Who knows the history of Carthage!

Carthage (QRT HDST, the word originates from Phoenician, meaning "new city", English: Carthage) is located on the north coast of Africa (now Tunisia), across the sea from Rome. see. Finally, it perished after being defeated by Rome in three Punic Wars. It is a must-visit place when traveling to Tunisia. Located 17 kilometers northeast of Tunisia, on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, it is the capital of the slave country Carthage.

Most of the remaining ruins of Carthage seen today were rebuilt by the Romans during the Roman occupation. From the remaining ruins such as theaters, public bathhouses and aqueducts, we can see the vastness of the project and the precision of the design at that time. There is a newly built modern museum near the ancient ruins of Carthage, which preserves and displays a large number of precious historical relics. In 1978, UNESCO included the ruins of Carthage in the first batch of "World Cultural and Natural Heritage" lists. The Tunisian government established a National Archaeological Park at the site.

Building the city

According to the only existing information, Carthage was founded earlier than Rome, but the exact time cannot be verified. The more widely accepted theory is that in 38 years before the Olympic Games (i.e. 814 BC), immigrants from Tyre, a city-state in Phoenicia, crossed the Mediterranean to North Africa and bought a piece of land from the locals. With the consent of the people, Carthage was established as a transit point for large-scale slave trade and maritime trade.

Early History

From about the 8th century BC to the 6th century BC, Carthage began to expand into the interior of Africa and controlled most of the Phoenician colonies in North Africa. . At the same time, Carthage also marched to the Western Mediterranean, occupying the southern coast of Spain and its nearby islands, Sardinia, Corsica, and western Sicily. It began to dominate the Western Mediterranean, and controlled the western part of the Mediterranean with Greece. East sides.

Struggle for Greek Hegemony Editor

Carthage Map

Beginning in the 6th century BC, Carthage began to conflict with the Greeks who wanted to occupy the western Mediterranean. Around 535 BC, the Carthaginians, allied with the Etruscans, defeated one of the Greek fleets off the coast of Corsica. However, in 480 BC, the Greek army led by Gron, the lord of Syracuse, and Thelon, the lord of Akragas, defeated the Carthaginian army in Sicily. For the next hundred years, Carthage and Greece fought for dominance in the Mediterranean.

Until the beginning of the 4th century BC, Greece was severely weakened after the Peloponnesian War and began to stop colonizing Sicily. After the Greek King Pyrrhus fought for the Greek city-states against Carthage for the last time in Sicily, the dispute between Carthage and Greece basically came to an end. But what replaced it was a war with a more terrifying opponent, Rome.

Economic Development

Carthage dominated the Western Mediterranean with its powerful navy, and therefore became the trade center of the Western Mediterranean, with huge business income every year. Carthage’s coins It also became a strong currency in the Western Mediterranean. As mentioned above, Carthage had a large fleet and its residents were good at sailing, so its commercial activities such as trading slaves, metals, luxury goods, wine and olive oil by sea were booming. At the same time, its cottage industry was also very developed, among which textiles were the most famous. The land in its inland area, the Bagradas Valley, was very fertile, so Carthage also had developed agriculture even in North Africa, and therefore slave manors also appeared.

Government Structure

Carthage was mainly governed by an aristocratic oligarchic style. Among them, the two ruling classes of commercial slave owners and agricultural slave owners often had conflicts of interest, which caused future problems. The question of peace arose when fighting Rome. There are two top administrative officials, called Sufites, who are elected every year, but the voters are limited to wealthy Carthaginians, but these two Sufites have no military power. Carthage, like Rome, had a Senate, composed of 300 people. The Senate has legislative and decision-making powers, and its members serve for life. There is also a citizens' assembly, but its power is limited. In addition, there is also a hundred-member meeting, with 104 members, responsible for monitoring and making judgments.

Carthage, the ancient country founded by the Phoenicians:

Carthage (Phoenician transliteration: QRT?D?T), the name of the ancient country.

It existed from the 8th century BC to 146 BC. It was located in the north of Tunisia in North Africa, facing the Gulf of Tunis, and served as the strategic point between the east and west Mediterranean Sea. At the end of the ninth century BC, the Phoenicians established a colonial city-state here. In the seventh century BC, it developed into a powerful slave state. The capital was Carthage (now Tunisia). Its territory includes the western coast of North Africa, southern Spain, most of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearic Islands, and it monopolizes the maritime trade of the Western Mediterranean. In the 1970s of the third century BC, Rome expanded externally and became a strong enemy of Carthage. Three famous "Punic Wars" broke out in ancient history. Eventually Carthage fell. In 147 BC, the city of Carthage was razed to ruins by the Roman army.

City Founding

According to the only existing information, Carthage was founded earlier than Rome. It is believed that there were 700,000 residents, covering an area of Three hundred and fifteen hectares (3.15 square kilometers). But there is no way to prove the time. Modern scholars generally use the theory that the city was founded in 814 BC. Immigrants from the Phoenician city-state Tire crossed the Mediterranean and established Carthage, which served as a transit point for large-scale slave trade and maritime trade.

According to research, in 814 BC, Princess Dido of the Phoenician Kingdom of Tyer (located on the southwest coast of southern Lebanon today) died because of her brother Pygmalion. After the king's death, he excluded the princess and took over the power. To avoid persecution, Dido took his treasure and servants across the ocean and landed in the Gulf of Tunis. She asked Masitani, the leader of the Berber tribe, to borrow a cowhide to live in, and was granted permission. So she cut the cowhide into thin strips, and then connected the thin cowhide together and built it on the mountain near the sea. A piece of land was surrounded on the hill and the city of Carthage was built. Therefore, the Acropolis of Carthage was also called Bossa, which means "a piece of cowhide".

Economic Development

Carthage controlled the Western Mediterranean with its powerful navy, and therefore became the trade center of the Western Mediterranean, with huge business income every year. As mentioned above, Carthage had a large fleet and its residents were good at sailing, so its commercial activities such as trading slaves, metals, luxury goods, wine and olive oil by sea were booming. At the same time, its cottage industry was also very developed, among which textiles were the most famous. The land in its inland area - the Bagradas Valley is very fertile, so Carthage also had developed agriculture even in North Africa, and therefore slave manors also appeared.

Government Structure

Carthage was mainly governed by an aristocratic oligarchic style. Among them, the two ruling classes of commercial slave owners and agricultural slave owners often had conflicts of interest, which caused future problems. The question of peace arose when fighting Rome. There are two top administrative officials, called Sufites, who are elected every year, but the voters are limited to wealthy Carthaginians, but these two Sufites have no military power. Carthage, like Rome, had a Senate composed of 300 people. The Senate has legislative and decision-making powers, and its members serve for life. There is also a citizens' assembly, but its power is limited. In addition, there is also a hundred-person meeting, with 104 members, responsible for monitoring and making judgments.

Destruction

Throughout the history of ancient Carthage, it competed with ancient Greece for hegemony in the Mediterranean in the early stage; in the later stage, it competed with the emerging ancient Rome for hegemony. Since the founding of the ancient Carthage state, a series of wars have been fought with ancient Greece in Sicily, Sardinia, and southern Italy along the Mediterranean coast, known in history as the Greco-Punic Wars. There was no winner in this war. Ancient Carthage established hegemony in the western Mediterranean, while ancient Greece dominated the east. Around the 3rd century BC, due to the rise of ancient Rome, a war broke out between ancient Carthage and Rome, known in history as the Punic War. The Punic Wars occurred three times. In the Punic Wars, both Rome and Carthage suffered heavy losses, and finally ended in the victory of ancient Rome. Ancient Carthage lost all its territory except North Africa. In 146 BC, ancient Rome finally captured the city of Carthage, marking the demise of ancient Carthage.