Carthage

Carthagewas an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of theLake of Tunisin what is nowTunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of theclassical world. It became the capital city of the civilization ofAncient Carthageand laterRoman Carthage.
The city developed from aPhoeniciancolony into the capital of aPunicempire which dominated large parts of the Southwest Mediterranean during the first millennium BC.The legendary Queen Elissa, Alyssa orDido, originally fromTyre, is regarded as the founder of the city,though her historicity has been questioned. In the myth, Dido asked for land from a local tribe, which told her that she could get as much land as an oxhide could cover. She cut the oxhide into strips and laid out the perimeter of the new city.As Carthage prospered at home, the polity sent colonists abroad as well as magistrates to rule the colonies.
The ancient city was destroyed in the nearly three yearsiege of Carthageby theRoman Republicduring theThird Punic Warin 146 BC. It was re-developed a century later asRoman Carthage, which became the major city of theRoman Empirein the province ofAfrica. The question of Carthaginian decline and demise has remained a subject of literary, political, artistic, and philosophical debates in both ancient and modern histories.
Late antiqueandmedievalCarthage continued to play an important cultural and economic role in theByzantine period. The city was sacked and destroyed byUmayyadforces after theBattle of Carthagein 698 to prevent it from being reconquered by theByzantine Empire.It remained occupied during the Muslim periodand was used as a fort by the Muslims until theHafsidperiod when it was taken by theCrusaderswith its inhabitants massacred during theEighth Crusade. The Hafsids decided to destroy its defenses so it could not be used as a base by a hostile power again.It also continued to function asan episcopal see.
The regional power shifted toKairouanand theMedina of Tunisin themedieval period, until the early 20th century, when it began to develop into a coastal suburb ofTunis, incorporated asCarthage municipalityin 1919. The archaeological site was first surveyed in 1830, by Danish consulChristian Tuxen Falbe. Excavations were performed in the second half of the 19th century byCharles Ernest Beuléand byAlfred Louis Delattre. TheCarthage National Museumwas founded in 1875 byCardinalCharles Lavigerie. Excavations performed by French archaeologists in the 1920s first attracted attention because of the evidence they produced forchild sacrifice. There has been considerable disagreement among scholars concerning whether child sacrifice was practiced by ancient Carthage.The open-airCarthage Paleo-Christian Museumhas exhibits excavated under the auspices ofUNESCOfrom 1975 to 1984. The site of the ruins is aUNESCO World Heritage Site.
The nameCarthage(/ˈkɑːrθɪdʒ/KAR-thij) is theEarly ModernanglicisationofMiddle FrenchCarthage/kartaʒə/,fromLatinCarthāgōandKarthāgō(cf.GreekKarkhēdōn(Καρχηδών) andEtruscan*Carθaza) from thePunicqrt-ḥdšt(𐤒𐤓𐤕 𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕‎)"new city",implying it was a "newTyre".The Latin adjectivepūnicus, meaning "Phoenician", is reflected in English in some borrowings from Latin – notably thePunic Warsand thePunic language.
TheModern Standard ArabicformQarṭāj(قرطاج) is an adoption of FrenchCarthage, replacing an older local toponym reported asCartagennathat directly continued the Latin name.
Carthage was built on apromontorywith sea inlets to the north and the south. The city's location made it master of the Mediterranean's maritime trade. All ships crossing the sea had to pass betweenSicilyand the coast of Tunisia, where Carthage was built, affording it great power and influence. Two large, artificial harbors were built within the city, one for harboring the city's prodigious navy of 220 warships and the other for mercantile trade. A walled tower overlooked both harbors. The city had massive walls, 37 km (23 mi) long, which was longer than the walls of comparable cities. Most of the walls were on the shore and so could be less impressive, as Carthaginian control of the sea made attack from that direction difficult. The 4.0 to 4.8 km (2.5 to 3 mi) of wall on theisthmusto the west were truly massive and were never penetrated.
Carthage was one of the largest cities of theHellenistic periodand was among the largest cities in preindustrial history. Whereas by AD 14,Romehad at least 750,000 inhabitants and in the following century may have reached 1 million, the cities ofAlexandriaandAntiochnumbered only a few hundred thousand or less.According to the history ofHerodian, Carthage rivaled Alexandria for second place in the Roman empire.
The Punic Carthage was divided into four equally sized residential areas with the same layout. It had religious areas, market places, a council house, towers, a theatre, and a hugenecropolis; roughly in the middle of the city stood a high citadel called theByrsa. Surrounding Carthage werewalls"of great strength" said in places to rise above 13 m, being nearly 10 m thick, according to ancient authors. To the west, three parallel walls were built. The walls altogether ran for about 33 kilometres (21 miles) to encircle the city.The heights of the Byrsa were additionallyfortified; this area being the last to succumb to theRomans in 146 BC. Originally the Romans had landed their army on the strip of land extending southward from the city.
Outside the city walls of Carthage is theChoraor farm lands of Carthage.Choraencompassed a limited area: the north coastaltell, the lowerBagradas river valley(inland from Utica),Cape Bon, and the adjacentsahelon the east coast. Punic culture here achieved the introduction of agricultural sciences first developed for lands of the eastern Mediterranean, and their adaptation to local African conditions.
Theurban landscapeof Carthage is known in part from ancient authors,augmented by modern digs and surveys conducted by archeologists. The "first urban nucleus" dating to the seventh century, in area about 10 hectares (25 acres), was apparently located on low-lying lands along the coast (north of the later harbours). As confirmed by archaeological excavations, Carthage was a "creationex nihilo", built on 'virgin' land, and situated at what was then the end of a peninsula. Here among "mud brick walls and beaten clay floors" (recently uncovered) were also found extensive cemeteries, which yielded evocative grave goods like clay masks. "Thanks to thisburial archaeologywe know more about archaic Carthage than about any other contemporary city in the western Mediterranean." Already in the eighth century, fabricdyeingoperations had been established, evident from crushed shells ofmurex(from which the 'Phoenician purple' was derived). Nonetheless, only a "meager picture" of the cultural life of the earliest pioneers in the city can be conjectured, and not much about housing, monuments or defenses.The Roman poetVirgil(70–19 BC) imagined early Carthage, when his legendary characterAeneashad arrived there:
The two inner harbors, namedcothonin Punic, were located in the southeast; one being commercial, and the other for war. Their definite functions are not entirely known, probably for the construction, outfitting, or repair of ships, perhaps also loading and unloading cargo.Largeranchoragesexisted to the north and south of the city.North and west of thecothonwere located several industrial areas, e.g., metalworking and pottery (e.g., foramphora), which could serve both inner harbors, and ships anchored to the south of the city.
Considering the importance of theByrsa, thecitadelarea to the north,our knowledge of it is patchy. Its prominent heights were the scene of fierce combat during the fiery destruction of the city in 146 BC. The Byrsa was the reported site of the Temple ofEshmun(the healing god), at the top of a stairway of sixty steps.A temple ofTanit(the city's queen goddess) was likely situated on the slope of the 'lesser Byrsa' immediately to the east, which runs down toward the sea.Also situated on the Byrsa were luxury homes.
South of the citadel, near thecothonwas thetophet, a special and very oldcemetery, which when begun lay outside the city's boundaries. Here theSalammbôwas located, theSanctuary of Tanit, not a temple but an enclosure for placing stonestelae. These were mostly short and upright, carved for funeral purposes. The presence of infant skeletons from here may indicate the occurrence of child sacrifice, as claimed in the Bible and Greco-Roman sources, although there has been considerable doubt among archeologists as to this interpretation and many consider it simply a cemetery devoted to infants.Probably thetophetburial fields were "dedicated at an early date, perhaps by the first settlers."Recent studies, on the other hand, indicate that child sacrifice was practiced by the Carthaginians.According to K.L. Noll, many scholars believe that child sacrifice took place in Carthage.
Between the sea-filledcothonfor shipping and the Byrsa heights lay theagora[Greek: "market"], the city-state's central marketplace for business and commerce. Theagorawas also an area of public squares and plazas, where the people might formally assemble, or gather for festivals. It was the site of religious shrines, and the location of whatever were the major municipal buildings of Carthage. Here beat the heart of civic life. In this district of Carthage, more probably, the rulingsuffetspresided, the council of elders convened, the tribunal of the 104 met, and justice was dispensed at trials in the open air.
Early residential districts wrapped around the Byrsa from the south to the north east. Houses usually werewhitewashedand blank to the street, but within werecourtyardsopen to the sky.In these neighborhoods multistory construction later became common, some up to six stories tall according to an ancient Greek author.Severalarchitecturalfloorplansof homes have been revealed by recentexcavations, as well as the general layout of severalcity blocks. Stone stairs were set in the streets, anddrainagewas planned, e.g., in the form of soakaways leaching into the sandy soil.Along the Byrsa's southern slope were located not only fine old homes, but also many of the earliest grave-sites, juxtaposed in small areas, interspersed with daily life.
Artisanworkshops were located in the city at sites north and west of the harbours. The location of threemetal workshops(implied from iron slag and other vestiges of such activity) were found adjacent to the naval and commercial harbours, and another two were further up the hill toward the Byrsa citadel. Sites ofpotterykilnshave been identified, between theagoraand the harbours, and further north. Earthenware often used Greek models. Afuller's shop for preparing woolen cloth (shrink and thicken) was evidently situated further to the west and south, then by the edge of the city.Carthage also produced objects of rare refinement. During the 4th and 3rd centuries, thesculpturesof thesarcophagibecame works of art. "Bronzeengravingand stone-carving reached their zenith."
The elevation of the land at the promontory on the seashore to the north-east (now calledSidi Bou Saïd), was twice as high above sea level as that at the Byrsa (100 m and 50 m). In between runs a ridge, several times reaching 50 m; it continues northwestward along the seashore, and forms the edge of a plateau-like area between the Byrsa and the sea.Newer urban developments lay here in these northern districts.
Due to the Roman's leveling of the city, the original Punic urban landscape of Carthage was largely lost. Since 1982, French archaeologistSerge Lancelexcavated a residential area of the Punic Carthage on top ofByrsahill near the Forum of the Roman Carthage. The neighborhood can be dated back to early second century BC, and with its houses, shops, and private spaces, is significant for what it reveals about daily life of the Punic Carthage.
The remains have been preserved under embankments, the substructures of the later Roman forum, whose foundation piles dot the district. The housing blocks are separated by a grid of straight streets about 6 m (20 ft) wide, with a roadway consisting of clay;in situstairs compensate for the slope of the hill. Construction of this type presupposes organization and political will, and has inspired the name of the neighborhood, "Hannibaldistrict", referring to the legendary Punic general orsufet(consul) at the beginning of the second century BC. The habitat is typical, even stereotypical. The street was often used as a storefront/shopfront; cisterns were installed in basements to collect water for domestic use, and a long corridor on the right side of each residence led to a courtyard containing asump, around which various other elements may be found. In some places, the ground is covered withmosaicscalled punica pavement, sometimes using a characteristic red mortar.
Punic culture and agricultural sciences, after arriving at Carthage from the eastern Mediterranean, gradually adapted to the local conditions. The merchant harbor at Carthage was developed after settlement of the nearby Punic town ofUtica, and eventually the surrounding African countryside was brought into the orbit of the Punic urban centers, first commercially, then politically. Direct management over cultivation of neighbouring lands by Punic owners followed.A 28-volume work on agriculture written in Punic byMago, a retired army general (c.300), was translated into Latin and later into Greek. The original and both translations have been lost; however, some of Mago's text has survived in other Latin works.Olive trees (e.g.,grafting), fruit trees (pomegranate, almond, fig, date palm),viniculture, bees, cattle, sheep, poultry, implements, andfarm managementwere among the ancient topics which Mago discussed. As well, Mago addresses the wine-maker's art (here a type ofsherry).
In Punic farming society, according to Mago, the small estate owners were the chief producers. They were, two modern historians write, not absent landlords. Rather, the likely reader of Mago was "the master of a relatively modest estate, from which, by great personal exertion, he extracted the maximum yield." Mago counselled the rural landowner, for the sake of their own 'utilitarian' interests, to treat carefully and well their managers and farm workers, or their overseers and slaves.Yet elsewhere these writers suggest that rural land ownership provided also a new power base among the city's nobility, for those resident in their country villas.By many, farming was viewed as an alternative endeavour to an urban business. Another modern historian opines that more often it was the urban merchant of Carthage who owned rural farming land to some profit, and also to retire there during the heat of summer.It may seem that Mago anticipated such an opinion, and instead issued this contrary advice (as quoted by the Roman writer Columella):
The issues involved in rural land management also reveal underlying features of Punic society, its structure andstratification. The hired workers might be considered 'rural proletariat', drawn from the local Berbers. Whether there remained Berber landowners next to Punic-run farms is unclear. Some Berbers became sharecroppers. Slaves acquired for farm work were often prisoners of war. In lands outside Punic political control, independent Berbers cultivated grain and raised horses on their lands. Yet within the Punic domain that surrounded the city-state of Carthage, there were ethnic divisions in addition to the usual quasifeudaldistinctions between lord and peasant, or master and serf. This inherent instability in the countryside drew the unwanted attention of potential invaders.Yet for long periods Carthage was able to manage these social difficulties.
The manyamphoraewith Punic markings subsequently found about ancient Mediterranean coastal settlements testify to Carthaginian trade in locally made olive oil and wine.Carthage's agricultural production was held in high regard by the ancients, and rivaled that of Rome – they were once competitors, e.g., over their olive harvests. Under Roman rule, however, grain production (wheat and barley) for export increased dramatically in 'Africa'; yet these later fell with the rise inRoman Egypt's grain exports. Thereafter olive groves and vineyards were re-established around Carthage. Visitors to the several growing regions that surrounded the city wrote admiringly of the lush green gardens, orchards, fields,irrigationchannels, hedgerows (as boundaries), as well as the many prosperous farming towns located across the rural landscape.
Accordingly, the Greek author and compilerDiodorus Siculus(fl. 1st century BC), who enjoyed access to ancient writings later lost, and on which he based most of his writings, described agricultural land near the city of Carthage c. 310 BC:
Greek cities contested with Carthage for the Western Mediterranean culminating in theSicilian Warsand thePyrrhic WaroverSicily, while theRomansfought three wars against Carthage, known as thePunic Wars,from the Latin "Punicus" meaning "Phoenician", as Carthage was a Phoenician colony grown into an empire.
The Carthaginian republic was one of the longest-lived and largest states in the ancient Mediterranean. Reports relay several wars with Syracuse and finally, Rome, which eventually resulted in the defeat and destruction of Carthage in the Third Punic War. TheCarthaginianswerePhoeniciansettlers of primarilySouthern MediterraneanandSouthern Europeanancestry.Phoenicianshad originated in theMediterraneancoast of theLevant. They spokeCanaanite, aSemitic language, and followed a local variety of theancient Canaanite religion, thePunic religion. The Carthaginians travelled widely across the seas and set up numerous colonies. Unlike Greek, Phoenician, and Tyrian colonizers who "only required colonies to pay due respect for their home-cities", Carthage is said to have "sent its own magistrates to govern overseas settlements".
The fall of Carthage came at the end of the Third Punic War in 146 BC at theBattle of Carthage.Despite initial devastating Roman naval losses andHannibal's 15-year occupation of much of Roman Italy, who was on the brink of defeat but managed to recover, the end of the series of wars resulted in the end of Carthaginian power and the complete destruction of the city byScipio Aemilianus. The Romans pulled the Phoenician warships out into the harbor and burned them before the city, and went from house to house, capturing and enslaving the people. About 50,000 Carthaginians were sold intoslavery.The city was set ablaze and razed to the ground, leaving only ruins and rubble. After the fall of Carthage, Rome annexed the majority of the Carthaginian colonies, including other North African locations such asVolubilis,Lixus,Chellah.Today a "Carthaginian peace" can refer to any brutal peace treaty demanding total subjugation of the defeated side.
Since at least 1863,it has been claimed that Carthage wassown with saltafter being razed, but there is no evidence for this.
When Carthage fell, its nearby rivalUtica, a Roman ally, was made capital of the region and replaced Carthage as the leading center of Punic trade and leadership. It had the advantageous position of being situated on the outlet of theMedjerda River, Tunisia's only river that flowed all year long. However, grain cultivation in the Tunisian mountains caused large amounts ofsiltto erode into the river. This silt accumulated in the harbor until it became useless, and Rome was forced to rebuild Carthage.
By 122 BC,Gaius Gracchusfounded a short-livedcolony, calledColonia Iunonia, after the Latin name for the Punic goddessTanit,Iuno Caelestis. The purpose was to obtain arable lands for impoverished farmers. TheSenateabolished the colony some time later, to undermine Gracchus' power.
After this ill-fated effort, a new city of Carthage was built on the same land byJulius Caesarin the period from 49 to 44 BC, and by the first century, it had grown to be the second-largest city in the western half of theRoman Empire, with a peak population of 500,000.It was the center of theprovince of Africa, which was a major breadbasket of the Empire. Among its major monuments was anamphitheater.
Carthage also became acenter of early Christianity(seeCarthage (episcopal see)). In the first of a string of rather poorly reported councils at Carthage a few years later, no fewer than 70 bishops attended.Tertullianlater broke with the mainstream that was increasingly represented in the West by theprimacy of the Bishop of Rome, but a more serious rift among Christians was theDonatist controversy, against whichAugustine of Hippospent much time and parchment arguing. At theCouncil of Carthage (397), thebiblical canon for the western Church was confirmed. The Christians at Carthage conductedpersecutions against the pagans, during which the pagan temples, notably the famousTemple of Juno Caelesti, were destroyed.
The Vandals underGaisericinvadedAfricain 429. They relinquished the facade of their allied status to Rome and defeated the Roman generalBonifaciusto seize Carthage, the once most treasured province of Rome.The 5th-century Roman bishopVictor Vitensismentions in hisHistoria Persecutionis Africanae Provinciathat the Vandals destroyed parts of Carthage, including various buildings and churches.Once in power, the ecclesiastical authorities were persecuted, the locals were aggressively taxed, and naval raids were routinely launched on Romans in the Mediterranean.
After a failed attempt to recapture the city in the fifth century, theEastern Roman Empirefinally subdued the Vandals in theVandalic Warin 533–534 and made Carthage capital ofByzantine North Africa. Thereafter, the city became the seat of thepraetorian prefecture of Africa, which was made into anexarchateduring the emperorMaurice'sreign, as wasRavennaon the Italian Peninsula. These two exarchates were the western bulwarks of the Byzantine Empire, all that remained of its power in the West. In the early seventh centuryHeraclius the Elder, the exarch of Carthage, overthrew the Byzantine emperorPhocas, whereupon his sonHeracliussucceeded to the imperial throne.
The RomanExarchate of Africawas not able to withstand the seventh-centuryMuslim conquest of the Maghreb. TheUmayyad CaliphateunderAbd al-Malik ibn Marwanin 686 sent a force led byZuhayr ibn Qays, who won a battle over the Romans andBerbersled by KingKusailaof theKingdom of Altavaon the plain ofKairouan, but he could not follow that up. In 695,Hassan ibn al-Nu'mancaptured Carthage and advanced into theAtlas Mountains. An imperial fleet arrived and retook Carthage, but in 698,Hasan ibn al-Nu'manreturned and defeated EmperorTiberios IIIat the698 Battle of Carthage. Roman imperial forces withdrew from all of Africa exceptCeuta. Fearing that the Byzantine Empire might reconquer it, they decided to destroy Roman Carthage in ascorched earth policyand establish their headquarters somewhere else. Its walls were torn down, the water supply from its aqueducts cut off, the agricultural land was ravaged and its harbors made unusable.
The destruction of the Exarchate of Africa marked a permanent end to the Byzantine Empire's influence in the region.
It is clear from archaeological evidence that the town of Carthage continued to be occupied, as did the neighborhood of Bjordi Djedid. TheBaths of Antoninuscontinued to function in the Arab period and the eleventh-century historianAl-Bakristated that they were still in good condition at that time. They also had production centers nearby. It is difficult to determine whether the continued habitation of some other buildings belonged to Late Byzantine or Early Arab period. The Bir Ftouha church may have continued to remain in use although it is not clear when it became uninhabited.Constantine the Africanwas born in Carthage.
TheMedina of Tunis, originally a Berber settlement, was established as the new regional center under theUmayyad Caliphatein the early 8th century. Under theAghlabids, the people of Tunis revolted numerous times, but the city profited from economic improvements and quickly became the second most important in the kingdom. It was briefly the national capital, from the end of the reign ofIbrahim IIin 902, until 909, when theShi'iteBerberstook overIfriqiyaand founded theFatimid Caliphate.
Carthageremained a residential see until thehigh medieval period, and is mentioned in two letters ofPope Leo IXdated 1053,written in reply to consultations regarding a conflict between the bishops of Carthage andGummi. In each of the two letters, Pope Leo declares that, after the Bishop of Rome, the first archbishop and chief metropolitan of the whole ofAfricais the bishop of Carthage. Later, an archbishop of Carthage named Cyriacus was imprisoned by the Arab rulers because of an accusation by some Christians.Pope Gregory VIIwrote Cyriacus a letter of consolation, repeating the hopeful assurances of the primacy of the Church of Carthage, "whether the Church of Carthage should still lie desolate or rise again in glory". By 1076, Cyriacus was set free, but there was only one other bishop in the province. These are the last of whom there is mention in that period of the history of the see.
The fortress of Carthage was used by the Muslims untilHafsidera and was captured by the Crusaders during theEighth Crusade. The inhabitants of Carthage were slaughtered by the Crusaders after they took it, and it was used as a base of operations against the Hafsids. After repelling them,Muhammad I al-Mustansirdecided to raze Cathage's defenses in order to prevent a repeat.
Carthage is some 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) east-northeast of Tunis; the settlements nearest to Carthage were the town ofSidi Bou Saidto the north and the village ofLe Kramto the south. Sidi Bou Said was a village which had grown around the tomb of the eponymoussufisaint (d. 1231), which had been developed into a town underOttoman rulein the 18th century. Le Kram was developed in the late 19th century underFrench administrationas a settlement close to the port ofLa Goulette.
In 1881, Tunisia became aFrench protectorate, and in the same yearCharles Lavigerie, who was archbishop of Algiers, becameapostolic administratorof the vicariate of Tunis. In the following year, Lavigerie became acardinal. He "saw himself as the reviver of the ancient Christian Church of Africa, the Church ofCyprianof Carthage",and, on 10 November 1884, was successful in his great ambition of having themetropolitan seeof Carthage restored, with himself as its first archbishop.In line with the declaration ofPope Leo IXin 1053,Pope Leo XIIIacknowledged the revived Archdiocese of Carthage as theprimatialsee ofAfricaand Lavigerie as primate.
TheAcropolium of Carthage(Saint Louis Cathedral of Carthage) was erected onByrsahill in 1884.
The Danish consulChristian Tuxen Falbeconducted a first survey of the topography of the archaeological site (published in 1833).
Antiquarian interest was intensified following the publication of Flaubert'sSalammbôin 1858.Charles Ernest Beuléperformed some preliminary excavations of Roman remains on Byrsa hill in 1860.In 1866,Muhammad Khaznadar, the son of thePrime Minister of Tunisia, carried out the first locally led excavations. A more systematic survey of both Punic and Roman-era remains is due toAlfred Louis Delattre, who was sent to Tunis by cardinalCharles Lavigeriein 1875 on both an apostolic and an archaeological mission.Audollent cites Delattre and Lavigerie to the effect that in the 1880s, locals still knew the area of the ancient city under the name ofCartagenna(i.e. reflecting the Latinn-stemCarthāgine).
Auguste Audollentdivided the area of Roman Carthage into four quarters,Cartagenna,Dermèche,ByrsaandLa Malga. Cartagenna and Dermèche correspond with the lower city, including the site of Punic Carthage; Byrsa is associated with the upper city, which in Punic times was a walled citadel above the harbour; andLa Malgais linked with the more remote parts of the upper city in Roman times.
French-led excavations at Carthage began in 1921, and from 1923 reported finds of a large quantity of urns containing a mixture of animal and children's bones.René Dussaudidentified a 4th-century BC stela found in Carthage as depicting a child sacrifice.
A temple atAmman(1400–1250 BC) excavated and reported upon byJ.B. Hennessyin 1966, shows the possibility of bestial and human sacrifice by fire. While evidence of child sacrifice in Canaan was the object of academic disagreement, with some scholars arguing that merely children's cemeteries had been unearthed in Carthage, the mixture of children's with animal bones as well as associated epigraphic evidence involving mention ofmlkled some to believe that, at least in Carthage,child sacrificewas indeed common practice.However, though the animals were surely sacrificed, this does not entirely indicate that the infants were, and in fact the bones indicate the opposite. Rather, the animal sacrifice was likely done to, in some way, honour the deceased.
A study conducted in 1970 by M. Chabeuf, the then Doctor of Science from the University of Paris, showed little difference between 17 modern Tunisians, and 68 Punic remains.An analysis the following year on 42 North-West African skulls dating back to Roman times concluded that they were overall similar to modern Berbers and other Mediterranean populations, especially eastern Iberians. They also noted the presence of one outlier in Tunisia who appears to have inherited mechtoid traits, which led them to hypothesize the persistence of such affinities well into the Punic and Roman era.
M. C. Chamla and D Ferembach (1988) in their entry dealing with the craniometric conclusions of Protohistorical Algerians and Punics in the region of Tunisia, found strong sexual dimorphism with male skulls being robust. Mediterranean elements were dominant, but Mechtoid features, as well as 'Negroid' traits were present in some of the samples. Overall, Punic burials showed affinities with Algerians, Roman Era skulls from Tarragona (Spain), Guanches, and to a lesser extent Abydos (XVIIIth dynasty), Etruscans, Bronze Age Syrians (Euphrates) and skulls from Lozere (France). The anthropological position of the Algerian andPunic peoplewhen it comes to populations of the Mediterranean Basin agreed quite well with the geographical situation.
Jehan Desanges stated that "In the Punic burial grounds, negroid remains were not rare and there were black auxiliaries in the Carthaginian army who were certainly not Nilotics".
In 1990, Shomarka Keita, a biological anthropologist, had conducted a craniometric study which featured a set of remains from Northern Africa. He examined a sample of 49 Maghreban crania which included skulls from pre-Roman Carthage and concluded that, although they were heterogeneous, many of them showed physical similarities to crania from equatorial Africa, ancient Egypt, and Kush; with most having traits conforming to the northern (Lower) Egyptian pattern.S.O.Y. Keita's later report in 2018, found the pre-Roman Carthaginian series to be intermediate between the Phoenician and Maghreban. He noted the findings are consistent with an interpretation that it reflects both local and Levantine ancestry due to specific interactions in the ancient period.
Joel. D. Irish, when measuring for dental affinities in 2001, found strong similarities and very small distances between the Canary Islanders and Punic Carthaginians (who originated in West Asia), suggesting a particularly close affinity, despite the geographic distance between these two populations. This result according to Irish, may reflect Berber/Carthaginian admixture. Overall, the findings discovered that "the Canary Island sample is most similar to the four samples from Northwest Africa: the Shawia Berbers, Kabyle Berbers, Bedouin Arabs and Carthaginians, less similar to the three Egyptian samples and least like the three Nubian samples."
In 2016, an ancient Carthaginian individual, who was excavated from a Punic tomb in Byrsa Hill, was found to belong to the rareU5b2c1maternal haplogroup. The Young Man of Byrsa specimen dates from the late 6th century BC, and his lineage is believed to represent early gene flow fromIberiato theMaghreb. Craniometric analysis of the young man indicated likely Mediterranean/European ancestry as opposed to African or Asian.
Due to its coastal location, Carthage Archeological Site is vulnerable tosea level rise. In 2022, theIPCC Sixth Assessment Reportincluded it in the list of African cultural sites which would be threatened byfloodingandcoastal erosionby the end of the century, but only ifclimate changefollowedRCP 8.5, which is the scenario of high and continually increasinggreenhouse gasemissions associated with the warming of over 4 °C (7.2 °F),and is no longer considered very likely.The other, more plausible scenarios result in lower warming levels and consequently lower sea level rise: yet, sea levels would continue to increase for about 10,000 years under all of them.Even if the warming is limited to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F), global sea level rise is still expected to exceed 2–3 m (7–10 ft) after 2,000 years (and higher warming levels will see larger increases by then), consequently exceeding 2,100 levels of sea level rise under RCP 8.5 (~0.75 m (2 ft) with a range of 0.5–1 m (2–3 ft)) well before the year 4000. Thus, it is a matter of time before the Carthage Archeological Site is threatened by rising water levels, unless it can be protected by adaptation efforts such assea walls.
The commune of Carthage was created by a decree of theBey of Tunison 15 June 1919,during the rule ofNaceur Bey.
In 1920, the firstseaplanebase was built on theLake of Tunisfor the seaplanes of Compagnie Aéronavale.The Tunis Airfield opened in 1938, serving around 5,800 passengers annually on the Paris-Tunisroute.During World War II, the airport was used by theUnited States Army Air ForceTwelfth Air Forceas a headquarters and command control base for theItalian Campaignof 1943.
Construction on theTunis-Carthage Airport, which was fully funded by France, began in 1944, and in 1948 the airport become the main hub forTunisair.
In the 1950s theLycée Français de Carthagewas established to serve French families in Carthage. In 1961 it was given to the Tunisian government as part of theIndependence of Tunisia, so the nearby Collège Maurice Cailloux inLa Marsa, previously an annex of the Lycée Français de Carthage, was renamed to the Lycée Français de La Marsa and began serving thelycéelevel. It is currently theLycée Gustave Flaubert.
After Tunisian independence in 1956, the Tunis conurbation gradually extended around the airport, and Carthage (قرطاجQarṭāj) is now a suburb of Tunis, covering the area between Sidi Bou Said and Le Kram.Its population as of January 2013 was estimated at 21,276,mostly attracting the more wealthy residents.If Carthage is not the capital, it tends to be the political pole, a "place of emblematic power" according toSophie Bessis,leaving to Tunis the economic and administrative roles. TheCarthage Palace(the Tunisian presidential palace) is located in the coast.
The suburb has six train stations of theTGMline between Le Kram and Sidi Bou Said:
Carthage Salammbo (named for the ancient children's cemetery where it stands), Carthage Byrsa (named forByrsahill), Carthage Dermech (Dermèche), Carthage Hannibal (named forHannibal), Carthage Présidence (named for thePresidential Palace) and Carthage Amilcar (named forHamilcar).
The merchants of Carthage were in part heirs of the Mediterranean trade developed by Phoenicia, and so also heirs of the rivalry with Greek merchants. Business activity was accordingly both stimulated and challenged.Cyprushad been an early site of such commercial contests. The Phoenicians then had ventured into the western Mediterranean, founding trading posts, including Utica and Carthage. TheGreeksfollowed, entering the western seas where the commercial rivalry continued. Eventually it would lead, especially inSicily, to several centuries of intermittent war.Although Greek-made merchandise was generally considered superior in design, Carthage also produced trade goods in abundance. That Carthage came to function as a manufacturing colossus was shown during theThird Punic Warwith Rome. Carthage, which had previously disarmed, then was made to face the fatal Roman siege. The city "suddenly organised the manufacture of arms" with great skill and effectiveness. According toStrabo(63 BC – AD 21) in hisGeographica:
The textile industry in Carthage probably started in private homes, but the existence of professional weavers indicates that a sort of factory system later developed. Products included embroidery, carpets, and use of the purple murex dye (for which the Carthaginian isle ofDjerbawas famous).Metalworkersdeveloped specialized skills, i.e., making various weapons for the armed forces, as well as domestic articles, such as knives, forks, scissors, mirrors, and razors (all articles found in tombs). Artwork in metals included vases and lamps in bronze, also bowls, and plates. Other products came from such crafts as thepotters, theglassmakers, and thegoldsmiths. Inscriptions on votive stele indicate that many were not slaves but 'free citizens'.
Phoenician and Punic merchant ventures were often run as a family enterprise, putting to work its members and its subordinate clients. Such family-run businesses might perform a variety of tasks: own and maintain theships, providing the captain and crew; do the negotiations overseas, either bybarteror buying and selling, of their own manufactured commodities and trade goods, and native products (metals, foodstuffs, etc.) to carry and trade elsewhere; and send theiragentsto stay at distant outposts in order to make lasting local contacts, and later to establish a warehouse of shipped goods for exchange, and eventually perhaps a settlement. Over generations, such activity might result in the creation of a wide-ranging network of trading operations. Ancillary would be the growth ofreciprocitybetween different family firms, foreign and domestic.
State protection was extended to its sea traders by the Phoenician city ofTyreand later likewise by the daughter city-state of Carthage.Stéphane Gsell, the well-regarded French historian of ancient North Africa, summarized the major principles guiding the civic rulers of Carthage with regard to its policies for trade and commerce:
Both the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians were well known in antiquity for theirsecrecyin general, and especially pertaining to commercial contacts andtrade routes.Both cultures excelled in commercial dealings.Strabo(63 BC–AD 21), the Greekgeographer, wrote that before its fall (in 146 BC) Carthage enjoyed a population of 700,000 and directed an alliance of 300 cities.The Greek historianPolybius(c.203–120) referred to Carthage as "the wealthiest city in the world".
A "suffet" (possibly two) was elected by the citizens, and held office with no military power for a one-year term. Carthaginian generals marshalled mercenary armies and were separately elected. From about 550 to 450 the Magonid family monopolized the top military position; later the Barcid family acted similarly. Eventually it came to be that, after a war, the commanding general had to testify justifying his actions before a court of 104 judges.
Aristotle(384–322) discusses Carthage in his work,Politica; he begins: "The Carthaginians are also considered to have an excellent form of government." He briefly describes the city as a "mixed constitution", a political arrangement with cohabiting elements ofmonarchy,aristocracy, anddemocracy, i.e., a king (Gk: basileus), a council of elders (Gk: gerusia), and the people (Gk: demos).LaterPolybius of Megalopolis(c.204–122, Greek) in hisHistorieswould describe theRoman Republicin more detail as a mixed constitution in which theConsulswere the monarchy, theSenatethe aristocracy, and theAssembliesthe democracy.
Evidently Carthage also had an institution ofelderswho advised the Suffets, similar to a Greekgerusiaor theRoman Senate. We do not have a Punic name for this body. At times its members would travel with an army general on campaign. Members also formed permanentcommittees. The institution had several hundred members drawn from the wealthiest class who held office for life. Vacancies were probably filled by recruitment from among the elite, i.e., byco-option. From among its members were selected the104 Judgesmentioned above. Later the 104 would come to evaluate not only army generals but other office holders as well. Aristotle regarded the 104 as most important; he compared it to theephorateofSpartawith regard to control over security. In Hannibal's time, such a Judge held office for life. At some stage there also came to be independent self-perpetuating boards of five who filled vacancies and supervised (non-military) government administration.
Popularassembliesalso existed at Carthage. When deadlocked the Suffets and the quasi-senatorial institution of elders might request the assembly to vote; also, assembly votes were requested in very crucial matters in order to achieve political consensus and popular coherence. The assembly members had nolegalwealth or birth qualification. How its members were selected is unknown, e.g., whether by festival group or urban ward or another method.
The Greeks were favourably impressed by the constitution of Carthage;Aristotlehad a separate study of it made which unfortunately is lost. In hisPoliticahe states: "The government of Carthage is oligarchical, but they successfully escape the evils of oligarchy by enriching one portion of the people after another by sending them to their colonies." "[T]heir policy is to send some [poorer citizens] to their dependent towns, where they grow rich."Yet Aristotle continues, "[I]f any misfortune occurred, and the bulk of the subjects revolted, there would be no way of restoring peace by legal means." Aristotle remarked also:
The city-state of Carthage, whose citizens were mainlyLibyphoenicians(of Phoenician ancestry born in Africa), dominated and exploited an agricultural countryside composed mainly of native Berber sharecroppers and farmworkers, whose affiliations to Carthage were open to divergent possibilities. Beyond these more settled Berbers and the Punic farming towns and rural manors, lived the independent Berber tribes, who were mostly pastoralists.
In the brief, uneven review of government at Carthage found in hisPoliticaAristotle mentions several faults. Thus, "that the same person should hold manyoffices, which is a favorite practice among the Carthaginians." Aristotle disapproves, mentioning the flute-player and the shoemaker. Also, that "magistrates should be chosen not only for their merit but for their wealth." Aristotle's opinion is that focus on pursuit of wealth will lead tooligarchyand its evils.
In Carthage the people seemed politically satisfied and submissive, according to the historian Warmington. They in their assemblies only rarely exercised the few opportunities given them to assent to state decisions. Popular influence over government appears not to have been an issue at Carthage. Being a commercial republic fielding amercenaryarmy, the people were not conscripted for military service, an experience which can foster the feel for popular political action. But perhaps this misunderstands the society; perhaps the people, whose values were based on small-group loyalty, felt themselves sufficiently connected to their city's leadership by the very integrity of the person-to-person linkage within their social fabric. Carthage was very stable; there were few openings fortyrants. Only after defeat by Rome devastated Punic imperial ambitions did the people of Carthage seem to question their governance and to show interest in political reform.
In 196, following theSecond Punic War(218–201),Hannibal, still greatly admired as a Barcid military leader, was electedsuffet. When his reforms were blocked by a financial official about to become a judge for life, Hannibal rallied the populace against the 104 judges. He proposed a one-year term for the 104, as part of a major civic overhaul. Additionally, the reform included a restructuring of the city's revenues, and the fostering of trade and agriculture. The changes rather quickly resulted in a noticeable increase in prosperity. Yet his incorrigible political opponents cravenly went to Rome, to charge Hannibal with conspiracy, namely, plotting war against Rome in league withAntiochusthe Hellenic ruler ofSyria. Although the RomanScipio Africanusresisted such manoeuvre, eventually intervention by Rome forced Hannibal to leave Carthage. Thus, corrupt city officials efficiently blocked Hannibal in his efforts to reform the government of Carthage.
Mago (6th century) was King of Carthage; thehead of state, war leader, and religious figurehead. His family was considered to possess a sacred quality. Mago's office was somewhat similar to that of apharaoh, but although kept in a family it was not hereditary, it was limited by legal consent. Picard, accordingly, believes that the council of elders and the popular assembly are late institutions. Carthage was founded by the king of Tyre who had a royal monopoly on this trading venture. Thus it was the royal authority stemming from this traditional source of power that the King of Carthage possessed. Later, as other Phoenician ship companies entered the trading region, and so associated with the city-state, the King of Carthage had to keep order among a rich variety of powerful merchants in their negotiations among themselves and over risky commerce across the Mediterranean. Under these circumstance, the office of king began to be transformed. Yet it was not until the aristocrats of Carthage became wealthy owners of agricultural lands in Africa that a council of elders was institutionalized at Carthage.
Most ancient literature concerning Carthage comes from Greek and Roman sources as Carthage's own documents were destroyed by the Romans.Apart frominscriptions, hardly anyPunic literaturehas survived, and none in its own language and script.A brief catalogue would include:
"[F]rom the Greek authorPlutarch[(c. 46 – c. 120)] we learn of the 'sacred books' in Punic safeguarded by the city's temples. Few Punic texts survive, however."Once "the City Archives, the Annals, and the scribal lists ofSuffets" existed, but evidently these were destroyed in the horrific fires during the Roman capture of the city in 146 BC.
Yet some Punic books (Latin:libri punici) from the libraries of Carthage reportedly did survive the fires.These works were apparently given by Roman authorities to the newly augmented Berber rulers.Over a century after the fall of Carthage, the Roman politician-turned-author Gaius Sallustius Crispus orSallust(86–34) reported his having seen volumes written in Punic, which books were said to be once possessed by the Berber king,Hiempsal II(r. 88–81).By way of Berber informants and Punic translators, Sallust had used these surviving books to write his brief sketch of Berber affairs.
Probably some of Hiempsal II'slibri punici, that had escaped the fires that consumed Carthage in 146 BC, wound up later in the large royal library of his grandsonJuba II(r. 25 BC–AD 24).Juba II not only was aBerber king, and husband ofCleopatra's daughter, but also a scholar and author inGreekof no less than nine works.He wrote for the Mediterranean-wide audience then enjoyingclassical literature. Thelibri puniciinherited from his grandfather surely became useful to him when composing hisLibyka, a work on North Africa written in Greek. Unfortunately, only fragments ofLibykasurvive, mostly from quotations made by other ancient authors.It may have been Juba II who 'discovered' the five-centuries-old 'log book' ofHanno the Navigator, called thePeriplus, among library documents saved from fallen Carthage.
In the end, however, most Punic writings that survived the destruction of Carthage "did not escape the immense wreckage in which so many of Antiquity's literary works perished."Accordingly, the long and continuous interactions between Punic citizens of Carthage and the Berber communities that surrounded the city have no local historian. Their political arrangements and periodic crises, their economic and work life, the cultural ties and social relations established and nourished (infrequently as kin), are not known to us directly from ancient Punic authors in written accounts. Neither side has left us their stories about life in Punic-era Carthage.
RegardingPhoenicianwritings, few remain and these seldom refer to Carthage. The more ancient and most informative are cuneiform tablets, c. 1600–1185, from ancientUgarit, located to the north ofPhoeniciaon the Syrian coast; it was a Canaanite city politically affiliated with the Hittites. The clay tablets tell of myths, epics, rituals, medical and administrative matters, and also correspondence.The highly valued works ofSanchuniathon, an ancient priest of Beirut, who reportedly wrote on Phoenician religion and the origins of civilization, are themselves completely lost, but some little content endures twice removed.Sanchuniathon was said to have lived in the 11th century, which is considered doubtful.Much later aPhoenician HistorybyPhilo of Byblos(64–141) reportedly existed, written in Greek, but only fragments of this work survive.An explanation proffered for why so few Phoenician works endured: early on (11th century) archives and records began to be kept onpapyrus, which does not long survive in a moist coastal climate.Also, both Phoenicians and Carthaginians were well known for theirsecrecy.
Thus, of their ancient writings we have little of major interest left to us by Carthage, or byPhoeniciathe country of origin of the city founders. "Of the various Phoenician and Punic compositions alluded to by the ancient classical authors, not a single work or even fragment has survived in its original idiom." "Indeed, not a single Phoenicianmanuscripthas survived in the original [language] or in translation."We cannot therefore access directly the line of thought or the contour of their worldview as expressed in their own words, in their own voice.Ironically, it was the Phoenicians who "invented or at least perfected and transmitted a form of writing [thealphabet] that has influenced dozens of cultures including our own."
As noted, the celebrated ancient books on agriculture written byMago of Carthagesurvives only via quotations in Latin from several later Roman works.
The scant remains of what was once a great city are reflected upon inLetitia Elizabeth Landon's poetical illustration,Carthage, to an engraving of a painting by J. Salmon, published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837 with quotes from Sir Grenville Temple's Journal.
The protagonist inIsaac Asimov's 1956 science-fiction short story "The Dead Past" is an academic professor obsessed with debunking historical perceptions of Carthage.