History of the Carthaginians

In the VII century a. C. a split took place within the set of Phoenician factories that were by the Mediterranean. In this way, Carthage began to live independently of how it had been doing since its creation. In this lesson from a TEACHER we bring you a summary of the history of the Carthaginians which will span from its independence until the end of the Third Punic War, at which point Rome ended its existence once and for all.

We begin our summary of the history of the Carthaginians by commenting that in the S X a. C. the Phoenicians founded Carthage in North Africa to facilitate the commercial exchanges that they did with the populations of said area, also having the opportunity to have ports where to shelter their ships during the long voyages that were made through the Mediterranean.

There is hardly much more data on its foundation, the only thing that is clear is that it must have belonged to the so-called circle of the strait, a a kind of league of Phoenician colonies where they exchanged products, becoming one of the most productive markets in the entire world. Mediterranean.

From S VII a. C. Tire ceases to be important and begins a decline, which was used by Carthage to become independent and begin its territorial expansion.

Continuing with our summary of the history of the Carthaginians we must know that, as soon as they became independent from the control of Tire, this city began a series of military movements to gain control of other possessions in their surroundings to thereby start a commercial network own:

• Therefore, in the first place, they set their sights on the island of Sardinia, which had been a Phoenician colony and at that time was immersed in a series of warlike confrontations between the Greek colonies that also inhabited the territory. That was taken advantage of by Carthage, and in the S VI a. C. they already dominated part of the island, which passed in its entirety to the Punics in the S III BC. C. after a series of confrontations against Rome itself.
• In the S V a. C. they also took over the island of Malta, territory that had also belonged to the Phoenicians. From this location, the Carthaginians would attack Greek and Roman possessions.
• Sicily for its part, it was divided into Greek and Phoenician colonies, which had produced a series of disagreements over time. It seems that the Carthaginians began their first takeover of this on the S VI BC. C.
• Ibiza It seems that it was purely a Carthaginian colony according to the documents that are preserved of this and that indicate that it would be in the year 654 a. C. when he took control of it.
• AfricaAlthough it was actually the territory through which they could have expanded naturally, it never mattered much. In fact, Carthage only had a series of fortifications implanted along the coast, separated by about 30-40 kilometers that served as defense. Until S V a. C. African tribes had more power than Carthage, although at that time the economic power of This, grew so much that it began to receive tributes from neighboring countries, although they were never annexed.
• The Iberian Peninsula between S VI-III a. C. it was for the most part occupied by the control of Carthage. From this location they would extract metals to pay for their mercenary troops. In this space, we will find autochthonous kingdoms and Greek colonies such as Ampurias, which had to ask helps Rome on several occasions to secure her freedom, these were more than enough reasons to start conflicts with Rome.

Within our summary of the history of the Carthaginians we must stop to talk about the enemies that the Carthaginians faced during their period of existence:

Greek

Specifically, we will talk about the Phocaenses, who had created an extensive colonial network throughout of the Mediterranean, which was soon compromised by the appearance of the Carthaginians in the political.

These dominated at first Marseille, Corsica and Sicily. These locations were seized by the Carthaginians in a fairly short period, although it was in Sicily, where a series of confrontations took place that had some political importance, the named Sicilian wars:

• First Sicilian War: The year 480 a. C. the tyrant of Syracuse, undertakes a series of military movements to seize control of the island, attacking the Carthaginians who had just settled there. At this first moment, Cartago sends Hamilcar Magón to fight, although he suffers a series of setbacks and is defeated.
• Second Sicilian War: between the year 409-405 a. C. New actions are undertaken on the island, this time by Aníbal Magón, who manages to subdue the cities of Hímera and Selinunte. In turn, during the course of the conquest of the rest of the island, it, together with his army, fell under the ravages of plague, being his successor, Himilcón, who defeats Dionysius I of Syracuse and is thus forced to sign the peace.
• Third Sicilian War: between 315-307, Agathocles, the tyrant of Syracuse, manages to invade the entire island again, forcing the Carthaginians to send new submission troops, which was used to send a fleet to North Africa, to the gates of Carthage, so that in the year 307 a. C. the statute of Greek fortress is signed, allowing the existence of this, although the rest of the island would belong to the Carthaginians.

Rome

To conclude our lesson, we will now focus on the relationships that existed with the Romans throughout time. At first we will find a series of treated between S VI a. C. and the year 279 a. C. in which a series of expansions were allowed by Rome on places close to its sources of action, because they understood the need for this emerging empire to find new ways commercial.

But with the passage of time, the Romans saw the enormous danger they ran by allowing such an affront, thus beginning a series of warlike conflicts known by the name ofPunic Wars:

• First Punic War: between 264-241 a. C. by which the annexation of Sicily to Rome takes place.
• Second Punic War: 218-202 a. C. a war takes place in Hispania, which will be snatched from the Carthaginians to begin the period of conquest by Rome. In the period in which the campaigns of Amílcar Barca between the Pyrenees and the gates of Rome took place.
• Third Punic War: between the year 149-146 a. C. the last confrontation takes place, since Carthage was recovering and could be a danger again, Rome sends a good number of legions and destroys the city completely in the year 146 a. C.