Ancient Carthage

*This article refers to the haYam Shelanu Timeline.*

Banner of Carthage

Map of Carthage in 313 CE

### Inhabitants

Punics, Berbers, Gauls, Syrians, Greeks, Iberians, Italians, Romans, Etruscans, Egyptians, Jews

"Ancient Carthage" refers to Punic civilization from the foundation of the City of Carthage in the 9th century BC to the fall of the Southern Carthaginian Empire in 476 AD. The capital was founded as "Qart Hadasht" ("New City") in 814 BC by Tyre, tradition stating that it was founded by the princess Elishat or "Dido" fleeing Lebanon. Over time, Carthage grew to encompass the entire mediterranean and black seas, as well as settlements in coastal West Africa and the Red Sea. Until 313, the official state religion of Carthage was Caananite Paganism, which was then changed to Syriyana Buddhism. The Carthaginians spoke the languages of Old and later Classical Punic, as well as many local languages such as greek, aramaic, coptic, and gaulish.

## History

### Early History

Founded by the Phoenician city of Tyre in 814 BC, Carthage would quickly grow to surpass Atiq and become the largest Phoenician settlement west of Lebanon. They would go on to establish an empire that ruled the mediterranean for centuries more. Until 480 BC, Carthage was a monarchy, but following the death of Malek Hamilcar Magonid in Sicily, Carthage would begin the path towards becoming a *Suphetim*, that is, a republic ruled by two "*Suphet*" (or Judges).

### Latin Wars

In the 3rd century CE, a series of wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginians would break out. The first came due to a conflict between the greek city of Syracuse and the Romans, and resulted in a Roman annexation of Sicily and Sardinia. In the Second Latin War, Carthage would fight the Romans for 20 years, resulting in the devastation of Italy and the complete exhaustion of Carthaginian morale, but thanks to the efforts of a supportive Suphetim and generals such as Hannibal Barca, the Romans would ultimately be defeated and Italy would be divided into three. The north would be given to the Etrurians, which would be a Carthaginian ally. The city of Rome would remain autonomous, but a Punic subject. The south would then be annexed directly by the Carthaginians. Sicily and Sardinia were returned to Punic rule.

### Hannibal and Scipio Barca

Hannibal would then be elected Suphet, and approach a strategy of friendship with the Romans as a keystone of Punic rule in Italy. He would attempt to dramatically reform the Carthaginian government, which eventually resulted in his assassination. His son, Scipio Barca, would then attempt to declare himself Malek by utilizing his father's popularity. This would kickstart the Punic Civil War, where Scipio established a kingdom for himself in Spain. After several years of war, where the Spanish were assisted by first the Seleucid Empire and later Italian rebels, Scipio would be kicked out of Qarthadasht bin Spania and forced to withdraw north. When the Italian Confederation was defeated by the Romans and Carthaginians, the remnants of Barcid Kingdom began negotiations. Ultimately, Scipio would be granted a kingdom of his own, but not in Spain. Instead, he would rule the southern coast of Calliga as Malek of Namal. To prevent further unrest in Spain, the Carthaginians would divide the territory into provinces directly ruled by governors appointed in Carthage.

### First Cawanie War

in 168 BC, Perseus Antigonos, the now-former King of Macedon, would appear in front of the Addirim in Byrsa, Carthage. He would plead for Carthaginian assistence in his restoration to the Macedonian throne from Seleucid rule, pledging friendship between the Cawanie and Africa were he to once again rule Macedon. Seeing an opportunity to break into the Aegean market, the Carthaginians quickly accepted his proposal, and alongside their ally in the Kingdom of Epirus, Carthage declared war on the Seleucid Empire.

Initial Carthaginian engagements in the Cawanie were unsatisfactory. The Seleucids pushed the alliance back from southern Epirus, and Carthaginian attempts to attack Athens failed and forced withdrawal. The Seleucids saught to use the war as an opportunity to kick the Carthaginians from the Cawanie entirely, that is, their holdings in Epirus, Crete, the Ionian Isles and the fort of Pylos. Renewed Carthaginian efforts and the arrival of reinforcements from Italy to Epirus changed the tide of the war, with the fall of Corinth, the Pelloponese would be entirely cut off from Attica and Thessaly, becoming easy picking for the Carthaginians. Epirote-Roman advances would also result in the fall of the Seleucid-allied Aetolian League. The Seleucids soon sued for peace; Carthage would annex much of the Aegean Isles, the Achaean League in the Pelloponese would be ruled by Perseus' half-brother Phillippus, and Epirus would annex the region of Aetolia.

### Cyrene Crisis

Though the Kingdom of Egypt under the Ptolemies and the Carthaginian Republic were on good terms due to their shared enemy in the Seleucids of Syria, border conflicts inevitably sprung up over the Kingdom of Cyrene and control over the eastern trade routes. In 166 BC, immediately after the end of the war with the Seleucids, an uprising in Cyrene overthrew the punic-alligned government in favor of one closer to the Ptolemies. This resulted in a spike of tensions between the two countries, though most politicians in neither wished to go to war over the issue. The crisis was eventually settled by a Ptolemaic delegation, offering the Carthaginians dominion of Cyrenaica as a puppet state(with Egyptian privileges in the area) in exchange for several economic concessions in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aeagean Seas.

### Second Cawanie War

Though the Carthaginians successfully empowered an Antigonid government in Achaea, Perseus himself still held a claim over the Kingdom of Macedon. In 162, conflicts between the Seleucids and Ptolemies opened a prime opportunity for a Carthaginian invasion of Thessaly and Macedon. After a brief campaign, the Carthaginians and Antigonids conquered Pella, though they were stopped by Seleucid troops in Thrace. A surprise Carthaginian naval invasion of Byzantion led by Abdomil Lepiqid conquered the city with little resistance, and then marched west to flank the Seleucids as they battled punic forces in Thrace. The resulting fight crushed a large portion of the Seleucid army, leading to a speedy surrender in Carthage's favor.

The Seleucids surrendered Macedon to Perseus, Delphi to Epirus, Thebes to the Achaeans and gave Athens and their Delian League independence as a Punic aligned state. They surrendered the Hellespont and Byzantion, which would be annexed by Carthage itself, opening up the Black Sea to trade. This series of wars resulted in the complete collapse of Seleucid rule in Anatolia, as soon the Pergamines, Pontics and Isaurians would carve their own states in the land. The Seleucids would, fearing that Syria would soon fall to a land-hungry Carthage, invest heavily in Mesopotamia and Persia as their Empire's key provinces, which would pay off, as the Seleucids prevented what at the time seemed like their inevitable collapse and even maintained control over Little Armenia in Anatolia.