814–146 BCE
Carthage, the Phoenicians & the Numidians
A Phoenician colony grew into the naval superpower of the western Mediterranean, beside the Berber kingdom of Numidia.
Tradition holds that Queen Dido (Elissa), fleeing Tyre, founded Carthage, the “New City” (Qart‑Hadasht), in 814 BCE. Its merchants and fleets built a trading empire across the western Mediterranean, from western Sicily and Sardinia to southern Spain, with towns such as Kerkouane on Cap Bon.
Rivalry with Rome erupted into the three Punic Wars (264–146 BCE). Hannibal Barca crossed the Alps in 218 BCE and crushed Rome at Cannae, but was defeated at Zama in 202 BCE.
Inland lived the Numidians, Berber peoples of the Massyli and the Masaesyli. The Massyli prince Masinissa went over to Rome, and Rome made him king of all Numidia, the first unified Berber state, which he ruled until 148 BCE. He pressed on Carthage’s lands until Carthage went to war against him in 151 BCE, breaking its treaty with Rome and handing Rome its reason for the last war. At Dougga, a Numidian town, his son Micipsa dedicated a temple to him in 139 BCE, and a 21‑metre mausoleum of the 2nd century BCE still stands, whose bilingual Libyan and Punic inscription helped to decipher the Libyan script.
In 146 BCE, after a three‑year siege, Rome razed the city. Its circular war harbour and the houses of Byrsa hill can still be traced on the ground, and walked in 3D here.
Key dates
- 814 BCE
- Phoenicians from Tyre found Carthage (traditional date; Queen Dido / Elissa).
- 480 BCE
- Battle of Himera: Carthage checked by the Greeks in Sicily.
- 264–241 BCE
- First Punic War with Rome, fought largely over Sicily.
- 218 BCE
- Hannibal crosses the Alps; Second Punic War (218–201 BCE).
- 203–148 BCE
- Masinissa, Rome’s ally, reigns over a united Numidia, the first unified Berber state.
- 151 BCE
- Carthage goes to war against Masinissa, breaking its peace treaty with Rome.
- 149–146 BCE
- Third Punic War; Rome destroys Carthage in 146 BCE.
Key figures
- Dido · founder, 814 BCE
- Hannibal · crossed the Alps
- Masinissa · first king of all Numidia
- Tanit · chief goddess
“Carthago delenda est, "Carthage must be destroyed."”Attributed to Cato the Elder (paraphrased by Plutarch); exact Latin reconstructed
From this era
Who were the Phoenicians?
Seafaring traders from the Levantine coast, the city-states of Tyre and Sidon in what is now Lebanon. Carthage was founded as a colony of Tyre and grew into an independent power.
Dido’s oxhide
Legend says Queen Dido was granted as much land as an oxhide could cover, then cut the hide into thin strips to ring the whole of Byrsa hill.
Battle of Zama
In 202 BCE the Roman general Scipio defeated Hannibal at Zama, ending the Second Punic War.
Walk it in 3D
What remains to see
- Archaeological site of Carthage ↗
- Punic town of Kerkouane ↗
- Punic collections of the Bardo Museum ↗
- Libyco-Punic Mausoleum, Dougga ↗