mago lifted the siege and Pyrrhus fortified the Sicilian cities with an
army of 20,000 infantry,
3,000 cavalry
and 20 war elephants, supported by some 200 ships. Initially, Pyrrhus' Sicilian
campaign against Carthage was a success, pushing back the Carthaginian forces,
and capturing the city-fortress of Eryx, even though he was not able to capture Lilybaeum.[45] After a two-month siege, Pyrrhus withdrew.
Following these losses, Carthage
sued for peace, but Pyrrhus refused unless Carthage was willing to renounce its
claims on Sicily entirely. According to Plutarch,
Pyrrhus set his sights on conquering Carthage itself, and to this end, began
outfitting an expedition. The Carthaginians fought a battle outside Lilybaeum
in 276 BC, and lost.
The ruthless treatment of the
Sicilian cities in his preparations for this expedition, and the execution of
two Sicilian rulers whom Pyrrhus claimed were plotting against him, led to such
a rise in animosity towards the Greeks that Pyrrhus withdrew from Sicily and
returned to deal with events occurring in southern Italy.[46] The fleet of Pyhrrus was defeated by Carthage,
the Greeks losing 70 ships in the battle.
Pyrrhus' campaigns in Italy were
futile, and Pyrrhus eventually withdrew to Epirus. For Carthage, this meant a
return to the status quo. For Rome, however, the failure of Pyrrhus to defend
the colonies of Magna Graecia meant that Rome absorbed them into
its "sphere of influence", bringing it closer
to complete domination of the Italian peninsula. Rome's domination of Italy,
and proof that Rome could pit its military strength successfully against major
international powers, would pave the way to the future Rome–Carthage conflicts
of the Punic
Wars.
The
Punic Wars
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When Agathocles died in 288 BC, a
large company of Italian mercenaries who had previously been held in his
service found themselves suddenly without employment. Rather than leave Sicily,
they seized the city of Messana. Naming themselves Mamertines
(or "sons of Mars"), they became a law unto themselves, terrorizing
the surrounding countryside.
The Mamertines became a growing
threat to Carthage and Syracuse alike. In 265 BC, Hiero II, former general of Pyrrhus and the
new tyrant of Syracuse, took action against them. Faced with a vastly superior
force, the Mamertines divided into two factions, one advocating surrender to
Carthage, the other preferring to seek aid from Rome. As a result, embassies
were sent to both cities.
While the Roman
Senate debated the best course of action, the Carthaginians eagerly agreed
to send a garrison to Messana. A Carthaginian garrison was admitted to the
city, and a Carthaginian fleet sailed into the Messanan harbor. However, soon
afterwards they began negotiating with Hiero. Alarmed, the Mamertines sent
another embassy to Rome asking them to expel the Carthaginians.
Hiero's intervention had placed
Carthage's military forces directly across the narrow channel of water that
separated Sicily from Italy. Moreover, the presence of the Carthaginian fleet
gave them effective control over this channel, the Strait
of Messina, and demonstrated a clear and present danger to nearby Rome and
her interests. The Roman senate was unable to decide on a course of action and
referred the matter to the people, who voted to intervene.
The Roman attack on the
Carthaginian forces at Messana triggered the first of the Punic Wars.
Over the course of the next century, these three major conflicts between Rome
and Carthage would determine the course of Western civilization. The wars
included a Carthaginian invasion led by Hannibal,
which nearly prevented the rise of the Roman Empire. Eventual victory by Rome
was a turning point which meant that the civilization of the ancient
Mediterranean would pass to the modern world via Southern Europe instead of
North Africa.
Shortly after the First Punic
War, Carthage faced a major mercenary revolt which changed the internal political
landscape of Carthage (bringing the Barcid family to
prominence), and affected Carthage's international standing, as Rome used the
events of the war to base a claim by which it seized Sardinia and Corsica.
The fall
of Carthage
The fall of Carthage was at the
end of the third Punic War in 146 BC. 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. The Romans pulled the Phoenician warships out into the harbor
and burned them before the city, and went from house to house, slaughtering and
enslaving the people. The city was set ablaze, and in this way was razed with
only ruins and rubble to field the aftermath.
Roman
Carthage
Since the 19th century, some
historians have written that the city of Carthage was salted
to ensure that no crops could be grown there, but there is no ancient evidence
for this.[47]
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. 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. However, grain cultivation in the Tunisian mountains caused large
amounts of silt to
erode into the river. This silt was accumulated in the harbor until it was made
useless, and Rome was forced to rebuild Carthage.
A new city of Carthage was built
on the same land, and by the 1st century AD it had grown to the second largest
city in the western half of the Roman Empire,
with a peak population of 500,000. It was the center of the Roman province of Africa, which was a major
"breadbasket" of the empire. Carthage briefly became the capital of a
usurper, Domitius Alexander, in 308–311 AD.
Carthage also became a center of
early Christianity.
Tertullian
rhetorically addressed the Roman governor with the fact that the Christians of
Carthage that just yesterday were few in number, now "have filled every
place among you —cities, islands, fortresses, towns, market-places, the very
camp, tribes, companies, palaces, senate, forum; we have left nothing to you
but the temples of your gods." (Apologeticus
written at Carthage, c. 197).
In the first of a string of
rather poorly reported Councils at Carthage a few years later, no
fewer than 70 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. In 397 at the Council at Carthage, the Biblical
canon for the western Church was confirmed.
Antonine baths
ruins, from the Roman period
The Vandals under
their king Geiseric
crossed to Africa in 429,[48] either as a request of Bonifacius,
a Roman general and the governor of the Diocese
of Africa,[49] or as migrants in search of safety. They
subsequently fought against the Roman forces there and by 435 had defeated the
Roman forces in Africa and established the Vandal
Kingdom. After a failed attempt to recapture the city in the 5th century,
the Byzantines finally subdued the Vandals in the 6th century. Using Gaiseric's
grandson's deposal by a distant cousin, Gelimer, as
either a valid justification or pretext, the Byzantines dispatched an army to conquer
the Vandal kingdom. On Sunday, October 15, 533, the Byzantine general Belisarius,
accompanied by his wife Antonina, made his formal entry into
Carthage, sparing it a sack and a massacre.
During the emperor Maurice's
reign, Carthage was made into an Exarchate, as was Ravenna in Italy. 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,
who overthrew Emperor Phocas.
The Byzantine
Exarchate was not, however, able to withstand the Arab conquerors of the
7th century. The first Arab assault on the Exarchate of Carthage was initiated
from Egypt without
much success in 647. A more protracted campaign lasted from 670 to 683. In 698,
the Exarchate of Africa was finally overrun by Hassan Ibn al Numan and a
force of 40,000 men, who shortly after established the new town of Tunis west of the
city. Tunis grew to vastly eclipse Carthage as the major regional center, and
the latter eventually fell to ruin.[50] The destruction of the Exarchate of Africa marked
a permanent end to the Byzantine Empire's influence in the region.
FIN
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