Ancient Carthage

The specific date, circumstances, and motivations concerning Carthage's founding are unknown. All surviving accounts of Carthage's foundation come from Latin and Greek literature, which are generally legendary in nature but may have some basis in fact.

The standard foundation myth across all sources is that the city was founded by colonists from the ancient Phoenician city-state of Tyre, led by its exiled princess Dido (also known as Queen Elissa or Alissar).[18] Elissa's brother, Pygmalion (Phoenician: Pummayaton) had murdered her husband, the high priest of the city, and taken power as a tyrant. Elissa and her allies escape his reign and establish Carthage, which becomes a prosperous city under her rule as queen.

The Roman historian Justin, writing in the second century AD, provides an account of the city's founding based on the earlier work of Trogus. Princess Elissa is the daughter of King Belus II of Tyre, who upon his death bequeaths the throne jointly to her and her brother Pygmalion. After cheating his sister out of her share of political power, Pygmalion murders her husband Acerbas (Phoenician: Zakarbaal), also known as Sychaeus, the High Priest of Melqart, whose wealth and power he covets.[19] Before her tyrannical brother can take her late husband's wealth, Elissa immediately flees with her followers to establish a new city abroad.

Upon landing in North Africa, she is greeted by the local Berber chieftain, Iarbas (also called Hiarbas) who promises to cede as much land as could be covered by a single ox hide. With her characteristic cleverness, Dido cuts the hide into very thin strips and lays them end to end until they encircle the entire hill of Byrsa. While digging to set the foundation of their new settlement, the Tyrians discover the head of an ox, an omen that the city would be wealthy "but laborious and always enslaved". In response they move the site of the city elsewhere, where the head of a horse is found, which in Phoenician culture is a symbol of courage and conquest. The horse foretells where Dido's new city will rise, becoming the emblem of Carthage, derived from the Phoenician Qart-Hadasht, meaning "New City".

The suicide of Queen Dido, by Claude-Augustin Cayot (1667–1722)

The city's wealth and prosperity attracts both Phoenicians from nearby Utica and the indigenous Libyans, whose king Iarbas now seeks Elissa's hand in marriage. Threatened with war should she refuse, and also loyal to the memory of her deceased husband, the queen orders a funeral pyre to be built, where she commits suicide by stabbing herself with a sword. She is thereafter worshiped as a goddess by the people of Carthage, who are described as brave in battle but prone to the "cruel religious ceremony" of human sacrifice, even of children, whenever they seek divine relief from troubles of any kind.

Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid—written over a century after the Third Punic War—tells the mythical story of the Trojan hero Aeneas and his journey towards founding Rome, inextricably tying together the founding myths, and ultimate fates, of both Rome and Carthage. Its introduction begins by mentioning "an ancient city" that many readers likely assumed was Rome or Troy,[20] but goes on to describe it as a place "held by colonists from Tyre, opposite Italy . .. a city of great wealth and ruthless in the pursuit of war. Its name was Carthage, and Juno is said to have loved it more than any other place ... But she had heard that there was rising from the blood of Troy a race of men who in days to come would overthrow this Tyrian citadel ... [and] sack the land of Libya."[20]

Virgil describes Queen Elissa—for whom he uses the ancient Greek name, Dido, meaning "beloved"—as an esteemed, clever, but ultimately tragic character. As in other legends, the impetus for her escape is her tyrannical brother Pygmalion, whose secret murder of her husband is revealed to her in a dream. Cleverly exploiting her brother's greed, Dido tricks Pygmalion into supporting her journey to find and bring back riches for him. Through this ruse she sets sail with gold and allies secretly in search of a new home.

As in Justin's account, upon landing in North Africa, Dido is greeted by Iarbas, and after he offers as much land as could be covered by a single ox hide, she cuts the hide into very thin strips and encircles all of Byrsa. While digging to set the foundation of their new settlement, the Tyrians discover the head of a horse, which in Phoenician culture is a symbol of courage and conquest. The horse foretells where Dido's new city will rise, becoming the emblem of the "New City" Carthage. In just seven years since their exodus from Tyre, the Carthaginians build a successful kingdom under Dido's rule. She is adored by her subjects and presented with a festival of praise. Virgil portrays her character as even more noble when she offers asylum to Aeneas and his men, who had recently escaped from Troy. The two fall in love during a hunting expedition, and Dido comes to believe they will marry. Jupiter sends a spirit in the form of the messenger god, Mercury, to remind Aeneas that his mission is not to stay in Carthage with his new-found love Dido, but to sail to Italy to found Rome. The Trojan departs, leaving Dido so heartbroken that she commits suicide by stabbing herself upon a funeral pyre with his sword. As she lies dying, she predicts eternal strife between Aeneas' people and her own, proclaiming "rise up from my bones, avenging spirit" in an invocation of Hannibal.[21] Aeneas sees the smoke from the pyre as he sails away, and though he does not know the fate of Dido, he identifies it as a bad omen. Ultimately, he goes on to found the Roman Kingdom, the predecessor of the Roman Empire.

Like Justin, Virgil's story essentially conveys Rome's attitude towards Carthage, as exemplified by Cato the Elder's famous utterance, "Carthago delenda est"—"Carthage must be destroyed".[22] In essence, Rome and Carthage were fated for conflict: Aeneas chose Rome over Dido, eliciting her dying curse upon his Roman descendants, and thus providing a mythical, fatalistic backdrop for a century of bitter conflict between Rome and Carthage.

These stories typify the Roman attitude towards Carthage: a level of grudging respect and acknowledgement of their bravery, prosperity, and even their city's seniority to Rome, along with derision of their cruelty, deviousness, and decadence, as exemplified by their practice of human sacrifice.

To facilitate their commercial ventures, the Phoenicians established numerous colonies and trading posts along the coasts of the Mediterranean. Organized in fiercely independent city-states, the Phoenicians lacked the numbers or even the desire to expand overseas; most colonies had fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, and only a few, including Carthage, would grow larger.[23] Motives for colonization were usually practical, such as seeking safe harbors for their merchant fleets, maintaining a monopoly on an area's natural resources, satisfying the demand for trade goods, and finding areas where they could trade freely without outside interference.[24][25][26] Over time many Phoenicians also sought to escape their tributary obligations to foreign powers that had subjugated the Phoenician homeland. Another motivating factor was competition with the Greeks, who became a nascent maritime power and began establishing colonies across the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.[27]

Ancient Carthaginian funerary art: sarcophagus of a priest, showing a bearded man with his hand raised. Louvre, Paris

The first Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean grew up on the two paths to Iberia's mineral wealth: along the northwest African coast and on Sicily, Sardinia, and the Balearic Islands.[28] As the largest and wealthiest city-state among the Phoenicians, Tyre led the way in settling or controlling coastal areas. Strabo claims that the Tyrians alone founded three hundred colonies on the west African coast; though clearly an exaggeration, many colonies did arise in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Iberia, and to a much lesser extent, on the arid coast of Libya.[29] They were usually established as trading stations at intervals of about 30 to 50 kilometres along the African coast.[30]

By the time they gained a foothold in Africa, the Phoenicians were already present in Cyprus, Crete, Corsica, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, and Sicily, as well as on the European mainland, in what are today Genoa and Marseilles.[31] Foreshadowing the later Sicilian Wars, settlements in Crete and Sicily continually clashed with the Greeks, and Phoenician control over all of Sicily was brief.[32] Nearly all these areas would come under the leadership and protection of Carthage,[33] which eventually founded cities of its own, especially after the decline of Tyre and Sidon.[34]

The site of Carthage was likely chosen by the Tyrians for several reasons. It was located in the central shore of the Gulf of Tunis, which gave it access to the Mediterranean sea while shielding it from the region's infamously violent storms. It was also close to the strategically vital Strait of Sicily, a key bottleneck for maritime trade between the eat and west. The terrain proved as invaluable as the geography. The city was built on a hilly, triangular peninsula backed by the Lake of Tunis, which provided abundant supplies of fish and a place for safe harbor. The peninsula was connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land, which combined with the rough surrounding terrain, made the city easily defensible; a citadel was built on Byrsa, a low hill overlooking the sea. Finally, Carthage would be conduit of two major trade routes: one between the Tyrian colony of Cadiz in southern Spain, which supplied raw materials for manufacturing in Tyre, and the other between North Africa and the northern Mediterranean, namely Sicily, Italy, and Greece.[35]

In contrast to most Phoenician colonies, Carthage grew larger and more quickly thanks to its combination of favorable climate, arable land, and lucrative trade routes. Within just one century of its founding, its population rose to 30,000. Meanwhile, its mother city, which for centuries was the preeminent economic and political center of Phoenician,[36] saw its status begin to wane in the seventh century BC, following a succession of sieges by the Babylonians.[37][38] By this time, its Carthaginian colony had become immensely wealthy from its strategic location and extensive trade network. Unlike many other Phoenician city-states and dependencies, Carthage grew prosperous not only from maritime commerce but from its proximity to fertile agricultural land and rich mineral deposits. As the main hub for trade between Africa and the rest of the ancient world, it also provided a myriad of rare and luxurious goods, including terracotta figurines and masks, jewelry, delicately carved ivories, ostrich eggs, and a variety of foods and wine.

An imaginary rendition of ancient Carthage. The city's strategic location and favorable geography were key to its rise. (Note the fortified hill of Byrsa and the Lake of Tunis in the background.)

Carthage's growing economic prominence coincided with a nascent national identity. Although Carthaginians remained staunchly Phoenician in their customs and faith, by at least the seventh century BC, they had developed a distinct Punic culture infused with local influences.[39] Certain deities became more prominent in the Carthaginian pantheon than in Phoenicia; into the fifth century BC, the Carthaginians were worshiping Greek deities such as Demeter.[40] Carthage may have also retained religious practices that had long fallen out of favor in Tyre, such as child sacrifice. Similarly, it spoke its own Punic dialect of Phoenician, which also reflected contributions by neighboring peoples.

These trends most likely precipitated the colony's emergence as an independent polity. Though the specific date and circumstances are unknown, Carthage most likely became independent around 650 BC, when it embarked on its own colonization efforts across the western Mediterranean. It nonetheless maintained amicable cultural, political, and commercial ties with its founding city and the Phoenician homeland; it continued to receive migrants from Tyre, and for a time continued the practice of sending annual tribute to Tyre's temple of Melqart, albeit at irregular intervals.

By the sixth century BC, Tyre's power declined further still after its voluntary submission to the Persian king Cambyses (r. 530–522 BC), which resulted in the incorporation of the Phoenician homeland into the Persian empire.[41] Lacking sufficient naval strength, Cambyses sought Tyrian assistance for his planned conquest of Carthage, which may indicate that the former Tyrian colony had become wealthy enough to warrant a long and difficult expedition. Herodotus claims that the Tyrians refused to cooperate due to their affinity for Carthage, causing the Persian king to abort his campaign. Though it escaped reprisal, Tyre's status as Phoenicia's leading city was significantly circumscribed; its rival, Sidon, subsequently garnered more support from the Persians. However, it too remained subjugated, leading the way for Carthage to fill the vacuum as the leading Phoenician political power.

It is unknown what factors influenced the citizens of Carthage, unlike those of other Mediterranean Phoenician colonies, to create an economic and political hegemony; the nearby city of Utica was far older and enjoyed the same geographical and political advantages, but ultimately came under the latter's influence. One theory is that Babylonian and Persian domination of the Phoenician homeland produced refugees that swelled Carthage's population and transferred the culture, wealth, and traditions of Tyre to Carthage.[42] The threat to the Phoenician trade monopoly—by Etruscan and Greek competition in the west, and through foreign subjugation of its homeland in the east—also created both the conditions and the motive for Carthage to solidify its dominance of the region in order to preserve and further its commercial interests.

Another contributing factor may have been domestic politics: while little is known of Carthage's government and leadership prior to the third century BCE, the reign of Mago (c. 550–530), whose Magonid family dominated Carthaginian politics in subsequent decades, precipitated Carthage's rise. Mago, who was general of the army, is credited with initiating the practice of recruiting subject peoples and mercenaries, because "the population of Carthage was too small to provide defence for so widely scattered an empire." Libyans, Iberians, Sardinians, and Corsicans were soon enlisted for Magonid's expansionist campaigns across the region.[43]

By the beginning of the fifth century BC, Carthage had become the commercial center of the western Mediterranean, and would remain so for roughly the next three centuries.[44] Although they retained the traditional Phoenician affinity for maritime trade and commerce, the Carthaginians departed significantly in their imperial and military ambitions: whereas the Phoenician city states rarely engaged in territorial conquest, Carthage became an expansionist power in an effort to access new sources of wealth and trade. It took control of all nearby Phoenician colonies (including Hadrumetum, Utica, Hippo Diarrhytus and Kerkouane), subjugated many neighboring Libyan tribes, and occupied coastal North Africa from Morocco to western Libya.[45] Carthage expanded its influence into the Mediterranean, controlling Sardinia, Malta, the Balearic Islands, and the western half of Sicily,[46] where coastal fortresses such as Motya and Lilybaeum secured their possessions. The Iberian Peninsula, which was rich in precious metals, saw some of the largest and most important Carthaginian settlements outside North Africa,[47] though the degree of political influence before the conquest by Hamilcar Barca (237–228 BC) is disputed.[48][49] Its growing wealth and power, commensurate with the continued foreign subjugation of the Phoenician homeland, led to Carthage soon supplanting Sidon as the supreme Phoenician city-state.[50]

Bust of the Punic goddess Tanit found in the Carthaginian necropolis of Puig des Molins, dated fourth century BC. Museum of Puig des Molins in Ibiza, Spain.

Carthage's empire was largely informal and multifaceted, consisting of varying levels of control exercised in equally variable ways. It established new colonies, repopulated and reinforced older ones, created defensive arrangements with other Phoenician city states, and acquired territories directly 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. Whereas other Phoenician cities never exercised actual control of the colonies, the Carthaginians appointed magistrates to directly control their own (a policy that would lead to a number of Iberian towns siding with the Romans during the Punic Wars).[51] However, in many other instances, Carthage's hegemony was established through treaties, alliances, tributary obligations, and other such arrangements. It had elements of the Delian League led by Athens (allies shared funding and manpower for defense), the Spartan Kingdom (subject peoples serving as serfs for the Punic elite and state) and, to a lesser extent, the Roman Republic (allies contributing manpower and tribute for Rome's war machine).

In 509 BC, Carthage and Rome signed the first of several treaties demarcating their respective influence and commercial activities.[52][53] This is the first known source demonstrating that Carthage had gained control over Sicily and Sardinia. The treaty also conveys the extent to which Carthage was, at the very least, on equal terms with Rome, whose influence was limited to parts of central and southern Italy. Carthaginian dominance of the sea reflected not only its Phoenician heritage, but an approach empire-building that differed greatly from Rome. Carthage emphasized maritime trade over territorial expansion, and accordingly focused its settlements and influence on coastal areas, while investing more on its navy. For similar reasons, ambitions were more commercial than imperial, which is why its empire took the form of treaties and political arrangements more so than conquest. By contrast, the Romans focused on expanding and consolidating their control over the rest of mainland Italy, and would so aim to extend its control well beyond its homeland. These differences would prove key in the conduct and trajectory of the later Punic Wars.

By the third century BC, Carthage was the center of a sprawling network of colonies and client states. It controlled more territory than the Roman Republic, and became one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the Mediterranean, numbering a quarter of a million inhabitants. Only the rising Roman Republic could rival its supremacy over the region, which inevitably led to competition and open conflict.

Unlike the existential conflict that drove the later Punic Wars with Rome, the conflict between Carthage and the Greeks was due more to economic factors rather than ideological and cultural differences; each sought to advance their own commercial interests and influence by controlling key trade routes. The Phoenician and Greek city-states each embarked on maritime trade and colonization across the Mediterranean, and although the Phoenicians were initially the dominant traders, Greek competition increasingly undermined their monopoly. Both sides had begun establishing colonies, trading posts, and commercial relations in the western Mediterranean roughly contemporaneously, between the ninth to eighth century. Notwithstanding occasional skirmishes between Punic and Phoenician settlements, the increased presence of both peoples led to growing competition and ultimately open conflict, especially in Sicily.

The Sacred Band Carthaginian Hoplite, utilized during the Sicilian Wars. Artistic reconstruction based on a coin of Syracuse (late fourth century BC).

Carthage's economic successes, buoyed by its vast maritime trade network, led to the development of a powerful Carthaginian navy to protect and secure vital control of shipping lanes.[54] Its increased hegemony brought it into increasing conflict with the Greeks of Syracuse, who also sought control of central Mediterranean.[55] Founded in the mid seventh century BC, Syracuse had risen to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful Greek city states, and the preeminent Greek in the region.

The island of Sicily, lying at Carthage's doorstep, became the main arena on which this conflict played out. From their earliest days, both the Greeks and Phoenicians had been attracted to the large, centrally-located island, each establishing a large number of colonies and trading posts along its coasts; battles raged between these settlements for centuries, with neither side ever having total, long-term control over the island.[56]

In 480 BC, Gelo, the tyrant of Syracuse, attempted to unite the island under his rule with the backing of other Greek city-states.[57] Threatened by the potential power of a united Sicily, Carthage intervened militarily, led by King Hamilcar of the Magonid dynasty. Traditional accounts, including by Herodotus and Diodorus, number Hamilcar's army at around 3,000; though likely exaggerated, it was likely of formidable strength.

While sailing to Sicily, Hamilcar suffered losses due to poor weather. Landing at Panormus (modern-day Palermo),[58] he spent three days reorganizing his forces and repairing his battered fleet. The Carthaginians marched along the coast to Himera, making camp before engaging in battle against the forces of Syracuse and its ally Agrigentum.[59] The Greeks won a decisive victory, inflicting heavy losses on the Carthaginians, including their leader Hamilcar, who was either killed during the battle or committed suicide in shame.[60] As a result, the Carthaginian nobility sued for peace.

The conflict proved to be a major turning point for Carthage. Though it would retain some presence in Sicily, most of the island would remain in Greek (and later Roman) hands. The Carthaginians would never again expand their territory or sphere of influence on the island to any meaningful degree, instead turning their attention to securing or increasing their hold in North Africa and Iberia.[61][62] The death of King Hamilcar and the disastrous conduct of the war also prompted political reforms that established an oligarchic republic.[63] Carthage would henceforth constrain its rulers through assemblies of both nobles and the common people.

By 410 BC, Carthage had recovered from its serious defeats in Sicily. It had conquered much of modern-day Tunisia and founded new colonies across northern Africa. It also extended its reach well beyond the Mediterranean; Hanno the Navigator journeyed down the West African coast,[64][65] and Himilco the Navigator had explored the European Atlantic coast.[66] Expeditions were also led into Morocco and Senegal, as well as the Atlantic.[67] The same year, the Iberian colonies seceded, cutting off Carthage from a major source of silver and copper. The loss of such strategically important mineral wealth, combined with the desire to exercise firmer control over shipping routes, led Hannibal Mago, grandson of Hamilcar, to make preparations to reclaim Sicily.

Coin from Tarentum, in southern Italy, during the occupation by Hannibal (c. 212–209 BC). ΚΛΗ above, ΣΗΡΑΜ/ΒΟΣ below, nude youth on horseback right, placing a laurel wreath on his horse's head; ΤΑΡΑΣ, Taras riding dolphin left, holding trident in right hand, aphlaston in his left hand.

In 409 BC, Hannibal Mago set out for Sicily with his force. He captured the smaller cities of Selinus (modern Selinunte) and Himera—where the Carthaginians had been dealt a humiliating defeat seventy year prior—before returning triumphantly to Carthage with the spoils of war.[68] But the primary enemy, Syracuse, remained untouched and in 405 BC, Hannibal Mago led a second Carthaginian expedition to claim the rest of the island.

This time, however, he met with fiercer resistance as well as misfortune. During the siege of Agrigentum, Carthaginian forces were ravaged by plague, which claimed Hannibal Mago himself.[69] His successor, Himilco, managed to extend the campaign, capturing the city of Gela and repeatedly defeating the army of Dionysius of Syracuse. But he, too, was struck with plague and forced to sue for peace before returning to Carthage.

By 398 BC, Dionysius had regained his strength and broke the peace treaty, striking at the Carthaginian stronghold of Motya in western Sicily. Himilco responded decisively, leading an expedition that not only reclaimed Motya, but also captured Messene (present-day Messina).[70] Within a year, the Carthaginians were besieging Syracuse itself, and came close to victory until the plague once again ravaged and reduced their forces.[71]

The fighting in Sicily swung in favor of Carthage less than a decade later in 387 BC. After winning a naval battle off the coast of Catania, Himilco laid siege to Syracuse with 50,000 Carthaginians, but yet another epidemic struck down thousands of them. With the enemy assault stalled and weakened, Dionysius then launched a surprise counterattack by land and sea, destroying all the Carthaginian ships while its crews were ashore. At the same time, his ground forces stormed the besiegers' lines and routed them. Himilco and his chief officers abandoned their army and fled Sicily.[72] Once again, the Carthaginians were forced to press for peace. Returning to Carthage in disgrace, Himilco was met with contempt and committed suicide by starving himself.[73]

Notwithstanding consistently poor luck and costly reversals, Sicily remained an obsession for Carthage. Over the next fifty years, an uneasy peace reigned, as Carthaginian and Greek forces engaged in constant skirmishes. By 340 BC, Carthage had been pushed entirely into the southwest corner of the island.

Eurasia and Africa (c. 323 BC).

In 315 BC, Carthage now found itself on the defensive in Sicily, as Agathocles of Syracuse broke the terms of the peace treaty and sought to dominate the entire island. Within four years, he seized Messene, laid siege to Akragas, and invaded the last Carthaginian holdings on the island.

Hamilcar, grandson of Hanno the Great, led the Carthaginian response with great success. Within a year of their arrival, the Carthaginians controlled almost all of Sicily and were besieging Syracuse. In desperation, Agathocles secretly led an expedition of 14,000 men to attack Carthage.[74] The Carthaginians were forced to recall Hamilcar and most of his army from Sicily to face the new and unexpected threat. Although Agathocles' forces were eventually defeated in 307 BC, he managed to escape back to Sicily and negotiate peace, thus maintaining the status quo and Syracuse as a stronghold of Greek power in Sicily.

Roman trireme on a mosaic. Bardo Museum, Tunisia.

Carthage once again found itself drawn into a war in Sicily, this time by Pyrrhus of Epirus, who challenged both Roman and Carthaginian supremacy over the Mediterranean.[75] Pyrrhus sent an advance guard of 3,000 infantry, under the command of his adviser Cineaus, to the Roman city of Tarentum in southern Italy. Meanwhile, he marched the main army across the Greek peninsula and won several victories over the Thessalians and Athenians. After securing the Greek mainland, Pyrrhus rejoined his advance guard in Tarentum to conquer southern Italy.

During the Italian campaign, Pyrrhus received envoys from the Sicilian cities of Agrigentum, Syracuse, and Leontini seeking military aid to end Carthaginian dominance over the island.[76][77] He responded with reinforcements consisting of 20,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, and 20 war elephants supported by some 200 ships.[78][79] The campaign against Carthage was largely a success, pushing the Carthaginians back to western Siciliy, and capturing the city-fortress of Eryx, though it failed to take Lilybaeum.[80]

Following these losses, Carthage sued for peace, but Pyrrhus refused unless Carthage renounced its claims to Sicily entirely. Plutarch claims Pyrrhus aimed to conquer Carthage itself, and to this end began outfitting an expedition. However, his ruthless treatment of the Sicilian Greeks, including his execution of two Sicilian rulers, elicited such animosity that he was forced to withdraw from Sicily and focus his attention on southern Italy.[81][82]

Pyrrhus' campaigns in Italy proved inconclusive, and he eventually withdrew to Epirus. For the Carthaginians, this meant a return to the status quo, but for the Romans, this allowed Magna Graecia to absorbed into their sphere of influence, bringing Rome closer to complete domination of the Italian peninsula. Rome's control over Italy, and its success in holding firm against Pyrrhus' campaign, paved the way to future Rome-Carthage conflicts known as the Punic Wars.

Carthage electrum coin (c. 250 BC). British Museum.

Carthaginian dependencies and protectorates through the Punic Wars.

When Agathocles of Syracuse died in 288 BC, a large company of Italian mercenaries previously in his service found themselves suddenly unemployed. Naming themselves Mamertines ("Sons of Mars"), they seized the city of Messana and became a law unto themselves, terrorizing the surrounding countryside.[83]

The Mamertines became a growing threat to Carthage and Syracuse alike. In 265 BC, Hiero II of Syracuse, former general of Pyrrhus, took action against them.[84] 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. While the Roman Senate debated the best course of action, the Carthaginians eagerly agreed to send a garrison to Messana. Carthaginian forces were 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 placed Carthage's military forces directly across the Strait of Messina, the narrow channel of water that separated Sicily from Italy. Moreover, the presence of the Carthaginian fleet gave them effective control over this strategically important bottleneck and demonstrated a clear and present danger to nearby Rome and her interests. As a result, the Roman Assembly, although reluctant to ally with a band of mercenaries, sent an expeditionary force to return control of Messana to the Mamertines.

The subsequent Roman attack on Carthaginian forces at Messana triggered the first of the Punic Wars.[85] 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 dramatic Carthaginian invasion led by Hannibal, which nearly brought an end to Rome.

During the First Punic Wars the Romans under the command of Marcus Atilius Regulus managed to land in Africa, though were ultimately repelled by the Carthaginians.[84] Notwithstanding its decisive defense of its homeland, as well as some initial naval victories, Carthage suffered a succession of losses that forced it to sue for peace. Shortly after the First Punic War, Carthage also faced a major mercenary revolt that dramatically changed its internal political landscape, bringing the influential Barcid family to prominence.[86] The war also impacted Carthage's international standing, as Rome used the events of the war to back its claim over Sardinia and Corsica, which it promptly seized.

Adorned Statue of the Punic Goddess Tanit, from the necropolis of Puig des Molins, Ibiza, Spain (fifth-third centuries BC). Archaeology Museum of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain).

Lingering mutual animosity and renewed tensions along their borderlands led to the Second Punic War (218 to 202 BC), which involved factions from across the western and eastern Mediterranean.[87] The war is marked by Hannibal's surprising overland journey to Rome, particularly his costly and strategically bold crossing of the Alps. His entrance into northern Italy was followed by his reinforcement by Gaulish allies and crushing victories over Roman armies in the battle of the Trebia and the giant ambush at Trasimene.[88] Against his skill on the battlefield the Romans employed the Fabian strategy, which resorted to skirmishes in lieu of direct engagement, with the aim delaying and gradually weakening his forces. While effective, this approach was politically unpopular, as it ran contrary to traditional military strategy. The Romans thus resorted to another major field battle at Cannae, but despite their superior numbers, they suffered a crushing defeat.[89][90]

Consequently, many Roman allies went over to Carthage, prolonging the war in Italy for over a decade, during which more Roman armies were nearly consistently destroyed on the battlefield. Despite these setbacks, the Romans had the manpower to absorb such losses and replenish their ranks. Along with their superior capability in siegecraft, they were able to recapture all the major cities that had joined the enemy, as well as defeat a Carthaginian attempt to reinforce Hannibal at the Battle of the Metaurus.[91] Meanwhile, in Iberia, which served as the main source of manpower for the Carthaginian army, a second Roman expedition under Scipio Africanus took New Carthage and ended Carthaginian rule over the peninsula in the Battle of Ilipa.[92][93]

The final showdown was the Battle of Zama, which took place in the Carthaginian heartland of Tunisia. After trouncing Carthaginian forces at the battles of Utica and the Great Plains, Scipio Africanus forced Hannibal to abandon his increasingly stalled campaign in Italy. Despite the latter's superior numbers and innovative tactics, the Carthaginians suffered a crushing and decisive defeat. After years of costly fighting that brought them to the verge of destruction, the Romans imposed harsh and retributive peace conditions on Carthage. In addition to a large financial indemnity, the Carthaginians were stripped of their once-proud navy and reduced only to their North African territory. In effect, Carthage became a Roman client state.[94]

The third and final Punic War began in 149 BC, largely due to the efforts of hawkish Roman senators, led by Cato the Elder, to finish Carthage off once and for all.[95] Cato was known for finishing nearly every speech in the Senate, regardless of the subject, with the phrase ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam—"Moreover, I am of the opinion that Carthage ought to be destroyed". In particular, the growing Roman Republic sought the famously rich agricultural lands of Carthage and its African territories, which had been known to the Romans following their invasion in the previous Punic War.[96][97][98] Carthage's border war with Rome's ally Numidia, though initiated by the latter, nonetheless provided the pretext for Rome to declare war.

The Third Punic War was a much smaller and shorter engagement than its predecessors, primarily consisting of a single main action, the Battle of Carthage. However, given their significantly reduced size, military, and wealth, the Carthaginians managed to mount a surprisingly strong initial defense. The Roman invasion was soon stalled by defeats at Lake Tunis, Nepheris, and Hippagreta; even the truncated Carthaginian navy managed to inflict severe losses on a Roman fleet through the use of fire ships.[99] Carthage itself managed to resist the Roman siege for three years, until Scipio Aemilianus—the adopted grandson of Scipio Africanus—was appointed consul and took command of the assault.

Notwithstanding its impressive resistance, Carthage's defeat was ultimately a foregone conclusion, given the far larger size and strength of the Roman Republic. Though it was the smallest of the Punic Wars, the third war was to be the most decisive: The complete destruction of the city of Carthage,[100] the annexation of all remaining Carthaginian territory by Rome,[101] and the death or enslavement of tens of thousands of Carthaginians.[102][103] The war ended Carthage's independent existence, and consequently eliminated the last Phoenician political power.[104]

Following Carthage's destruction, Rome established Africa Proconsularis, its first province in Africa, which roughly corresponded to Carthage's northwest African territory. Utica, which had allied itself with Rome during the final war, was granted tax privileges and made the regional capital, subsequently becoming the leading center of Punic trade and culture.

In 122 BC, Gaius Gracchus, a populist Roman senator, founded the short-lived colony of Colonia Iunonia, after the Latin name for the Punic goddess Tanit, Iuno Caelestis. Located near the site of Carthage, its purpose was to provide arable lands for impoverished farmers, but it was soon abolished by the Roman Senate to undermine Gracchus' power.

Nearly a century after the fall of the Punic Carthage, a new "Roman Carthage" was built on the same site by Julius Caesar between 49 and 44 BC. It soon became the center of the province of Africa, which was a major breadbasket of the Roman Empire and one of its wealthiest provinces. By the first century, it had grown to be the second-largest city in the western half of the Roman Empire, with a peak population of 500,000.

Punic language, identity, and culture persisted several centuries into Roman rule. In the early third century, at least two Roman emperors—Septimius Severus and his son and successor Caracalla—were of Punic descent. In the fourth century, Augustine of Hippo, himself of Berber heritage, noted that Punic was still spoken in the region by people who identified as Kn'nm, or "Chanani", as the Carthaginians had designated themselves. Settlements across North Africa, Sardinia, and Sicily continued to speak and write Punic, as evidenced by inscriptions on temples, tombs, public monuments, and artwork. Punic names were still used until at least the fourth century, even by prominent denizens of Roman Africa.

Aside from Mago's agricultural treatise, some Punic ideas and innovations remained mainstream in Roman culture. Pomegranates, a popular Carthaginian commodity, were known as mala Punica ("Punic Apples"). A mosaic technique of patterned terracotta pieces was called pavimentum Punicum. The threshing board, which had been introduced to the Romans by Carthage, was thus known as the plostellum Punicum.[105]

Like the republics of the Latin and Hellenistic worlds, Carthage likely had some notion of citizenship, distinguishing those who could participate in the political process and who had certain rights, privileges, and duties. However, it is uncertain whether such a distinction existed, much less the specific criteria.[107] For example, while the Popular Assembly is described as giving a political voice to the common people, there is no mention of any restrictions based on citizenship. Carthaginian society was complex and divided into many different classes, including slaves, peasants, aristocrats, merchants, and various professionals. Moreover, Carthage's empire consisted of an often nebulous network of Punic colonies, subject peoples, client states, and allied tribes and kingdoms; it is unknown whether individuals from these different realms and nationalities formed any particular social or political class in relation to the Carthaginian government.[107]

Roman accounts suggest that Carthaginian citizens, especially those allowed to run for high office, had to prove their descent from the city's founders. This would indicate that Phoenicians were privileged over other ethnic groups, and even to fellow Phoenicians descended from later waves of settlers. However, it would also mean that someone of partial "foreign" ancestry could still be a citizen; Hamilcar, who served as a sufete in 480 BC, was half Greek.[107] Greek writers claimed that ancestry, as well as wealth and merit, were avenues to citizenship and political power. As Carthage was a mercantile society, this would imply that both citizenship and membership in the aristocracy were relatively accessible by ancient standards.

Aristotle mentions Carthaginian "associations" similar to the Hellenistic hetairiai, organizations roughly analogous to political parties or interest groups.[107] These were most likely the mizrehim referenced in Carthaginian inscriptions, of which little is known or attested, but which appeared to have been numerous in number and subject, from devotional cults to professional guilds. It is unknown whether such an association was required of citizens, as in some Greek republics like Sparta. Aristotle also describes a Carthaginian equivalent to the syssitia, communal meals that were the mark of citizenship and social class in Greek societies.[126] Once again, however, it is unclear whether Carthaginians attributed any political significance to their equivalent practice.[107]

Carthage's military provides a possible glimpse into the criteria of citizenship. Greek accounts describe a "Sacred Band of Carthage" that fought in Sicily in the mid fourth century BC, using the Hellenistic term for professional citizen soldiers selected on the basis of merit and ability.[127] Roman writings about the Punic Wars describe the core of the military, including its commanders and officers, as being made up of "Liby-Phoenicians", a broad label that included ethnic Phoenicians, those of mixed Punic-North African descent, and Libyans who had integrated into Phoenician culture.[128]

Aspects of Carthage's political system persisted well into the Roman period, albeit to varying degrees and often in Romanized form. Sufetes are mentioned in inscriptions throughout the major settlements of Roman Sardinia, indicating the office was perhaps used by Punic descendants to resist both cultural and political assimilation with their Latin conquerors. As late as the mid second century AD, two sufetes wielded power in Bithia, a city in the Roman province of Sardinia and Corsica.[129]

The Romans seemed to have actively tolerated, if not adopted, Carthaginian offices and institutions. Official state terminology of the late Roman Republic and subsequent Empire repurposed the word sufet to refer to Roman-style local magistrates serving in Africa Proconsularis, which included Carthage and its core territories.[109] Sufetes are attested to have governed over forty post-Carthaginian towns and cities, including Althiburos, Calama, Capsa, Cirta, Gadiaufala, Gales, Limisa, Mactar, and Thugga.[130] Though many were former Carthaginian settlements, some had little to no Carthaginian influence; Volubilis, in modern-day Morocco, had been part of the Kingdom of Mauretania, which became a Roman client state after the fall of Carthage.[131] The use of sufetes persisted well into the late second century AD.[132]

Sufetes were prevalent even in interior regions of Roman Africa that had never been settled by Carthage. This suggests that, unlike the Punic community of Roman Sardinia, Punic settlers and refugees endeared themselves to Roman authorities by adopting a readily intelligible government.[132] Three sufetes serving simultaneously appear in first century AD records at Althiburos, Mactar, and Thugga, reflecting a choice to adopt Punic nomenclature for Romanized institutions without the actual, traditionally balanced magistracy.[132] In those cases, a third, non-annual position of tribal or communal chieftain marked an inflection point in the assimilation of external African groups into the Roman political fold.[130]

Sufes, the Roman approximation of the term sufet, appears in at least six works of Latin literature. Erroneous references to Carthaginian "kings" with the Latin term rex betray the translations of Roman authors from Greek sources, who equated the sufet with the more monarchical basileus (Greek: βασιλεύς).[109]

Hannibal Barca counting the rings of the Roman knights killed at the Battle of Cannae (216 BC), by Sébastien Slodtz (1704). Gardens of the Tuileries, Louvre Museum. Hannibal is regarded as one of the most brilliant military strategists in history.

Though primarily a maritime power, since at least the reign of Mago in the early sixth century BC, Carthage's navy usually operated in support of its land campaigns, which were key to its expansion and defense.[133] As a mainly commercial empire with a relatively small native population, Carthage generally did not maintain a large, permanent, standing army.[134] According to Polybius, it relied heavily, though not exclusively, on foreign mercenaries, especially in overseas warfare.[135] Modern historians regard this as an oversimplification, as many alleged mercenaries were likely auxiliaries from allied or client states, provided through formal agreements, tributary obligations, or military pacts.[40] The Carthaginians maintained close relations, sometimes through political marriages, with the rulers of various tribes and kingdoms, most notably the Numidians (based in modern northern Algeria). These leaders would in turn provide their respective contingent of forces, sometimes even leading them in Carthaginian campaigns.[40] In any event, Carthage leveraged its vast wealth and hegemony to help fill the ranks of its military.

Contrary to popular belief, especially among the more martial Greeks and Romans, Carthage did utilize citizen soldiers—i.e., ethnic Punics/Phoenicians—particularly during the Sicilian Wars. Moreover, like their Greco-Roman contemporaries, the Carthaginians respected "military valour", with Aristotle reporting the practice of citizens wearing armbands to signify their combat experience.[133] Greek observers also described the "Sacred Band of Carthage", applying the Hellenistic term for professional citizen soldiers, who fought in Sicily in the mid fourth century BC.[127] However, after this force was destroyed by Agathocles in 310 BC, foreign mercenaries and subject peoples formed a more significant part of the army. This indicates that the Carthaginians had a capacity to adapt their military as circumstances required; when larger or more specialized forces were needed, such as during the Punic Wars, they would employ mercenaries or auxiliaries accordingly. Carthaginian citizens would be enlisted in large numbers only by necessity, such as for the pivotal Battle of Zama in the Second Punic War, or in the final siege of the city in the Third Punic War.[118]

The core of the Carthaginian army was always from its own territory in Northwest Africa, namely ethnic Libyans, Numidians, and "Liby-Phoenicians", a broad label that included ethnic Phoenicians, those of mixed Punic-North African descent, and Libyans who had integrated into Phoenician culture.[128] These troops were supported by mercenaries from different ethnic groups and geographic locations across the Mediterranean, who fought in their own national units. For instance, Celts, Balearics, and Iberians were recruited in significant numbers to fight in Sicily.[136] Greek mercenaries, who were highly valued for their skill, were hired for the Sicilian campaigns.[40] Carthage employed Iberian troops long before the Punic Wars; Herodotus and Alcibiades both describe the fighting capabilities of the Iberians among the western Mediterranean mercenaries.[137] Later, after the Barcids conquered large portions of Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal), Iberians came to form an even greater part of the Carthaginian forces, albeit based more on their loyalty to the Barcid faction than to Carthage itself. The Carthaginians also fielded slingers, soldiers armed with straps of cloth used to toss small stones at high speeds; for this they often recruited Balearic Islanders, who were reputed for their accuracy.[40]

The uniquely diverse makeup of Carthage's army, particularly during the Second Punic War, was noteworthy to the Romans; Livy characterized Hannibal's army as a "hotch-potch of the riff-raff of all nationalities." He also observed that the Carthaginians, at least under Hannibal, never forced any uniformity upon their disparate forces, which nonetheless had such a high degree of unity that they "never quarreled amongst themselves nor mutinied", even during difficult circumstances.[138] Punic officers at all levels maintained some degree of unity and coordination among these otherwise disparate forces. They also dealt with the challenge of ensuring military commands were properly communicated and translated to their respective foreign troops.[40][118]

Carthage used the diversity of its forces to its own advantage, capitalizing on the particular strengths or capabilities of each nationality. Celts and Iberians were often utilized as shock troops, North Africans as cavalry, and Campanians from southern Italy as heavy infantry. Moreover, these units would typically be deployed to nonnative lands, which ensured they had no affinity for their opponents and could surprise them with unfamiliar tactics. For example, Hannibal used Iberians and Gauls (from what is today France) for campaigns in Italy and Africa.[40]

Carthage seems to have fielded a formidable cavalry force, especially in its Northwest African homeland; a significant part of it was composed of light Numidian cavalry, who were considered "by far the best horsemen in Africa."[139] Their speed and agility proved pivotal to several Carthaginian victories, most notably the Battle of Trebia, the first major action in the Second Punic War.[140] The reputation and effectiveness of Numidian cavalry was such that the Romans utilized a contingent of their own in the decisive Battle of Zama, where they reportedly "turned the scales" in Rome's favor.[141][142] Polybius suggests that cavalry remained the force in which Carthaginian citizens were most represented following the shift to mostly foreign troops after the third century BC.[135]

Owing to Hannibal's campaigns in the Second Punic War, Carthage is perhaps best remembered for its use of the now-extinct North African elephant, which was specially trained for warfare and, among other uses, was commonly utilized for frontal assaults or as anticavalry protection. An army could field up to several hundred of these animals, but on most reported occasions fewer than a hundred were deployed. The riders of these elephants were armed with a spike and hammer to kill the elephants, in case they charged toward their own army.

The Carthaginians maintained the ancient Phoenician's reputation as skilled mariners, navigators, and shipbuilders. Polybius wrote that the Carthaginians were "more exercised in maritime affairs than any other people."[143] Its navy was one of the largest and most powerful in the Mediterranean, using serial production to maintain high numbers at moderate cost.[134] During the Second Punic War, by which time Carthage had lost most of its Mediterranean islands, it still managed to field some 300 to 350 warships. The sailors and marines of the Carthaginian navy were predominantly recruited from the Phoenician citizenry, unlike the multiethnic allied and mercenary troops of the Carthaginian army. The navy offered a stable profession and financial security for its sailors, which helped contribute to the city's political stability, since the unemployed, debt-ridden poor in other cities were frequently inclined to support revolutionary leaders in the hope of improving their own lot.[144] The reputation of her skilled sailors implies that training of oarsmen and coxswains occurred in peacetime, giving their navy a cutting edge.

In addition to its military functions, the Carthaginian navy was key to the empire's commercial dominance, helping secure trade routes, protect harbors, and even enforce trade monopolies against competitors.[118] Carthaginian fleets also served an exploratory function, most likely for the purpose of finding new trade routes or markets. Evidence exists of at least one expedition, that of Hann the Navigator, possibly sailing along the West African coast to regions south of the Tropic of Cancer.[145]

The Romans, who had little experience in naval warfare prior to the First Punic War, managed to finally defeat Carthage with a combination of reverse-engineered, captured Carthaginian ships, the recruitment of experienced Greek sailors from the ranks of its conquered cities, the unorthodox corvus device, and their superior numbers in marines and rowers. Polybius describes a tactical innovation of the Carthaginians during the Third Punic War, consisting of augmenting their few triremes with small vessels that carried hooks (to attack the oars) and fire (to attack the hulls). With this new combination, they were able to stand their ground against the numerically superior Romans for a whole day.

In addition to the use of serial production, Carthage developed complex infrastructure to support and maintain its sizable fleet. Cicero described the city as succincta portibus—"surrounded by harbours"—and accounts from Appian and Strabo describe a large and sophisticated harbor known as the Cothon (Greek: κώθων, lit. "drinking vessel").[146][147] Based on similar structures used for centuries across the Phoenician world, the Cothon was a key factor in Carthaginian naval supremacy; it is unknown how prevalent it was throughout the empire, but both Utica in northwest Africa and Motya in Sicily had comparable harbors.[148][149] Modern reconstructions that draw from both ancient descriptions and modern archaeological findings show the Cothon was divided into a rectangular merchant harbor followed by an inner protected harbor reserved for military vessels.[150] The inner harbor was circular and surrounded by an outer ring of structures partitioned into docking bays, along with an island structure at its centre that also housed naval ships. Each individual docking bay featured a raised slipway, allowing ships to be dry-docked for maintenance and repair. Above the raised docking bays was a second level consisting of warehouses where oars and rigging were kept along with supplies such as wood and canvas. The island structure had a raised "cabin" where the admiral in command could observe the whole harbor along with the surrounding sea. Altogether the inner docking complex could house up to 220 ships. The entire harbor was protected by an outer wall, while the main entrance could be closed off with iron chains.[151]

Similar to their adoption of Carthaginian naval innovations during the Punic Wars, the Romans also utilized the Cothon in their rebuilding of the city, where it helped support the region's commercial and strategic development.[152]

Carthage's North African hinterland was famed in antiquity for its fertile soil and ability to support abundant livestock and crops. Diodorus shares an eyewitness account from the fourth century BC describing lush gardens, verdant plantations, large and luxurious estates, and a complex network of canals and irrigation channels. Roman envoys visiting in the mid-second century BC, including Cato the Censor—known for his fondness for agriculture as much as for his low regard of foreign cultures—described the Carthaginian countryside as thriving with both human and animal life. Polybius, writing of his visit during the same period, claims that a greater number and variety of livestock were raised in Carthage than anywhere else in the known world.[202]

Initially, the Carthaginians, like their Phoenician founders, did not engage much in agriculture: Like nearly all Phoenician cities and colonies, Carthage was primarily settled along the coast; evidence of settlement of the hinterland dates only to the late fourth century BC, several centuries after its founding. As they settled further inland, the Carthaginians eventually made the most of the region's rich soil, developing what may have been one of the most prosperous and diversified agricultural sectors of its time. They practised highly advanced and productive agriculture,[203] using iron ploughs, irrigation,[204] crop rotation, threshing machines, hand-driven rotary mills, and horse mills, the latter two being invented by the Carthaginians in the late sixth century BC and mid to late fourth century BC, respectively.[205][206]

Carthaginians were adept at refining and reinventing their agricultural techniques, even in the face of adversity. After the Second Punic War, Hannibal promoted agriculture to help restore Carthage's economy and pay the costly war indemnity to Rome (10,000 talents or 800,000 Roman pounds of silver), which proved successful.[207][208][209] Strabo reports that even in the years leading up to the Third Punic War, the otherwise devastated and impoverished Carthage had made its lands flourish once more.[202] A strong indication of agriculture's importance to Carthage can be inferred from the fact that, of the few Carthaginian writers known to modern historians, two—the retired generals Hamilcar and Mago—concerned themselves with agriculture and agronomy.[118] The latter wrote what was essentially an encyclopedia on farming and estate management that totaled twenty-eight books; its advice was so well regarded that, following the destruction of the city, it was one of the few, if not only, Carthaginian texts spared, with the Roman Senate decreeing its translation into Latin.[210] Subsequently, though the original work is lost, fragments and references by Roman and Greek writers remain.

Circumstantial evidence suggests that Carthage developed viticulture and wine production before the fourth century BC,[211] and even exported its wines widely, as indicated by distinctive cigar-shaped Carthaginian amphorae found at archaeological sites across the western Mediterranean, although the contents of these vessels have not been conclusively analysed.[212][213] Carthage also shipped large quantities of raisin wine, known as passum in Latin, which was popular in antiquity, including among the Romans.[214] Fruits such as figs, pears, and pomegranates—which the Romans called "Punic Apples"—as well as nuts, grain, grapes, dates, and olives were grown in the extensive hinterland;[215] while olive oil was processed and exported all over the Mediterranean. Carthage also raised fine horses, the ancestors of today's Barb horses, which are considered the most influential racing breed after the Arabian.[216][217]

Carthage was accused by both contemporary historians and its adversaries of child sacrifice; Plutarch,[226] Tertullian,[227] Orosius, Philo, and Diodorus Siculus all allege the practice,[228] although Herodotos and Polybius do not. Sceptics contend that if Carthage's critics were aware of such a practice, however limited, they would have been horrified by it and exaggerated its extent due to their polemical treatment of the Carthaginians.[229] However, the Hebrew Bible mentions child sacrifice practiced by the Canaanites, ancestors of the Carthaginians. According to Charles Picard, Greek and Roman critics objected not to the killing of children but to its religious context: in both ancient Greece and Rome, inconvenient newborns were commonly killed by exposure to the elements.[230]

Stelae on the Tophet.

Accounts of child sacrifice in Carthage date the practice to the city's founding in about 814 BC, when children who had been sacrificed to Baal Hammon and Tanit in the Tophet.[231] The practice was apparently distasteful even to Carthaginians, and they began to seek alternatives to offering up their own children, such as buying children for the purpose of sacrifice or even to raising servant children instead. However, Carthage's priests demanded the youth in times of crisis such as war, drought, or famine. Special ceremonies during extreme crisis saw up to 200 children of the most affluent and powerful families slain and tossed into the burning pyre.[232]

Modern archaeology in formerly Punic areas has discovered a number of large cemeteries for children and infants, representing a civic and religious institution for worship and sacrifice called the Tophet by archaeologists. These cemeteries may have been used as graves for stillborn infants or children who died very early.[233] Excavations have been interpreted by many scholars as confirming Plutarch's reports of Carthaginian child sacrifice.[234][235] An estimated 20,000 urns were deposited between 400 and 200 BC in the Tophet discovered in the Salammbô neighbourhood of present-day Carthage, with the practice continuing until the early years of the Christian period.[236] The urns contained the charred bones of newborns and in some cases the bones of fetuses and two-year-olds.

There is a clear correlation between the frequency of cremation and the well-being of the city: during crises, cremations appear more frequent, but it is not known why. One explanation is that the Carthaginians sacrificed children in return for divine intervention. However, such crises would naturally lead to increased child mortality, and consequently, more child burials via cremation. Sceptics maintain that the bodies of children found in Carthaginian and Phoenician cemeteries were merely the cremated remains of children who died naturally. Sergio Ribichini has argued that the tophet was "a child necropolis designed to receive the remains of infants who had died prematurely of sickness or other natural causes, and who for this reason were 'offered' to specific deities and buried in a place different from the one reserved for the ordinary dead".[237] However, a recent study has argued that archaeological evidence confirms that the Carthaginians practiced human sacrifice.[238]

Ancient accounts, coupled with archaeological findings, suggest that Carthage had a complex, urbanized society similar to the Hellenistic polis or Latin civitas,[119] characterized by strong civic engagement, an active civil society, and class stratification. Inscriptions on Punic tombs and gravestones describe a wide variety of professions, including artisans, dock workers, farmers, cooks, potters, and others, indicating a complex, diversified economy that most likely supported a variety of lifestyles.[240] Carthage had a sizable and centrally located agora, which served as a hub of business, politics, and social life. The agora likely included public squares and plazas, where the people might formally assemble or gather for festivals, religious shrines, and major government buildings. It is possible that the district was where government institutions operated, and where various affairs of state, such as trials, were dispensed in public.[246][247] Excavations reveal numerous artisan workshops, including three metal working sites, pottery kilns, and a fuller's shop for preparing woolen cloth.[248]

Mago's writings about Punic farm management provide a glimpse into Carthaginian social dynamics. Small estate owners appeared to have been the chief producers, and were counselled by Mago to treat well and fairly their managers, farm workers, overseers and even slaves.[249] Some ancient historians suggest that rural land ownership provided a new power base among the city's nobility, which was traditionally dominated by merchants.[250][251] A 20th century historian opined that urban merchants owned rural farming land as an alternative source of profit, or even to escape the summer heat.[252] Mago provides some indication about the attitudes towards agriculture anland ownership:

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.[253] 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.[254]

Hired workers were likely local Berbers, some of whom became sharecroppers; slaves were often prisoners of war. In lands outside direct Punic control, independent Berbers cultivated grain and raised horses; within the lands immediately surrounding Carthage, there were ethnic divisions that overlapped with semi-feudal distinctions between lord and peasant, or master and serf. The inherent instability of the countryside drew the attention of potential invaders,[255] although Carthage was generally able to manage and contain these social difficulties.[256]

According to Aristotle, the Carthaginians had associations akin to hetairiai, which among the Greeks were organizations roughly analogous to political parties or interest groups.[107] Punic inscriptions reference mizrehim, which appeared to have been numerous in number and subject, ranging from devotional cults to professional guilds. Aristotle also describes a Carthaginian practice comparable to the syssitia, which in Hellenistic societies were communal meals that promoted kinship and reinforced social and political status.[126] However, their specific purpose in Carthaginian society is unknown.[107]

Aside from some ancient translations of Punic texts into Greek and Latin, as well as inscriptions on monuments and buildings discovered in Northwest Africa, not much remains of Carthaginian literature.[14] When Carthage was sacked in 146 BC, its libraries and texts were either systematically destroyed or, according to Pliny the Elder, given to the "minor kings of Africa".[257] The only noteworthy Punic writing to survive is Mago's voluminous treatise on agriculture, which was preserved and translated by order of the Roman Senate; however, only some excerpts and references in Latin and Greek remain. The late-Roman historian Ammianus claims that Juba II of Numidia read Punici lbri, or "punic books", which may have been Carthaginian in origin. Ammianus likewise makes reference to Punic books existing even during his lifetime in the fourth century AD, which also suggests that some works survived, or at least that Punic remained a literary language. Other Roman and Greek authors reference the existence of Carthaginian literature, most notably Hannibal's writings about his military campaigns.

The Roman comedy Poenulus, which was apparently written and performed shortly after the Second Punic War, had as its central protagonist a wealthy and elderly Carthaginian merchant named Hanno. Several of Hanno's lines are in Punic, representing the only lengthy examples of the language in Greco-Roman literature, possibly indicating a level of popular knowledge about Carthaginian culture and literature.[257]

Cleitomachus (also Cleitomachus), a prolific philosopher who headed the Academy of Athens in the early second century BC, was born Hasdrubal in Carthage.[258] He studied philosophy under the Skeptic Carneades, and authored over 400 works, the majority of which are lost. He was highly regarded by Cicero—who based parts of his De Natura Deorum,De Divinatione and De Fato on a work of Clietomachus he calls De Sustinendis Offensionibus (On the Withholding of Assent)—and dedicated some of his writings to prominent Romans, such as the poet Gaius Lucilius and the consul Lucius Marcius Censorinus, suggesting that his work was known and appreciated in Rome.[259] Although he lived in Athens for most of his life, Cleitomachus maintained an affinity for his home city; upon its destruction in 146 BC, he wrote a treatise addressed to his countrymen that proposed consolation through philosophy.[260]

Carthage features in Gustave Flaubert's historical novel Salammbô (1862). Set around the time of the Mercenary War, it includes a dramatic description of child sacrifice, and the boy Hannibal narrowly avoiding being sacrificed. Giovanni Pastrone's epic silent film Cabiria is narrowly based on Flaubert's novel.

The Young Carthaginian (1887) by G. A. Henty is a boys' adventure novel told from the perspective of Malchus, a fictional teenage lieutenant of Hannibal during the Second Punic War.

In The Dead Past, a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, a main character is a historian of antiquity trying to disprove the allegation that the Carthaginians carried out child sacrifice.

The Purple Quest by Frank G. Slaughter is a fictionalized account of the founding of Carthage.

Die Sterwende Stad ("The Dying City") is a novel written in Afrikaans by Antonie P. Roux and published in 1956. It is a fictional account of life in Carthage and includes the defeat of Hannibal by Scipio Africanus at the Battle of Zama. For several years it was prescribed reading for South African year 11 and 12 high school students studying the Afrikaans language.

Delenda Est, a short story in Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series, is an alternate history where Hannibal won the Second Punic War, and Carthage exists in the 20th century.

A duology by John Maddox Roberts, comprising Hannibal's Children (2002) and The Seven Hills (2005), is set in an alternate history where Hannibal defeated Rome in the Second Punic War, and Carthage is still a major Mediterranean power in 100 BC.

Mary Gentle used an alternate history version of Carthage as a setting in her novels Ash: A Secret History and Ilario, A Story of the First History. In these books, Carthage is dominated by Germanic tribes, which conquered Carthage and set up a huge empire that repelled the Muslim conquest. In these novels, titles such as "lord-amir" and "scientist-magus" indicate a fusion of European and Northwest African cultures, and Arian Christianity is the state religion.

Stephen Baxter also features Carthage in his alternate history Northland trilogy, where Carthage prevails over and subjugates Rome.[263]