Carthage (Civ6)/Civilopedia

Until the Roman Publius Scipio Africanus plowed it under and salted the earth (so the legend goes) to conclude the Third Punic War, Carthage was one of the great cities of antiquity. Its birth beside the Gulf of Tunis is just as legendary, having been at the hands of its fabled first queen Dido. More prosaically, it actually grew from a Phoenician colony founded sometime during the first millennium BC.
Ideally situated along the north coast of Africa, Carthage became an increasingly important center of trade in the Mediterranean through the next few centuries. However, this success was not without consequences, as Carthage eventually drew the ire of both Greece and Rome, and the ensuing conflicts with these intimidating rivals became ever more legendary.
Tension with Greece over control of the cities of Sicily, and the intertwining trade routes, led to a series of conflicts – the Sicilian Wars. Blessed with some of the greatest generals of the time, the likes of Hamilcar Mago and his grandson Hannibal Mago, by the 3rd Century BC Carthage established complete domination over the island. During these ongoing conflicts, Rome moved to assert its power over the whole of Italy.
Not long after the conclusion of the Pyrrhic War, continued pressure from expanding Rome drew the ire of Carthage, as the two competitors fought for control of territory and trade. A series of escalating clashes now known as the Punic Wars erupted in 264 BC, when both powers became entangled in a local squabble over control of the Sicilian city Messina. Enduring thanks primarily to the brilliant leadership of Hannibal and able others until 146 BC, beleaguered Carthage was eventually forced to surrender. The city itself was burned to the ground and much of the remaining population slaughtered, the survivors sold into slavery.