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Carthaginian History
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Timeline
815 B.C- Carthage founded by Phoenicians, as legend says, Dido, princess of Tyre (prounounced Ti-Ray)
800-300 B.C- Carthage gains dominion over the rest of the western Phoenician colonies. It fights some wars with the greeks (particularly the Syracusans) and loses most of the major battles (unfortunatly). It eventually gains back half of Sicily. Some time during these centuries Hanno the Navigator sets sail to circumnavigate Africa. He is believed to have reached as far as Ivory Coast. As well they explored northwards as far as the Baltic Sea. It is also being considered now that one of thier expeditions may have reached North America, due to a coin suspected of bearing North America on its map.
300-200 B.C- Carthage fights first Punic War with Rome, to its defeat. It loses Sicily. Nevertheless, Hamilcar gains much of Iberia. Territorial limit defined by Rome at the Ebro river. The city of Saguntum remains independent.
Hannibal attacks Saguntum, slaughtering much of its population (Hannibal- son of Hamilcar). The Romans demand he be handed over. Carthage refuses, and the second Punic War begins with Hannibal crossing the Ebro, then crossing the Rhine in secret, then managing to cross the Alps and reaching northern Italy, where he wins the loyalty of some barbarian tribes. He begins an 18 year campaign which causes the Romans much frustration, having won almost all the battles. His brother Hasdrubal follows but is killed mere miles from Hannibal. His head is tossed into Hannibal's camp, to his dismay. The end result was Hannibal returns to Carthage, where he is defeated by Scipio Africanus (he takes on Africanus after beating Hannibal) at the battle of Zama. He is exiled by the Carthaginian government and eventually commits suicide after fighting for the King of Persia. A sad and grisly end for a great man and strategist, who I admire greatly, 2000 years after his death. The ending treaty of the 2nd Punic War caused Carthage to lose all its territories outside of the city, all its fleet except for 10 ships, and it may not rearm.
160-149 B.C- Numidian tribes, seeing Carthages difficult position, raid the outlying townships of its reduced territory. It cannot defend itself, due to the treaty, and the Romans refuse to help. They rearm themselves and destroy the raiders, and Rome declares war. Another reason being, the Romans wanted to raze the city and move it to a different locations (out of spite, since Carthage was still greater than Rome, despite its defeats, in my opinion). The citizens shut the gates, rightfully, and the Romans declared war. So it had 2 reasons- Carthage violated an unfair treaty and the Senators in Rome were jealous bastards who cooked up a reason to declare war.
149-146 B.C- The third Punic War ensues. Initially the fight was outside of the city, with a small Carthaginian army dogging the Roman legions. In the end it was destroyed and the great seige of Carthage began. They started by damming the harbours of Carthage, preventing them from getting seaborne supplies. Next they cut off land trade, effectivly isolating them. But the citizens refused to surrender, despite the starving of the masses. In the end the Romans broke through the defenses and urban fighting began, lasting for a week. The Romans systematically razed each building, slaughtering thousands. The last defense, on the Temple of Eshmoun, ended with the defenders setting fire to the building, prefering death to servitude to the Romans. The remaining citizens were sold into slavery, the great library destroyed with nothing preserved, and the city sacked, then put to the torch. It was so utterly obliterated that virtually nothing remains of it. The walls were torn down, the harbors filled in.
46 B.C- Julius Caesar refounds Carthage, although it is completely 'Romanized'. It becomes a grand city, thickly populated, and remains important in the Empire, up to its eventual capture by the Vandals in 439 A.D.
Present Day Carthage
Today Carthage is a rich suburb of Tunis. Roman Carthage and the original Carthage lie under its streets, but some of it can be excavated (such as the byrsa hill site). It is indeed sad that such a great city was so utterly destroyed. But, in a sense, it is a good thing: if Carthage had not been destroyed, where would we be now? If the Carthaginian Empire had stretched around the Mediterranean, what would have happened? So some things, I guess, were simply 'meant' to happen. If Carthage had won, we would not exist.
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Government
Hereditary kingship prevailed in Phoenicia down to Hellenistic times, and Greek and Roman sources refer to kingship at Carthage. It appears to have been not hereditary but elective, though in practice one family, the Magonid, dominated in the 6th century.
The power of the kingship was diminished during the 5th century, a development that has its parallels in the political evolution of Greek city-states and of Rome. Roman sources directly transcribe only one Carthaginian political term--sufet, etymologically the same as the Hebrew shofet, generally translated "judge" in the Old Testament but implying much more than merely judicial functions. At some stage, probably in the 4th century, the sufets became the political leaders of Carthage and other western Phoenician settlements. Two sufets were elected annually by the citizen body, but all were from the wealthy classes. Real power rested with an oligarchy of the wealthiest citizens, who were life members of a council of state and decided all important matters unless there was serious disagreement with the sufets. A panel of judges chosen from among its members had obscure but formidable powers of control over all organs of government.
Aristotle greatly admired the Carthaginian political system. Every year two "Suffetes" [literarly, 'judges' or 'chief magistrate'] were elected who were the state's chief administrative officers. They executed policy decisions made by a council of about thirty which itself was a standing subcommittee of a senate of 300. Apparently the ruling class was chosen in a matter that very overtly stressed the possession of wealth (something not unreasonable for a trading community). Carthage was the only non-Greek community about whose constitution Aristotle wrote a commentary and he directly criticized them for this aspect. (Since most Greek communities had some form of emphasis on wealth, the Carthaginians must have done so very dramatically to have earned this censure.)
Additionally, citizens met in popular assembly which appeared to carry little weight until the second century, by which time the ruling class had completely lost the contest with the Romans. Leaders called upon each of the increasingly larger political bodies if they could not reach a concensus within the smaller group. Thus, if the the council reached consensus on a matter of policy, it simply instructed the suffetes to carry out its decision. If council members could not reach consensus, they referred the matter to the senate for debate and decision. If they senate reached consensus, it directed the suffetes to implement its decisions. If they senate could not reach consensus, it referred the matter to the popular assembly. Although the assembly would only be called upon in truly important and controversial matters, citizens enjoyed a great deal of freedom of speech in assembly. Suffetes and members of the council and senate, as well as generals, were elected by the citizenry as a whole.
Unlike a Roman consul, the Suffetes did not take part in military affairs.The Carthaginians appointed professional generals, who were separate from the civil government.
The Carthaginians rested judicial authority in a council of 104 judges chosen from the senate of 300 by a board of five elected magistrates. The judges were charged with supervising magistrates and preventing the suffetes from acting on tyrannical temptations.
Institutions
Legislative Responsibilities:
Council of 30 Nobles; Senate
Religious and Financial Responsibilities:
Two Annually Elected "Shofetim" or "Suffetes" ("judges")
Judicial Responsibilities:
104 Judges from Ruling Families
Military Responsibilities:
Elected Generals
Oversight
Citizen Assembly (with property requirements for membership) (Polyb. Histories 6.51-52: "the people were supreme in matters appropriate to them")
The Syracusan Wars
Wars with the greek Sicilian city of Syracuse, major battles & timeline.
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