Carthage: A Steeped History in Legend and Grandeur

Carthage, according to legend, was founded by the Phoenician Queen Dido in or around 813 BCE (Mark). The true origins of how the city came to exist is clouded by time and steeped in legend. It started out as a small port city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea across the Sea from Rome. The city of Carthage was a colony of Tyr (Morey, Ch. 14). Carthage began as a small trade stop for Phoenician traders to resupply and repair their ships.

The first great injection of grandeur came in the form of wealthy refugees, a perplexing idea to many. In the year 332 BCE the Phoenician city of Tyre was lost to Alexander the Great (Mark). Many, if not most, of the citizens who's lives were spared by Alexander the Great were rich enough to buy their

own lives (Mark). This created a large mass of refugees that had asymmetrical wealth, as the poorest citizens had essentially been “culled”. These people went to and became citizens of Carthage. Using their wealth these new citizens vastly improved Carthage as a city.

Unfortunately, money and a favorable location were not the only things that contributed to Carthage's greatness. Carthage killed, subjugated and enslaved many of the native Africans in the area. The tribes they did not disband were charged a tribute (Mark). Economically, this was a huge boon as a large influx in slaves and tribute money went a long way towards building Carthage.

Money and wealth in Carthage contributed to its grandeur. Carthage soon grew to encompass its citizens and structures. The rich lived in massive estates while the poor lived in modest, but not horrible homes (Mark). Because of Carthage's location as a trade center and port, the city enjoyed a large income of trade tariffs and taxes. At the height of her power, Carthage commanded 220 docks in its harbor. With trade ships traveling in and out of port every single day buying and selling goods, it is not hard to fathom why Carthage at this time was an ancient super power.

Carthage's government had many similarities with Rome, curiously enough. Carthage had two chief magistrates called suffetes that were very similar in function to the Roman consuls (Morey, Ch. 14). Carthage had a council of elders called the “hundred, which was similar to the Roman senate (Morey, Ch. 14). And lastly, Carthage's government had a general assembly. This government organization, while prone to corruption (as we can see from Rome's history), was very powerful and its ability to organize a people to greatness was present.

At the height of Carthage's power around 264 BCE, Rome and Carthage can be considered equals. Because of Carthage's superior location and positioning as a trade super power, Carthage had a considerable wealth gain on Rome. Carthage's Navy was rivaled by none, however Rome's army was equally as efficient and terrifying. Carthage is also considered to have contained more tactical and military genius, while Rome had a body of citizens more willing to stand up to disaster. (Morey, Ch. 14).

The Irony is that it was because of Carthage that Rome eventually became the naval super power of the Mediterranean.

Once the conflict of the Punic wars began over the conquest of Sicily, Rome realized it needed to match Carthage's navy. Rome knew that they needed to best Carthage at sea, and they also knew that Carthage had a serious advantage on them in these waters. The Roman Triremes could not stand against the Carthage quinquiremes. The Romans salvaged a wrecked Carthage quinquireme and quickly fashioned their own fleet based off the design. Meanwhile, Rome's soldiers were trained in oar rowing. The final tactical decision for the Romans was to use their superior soldiers at sea. Boarding planks were built onto the Roman vessels so that the soldiers could board Carthage's vessels and attack their sailors hand to hand. This strategy led to an incredibly successful and decisive victory at sea that led to the Roman victory during the Punic war.

In conclusion, Carthage was an incredibly successful city. Owing it's success to many factors. Some of those factors were not very pleasant, such as the defeat of one city and the culling of it's poor citizens. Or the subjugation of Carthage's native neighbors and African Tribes. But Carthage will be remembered most as an ancient super power, with incredibly brilliant leaders, and a navy that defined the Mediterranean

Sea.