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civilizations/carthage.md
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# Carthage
# Carthage
## Overview
Carthage (~814–146 BCE) was a Phoenician colony that grew into a major Mediterranean power, rivaling Rome in three devastating Punic Wars before its total destruction. @t[814 BCE..146 BCE]
Carthage (~814–146 BCE) was a Phoenician colony that grew into a major Mediterranean power, rivaling Rome in three devastating Punic Wars before its total destruction. @t[814 BCE..146 BCE] Known in Punic as *Qart Hadasht* ("New City"), it reached its height in the 4th century BCE as one of the largest cities in the ancient world.
## Key Facts
- Region: North Africa (modern Tunisia), with territories in western Mediterranean
@@ -24,17 +22,26 @@ Carthage (~814–146 BCE) was a Phoenician colony that grew into a major Mediter
- Agricultural expertise (Mago's treatise on farming)
- Hannibal Barca: One of history's greatest military commanders [^2]
## Religion
Carthaginian religion derived from Phoenician polytheism, with Baal Hammon and Tanit as the supreme divine couple and patron deities of the city. [^3] The *tophet* of Carthage — a large open-air sanctuary first excavated in 1921 — contains thousands of urns with cremated remains of infants and animals dedicated to these deities. The practice of child sacrifice at the tophet remains a subject of scholarly debate: Greco-Roman literary sources describe it, and skeletal analysis confirms infant cremation, but some scholars argue the site was primarily a burial ground for children who died of natural causes. [^3]
## Military
Carthage fielded a combined-arms force of heavy and light infantry, cavalry, war elephants, and mercenaries drawn from across its empire — Libyans, Iberians, Gauls, and Balearic slingers. [^3] The Barcid dynasty dominated Carthaginian military leadership during the Punic Wars: Hamilcar Barca (~275–228 BCE) @t[~275 BCE..228 BCE] established Carthaginian control over silver-rich Iberia after the First Punic War, and his son Hannibal (247–183 BCE) @t[247 BCE..183 BCE] built on that foundation for his Italian campaigns. [^1]
## Economy and Trade
Carthage's wealth rested on maritime commerce spanning the Mediterranean and beyond. Key trade goods included silver and tin from Iberian mines, Tyrian purple dye, textiles, wine, olive oil, and slaves. [^3] Hanno the Navigator (~5th century BCE) @t[~480 BCE] led a Carthaginian expedition down the west coast of Africa, recorded in the *Periplus of Hanno* — one of the earliest surviving accounts of African exploration. [^4]
## Destruction
Rome destroyed Carthage in 146 BCE. The site was later refounded as a Roman colony by Julius Caesar in 46 BCE. @t[=146 BCE]
---
[^1]: Goldsworthy, A. *The Fall of Carthage* (2003)
[^2]: Lancel, S. *Hannibal* (Blackwell, 1998)
[^3]: Hoyos, D. *The Carthaginians* (Routledge, 2010)
[^4]: *Periplus of Hanno* (primary source, ~5th century BCE)
---
## Review Queue
<!-- factbase:review -->
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Region: North Africa (modern Tunisia), with territories in western Mediterranean" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Goldsworthy (2003) [^1]; Lancel (1998) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Period: ~814–146 BCE" - when was this true?