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CARTHAGE (Phoenician Kart-hadshat, " ...

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Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 431 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CARTHAGE (Phoenician Kart-hadshat, " New See also:City "; Gr. Kapxn5c; v, See also:Lat. Carthago or Carchedon) , one of the most famous cities of antiquity, on the See also:north See also:coast of See also:Africa; it was founded about 822 B.C. by the Phoenicians, destroyed for the first See also:time by the See also:Romans in 146 B.C., rebuilt by the Romans, and finally destroyed by the See also:Arabs in A.D. 698. It was situated in the See also:heart of the Sinus Uticensis (mod. Gulf of See also:Tunis), which is protected on the See also:west by the promontory of See also:Apollo (mod. See also:Ras See also:Ali el Mekki), and on the See also:east by the promontory of See also:Mercury or Cape Bon (mod. Ras Addar). Its position naturally formed a sort of See also:bastion on the inner See also:curve of the See also:bay between the See also:Lake of Tunis on the See also:south and the marshy See also:plain of See also:Utica (Sukhara) on the north. Cape Gamart, the Arab See also:village of Sidi-bus Said and the small See also:harbour of See also:Goletta (La Goulette, Halk el See also:Wad) See also:form a triangle which represents the See also:area of Carthage at its greatest, including its extramural suburbs. Of this area the highest point is Sidi-bu-Said, which stands on a lofty cliff about 490 ft. high. On Cape Gamart (Kamart) was the See also:chief See also:cemetery; the citadel, Byrsa, was on the See also:hill on which to-See also:day stand the See also:convent of See also:Les Peres Blanes (See also:White Fathers) and the See also:cathedral of St See also:Louis.

The harbours See also:

lay about three-fifths of a mile south of Byrsa, near the See also:modern See also:hospital of the Khram, at Cartagenna. The See also:tongue of See also:land, which runs from the harbours as far as Goletta, to the mouth of the Catadas which connects the Lake of Tunis with the See also:sea, was known as See also:taenia (ribbon, See also:band) or ligula (diminutive of lingua, tongue). The See also:isthmus connecting the See also:peninsula of Carthage with the mainland was roughly estimated by See also:Polybius as 25 stades (about 15,000 ft.); the peninsula itself, according to See also:Strabo, had a circumference of 36o stades (41 m.). The distance between Gamart and Goletta is about 6 in. From Byrsa, which is only 195 ft. above the sea, there is a See also:fine view; thence it is possible to see how Carthage was able at once to dominate the sea and the gently undulating plains which stretch westward as far as Tunis and the See also:line of the See also:river Bagradas (mod. Mejerda). On the See also:horizon, on the other See also:side of the Gulf of Tunis, rise the chief heights of the See also:mountain-See also:chain which was the See also:scene of so many fierce struggles between Carthage and See also:Rome, between Rome and the See also:Vandals:—the Bu-KornaIn (" Two-Horned Mountain "), crowned by the ruins of the See also:temple of See also:Saturn Balcaranensis; See also:Jebel Ressas, behind which See also:lie the ruins of Neferis; Zaghwan, the highest point in Zengitana; Hammam-Lif, Rades (Ghades, Gades, the See also:ancient Maxula) on the coast, and to m. to the south-west the " white " Tunis (XaKhc TGms of Diodorus) and the fertile hills of Ariana. All See also:round Byrsa, alike on the plain and on the slopes, are See also:fields of See also:barley, vineyards and patches of See also:cactus, interrupted only by huge heaps of rubbish and excavation-mounds, the haunts of See also:green lizards, and by houses and villages built of materials See also:drawn for many a See also:century from the ancient ruins. The ancient harbours were distinguished as the military and the commercial. The remains of the latter are to be seen in a partially ruined artificial See also:lagoon which originally, according to Beule, had an area of nearly 6o acres; there were, however, in addition a large See also:quay for unloading See also:freight along the See also:shore, and huge basins or See also:outer harbours protected by jetties, the remains of which are still visible at the See also:water-level. The military harbour, known as Cothon, communicated with the commercial by means of a See also:canal now partially ruined; it was circular in shape, surrounded by large docks 164 ft. wide, and capable of holding 220 vessels, though its area was only some 22 acres. In the centre was an islet from which the See also:admiral could inspect the whole See also:fleet.' Among the other ruins which have been identified are the See also:circus or See also:hippodrome, traversed by the railway at the north of the village of Duar-es-Shat; the See also:forum, between Cothon and Byrsa, where stood the See also:Curia, the See also:regular See also:place of See also:assembly of the See also:senate, and near which were the moneychangers' shops, the tribunal, the temple of Apollo, and in the See also:Byzantine See also:period the See also:baths of See also:Theodora.

Three See also:

main streets led from the forum to Byrsa. The hill of St Louis, the ancient citadel of Byrsa, has a See also:circuit of 4525 ft. It appears to have been surrounded at least at certain points by several lines of fortifications. It was, however, dismantled by P. Scipio See also:Africanus the younger, in 146 B.C., and was only refortified by See also:Theodosius II. in A.D. 424; subsequently its walls were again renewed by See also:Belisarius in 553. On the See also:plateau of Byrsa have been found the most ancient of the Punic tombs, huge cisterns in the eastern See also:part, and near the See also:chapel of St Louis the See also:foundations of the famous temple of Eshmun (see below), and the See also:palace of the See also:Roman proconsul. About 325 ft. from the railway station of La Malga are the still imposing ruins of the See also:amphitheatre. Near by, at the spot called Bir el Jebana, Pere Delattre has discovered four cemeteries, one of which contains the tombs of See also:state officials or servants of the imperial See also:government. Rather more than See also:half a mile north-west of Byrsa are the huge cisterns of La Malga, which, at the time of the Arab geographer, See also:Idrisi, still comprised twenty-four parallel covered reservoirs, 325 ft. by 712 ft.; of these fourteen only remain. ' The whole question of these harbours has been fully discussed by See also:Cecil Torr, See also:Otto Meltzer, R. Oilier, S.

Gsell, M. de Roquefeuil; see Aug. Audollent, Carthage romaine, pp. 198 seq. ; Revue archeol.. 3rd See also:

series, See also:xxiv. ; Jahrbiich f. class. ?hilologie, vols. cxlvii., cxlix.; also Classical See also:Review, vols. v., vii., viii. On the hill of the See also:Petit Seminaire, which is separated from Byrsa by a valley, Pere Delattre has discovered a See also:Christian See also:basilica, the baths of Gargilius, large See also:graves with several levels of tombs, and much debris of See also:sculpture, which, however, is insufficient to enable us to say that this is the site of the temple of Tanit or See also:Juno Caelestis. The See also:quarter of Dermeche, near the sea, whose name recalls the Latin Thermis or Thermas, is remarkable for the imposing remains of the baths (thermae) of See also:Antoninus. In one place called Douimes was the Ceramicus where excavation has discovered a graceful basilica, proto-Punic tombs, potters' ovens with numerous terra-See also:cotta moulds which were abandoned after the See also:siege in 146 B.C., and finally a Roman palace with superb See also:marble statues. Farther on are huge reser- voirs of Borj-Jedid which are sufficiently well-preserved to be used again. Behind the small fort of Borj-Jedid is the plateau of the See also:Odeum where the See also:theatre and fine marble statues of the Roman period have been laid See also:bare; beyond is the See also:great Christian basilica of Damus-el-Karita (perhaps a corruption of Domus Caritatis) ; in the direction of Sidi-bu-Said is the platea nova, the huge stairway of which, like so many other Carthaginian buildings, has of See also:late years been destroyed by the Arabs for use as See also:building material; on the coast near St Monica is the See also:necropolis of Rabs where Delattre dug up fine anthropoid sarcophagi of the Punic period.

In the quarter of See also:

Megara (Magaria, mod. La Marsa) it would seem that there never were more than isolated buildings, villas in the midst of gardens. At Jebel Khaui (Cape Kamart) there is a great necropolis, the sepulchral See also:chambers of which were See also:long ago rifled by Arabs and Vandals. This cemetery had a Jewish quarter. We must mention finally the gigantic remains in the western plain of the Roman See also:aqueduct which carried water from Jebel Zaghwan (See also:Mons Zeugitanus) and Juggar (Zucchara) to the cisterns of La Malga. From-the See also:nymphaeum of Zaghwan to Carthage this aqueduct is 61 Roman See also:miles (about 56 See also:English miles) long; in the plain of Manuba its See also:arches are nearly 49 ft. high. Though several famous travellers visited and described the ruins of Carthage during the first See also:thirty years of the 19th century, such as See also:Major See also:Humbert, See also:Chateaubriand, Estrup, no scientific investigations took place till 1833 In that See also:year See also:Captain Falbe, Danish See also:consul at Tunis, made a See also:plan of the ruins so far as they were visible. In 1837 there was formed in See also:Paris, on the initiative of Dureau de la Malle, a Societe pour les fouilles de Carthage; under the auspices of this See also:body Falbe and See also:Sir See also:Grenville Temple undertook researches, and a little later Sir See also:Thomas Read, English consul, following the example of the Genoese and the Pisans, carried away to See also:England the mosaics, columns and statues of the baths of Antoninus. The See also:Abbe Bourgade, See also:chaplain of the See also:church of St Louis erected in 1841, collected together Punic stelae and other antiquities from the surrounding plain; these formed the See also:nucleus of the magnificent museum subsequently formed by Pere Delattre at the instigation of See also:Cardinal See also:Lavigerie. Between 1856 and 1858 Nathan See also:Davis made excavations on the supposed site of the Odeum, and in 1859 Beule undertook his celebrated investigations on Byrsa. Among other explorers were A. Daux in 1866; von See also:Maltzan in 187o; E. de Sainte-See also:Marie in 1874; Ch. d'Herisson in 1883; E.

Babelon and S. See also:

Reinach in 1884; Vernaz in 1885; Gauckler in 1903. Of these the See also:majority were sent officially by the See also:French government. But their attempts were partial, disjointed and without any systematic plan; they were entirely superseded by the brilliant and persevering See also:work of R. P. Delattre. The Musee Lavigerie, the result of his labours, contains a vast archaeological treasure, the See also:interest of which is doubled by the fact that it stands in the very midst of the ancient site. Un- ' fortunately Delattre's work suffered too often from the See also:absence of a cordial understanding with the See also:directors of the antiquities See also:department, La Blanchere and P. Gauckler, who, having themselves undertaken excavations, transported their finds to the Bardo museum, by the help of the public funds at their disposal. The main authority for the See also:topography and the See also:history of the excavations is Aug. Audollent's Carthage romaine (Paris, 1901). A topographical and archaeological See also:map of the site was published under the direction of See also:Colonel Dolot and with the assistance of Delattre and Gauckler by the Ministere de 1'Instruction Publique in 1907.

History.—The history of Carthage falls into four periods: (1) from the See also:

foundation to the beginning of the See also:wars with the Sicilian Greeks in 550 B.C.; (2) from 550 to 265, the first year of the Punic Wars; (3) the Punic Wars to the fall of Carthage in 146 B.C.,; (4) the periods of Roman and Byzantine See also:rule down to the destruction of the city by the Arabs in A.D. 698. (r) Foundation to 550 B.C.—from an extremely remote period Phoenician sailors had visited the See also:African coast and had had commercial relations with the Libyan tribes who inhabited the See also:district which forms the modern Tunis. In the 16th century B.C. the Sidonians already had trading stations on the coast; with the See also:object of competing with the Tyrian See also:colony at Utica they established a trading station called Cambe or Caccabe on the very site afterwards occupied by Carthage. Near Borj-Jedid unmistakable traces of this See also:early See also:settlement have been found, though nothing is known of its history. According to the classical, tradition Carthage was founded about 85o B.C. by Tyrian emigrants led by Elissa or Elissar, the daughter of the Tyrian See also:king Mutton; I., fleeing from the tyranny of her See also:brother See also:Pygmalion. According to the See also:story, Elissa subsequently received the name of See also:Dido i.e. "the fugitive." Cambe welcomed the new arrivals, who bought from the mixed Libyo-Phoenician peoples of the neighbourhood; tributaries of the, Libyan king Japon, a piece of land on which to build a "new city," Kart-hadshat, whence the See also:Greek and Roman forms of the name. The story goes that Dido, having obtained " as much land as could be contained by; the skin of an ox," proceeded to cut the skin of a slain ox into strips narrow enough to extend round the whole of the hill, which afterwards from this See also:episode gained the name of Byrsa. This last detail obviously arose from a See also:mere See also:play on words by which Bbpva "hide,". " skin," is confused with the Phoenician bosra, borsa, " citadel," " fortress." In memory of its Tyrian origin, Carthage paid an See also:annual See also:tribute to the temple of Melkarth at See also:Tyr, and under the Roman See also:empire coins were struck showing Dido fleeing in a See also:galley, or presiding over the building of Byrsa. On the Vatican See also:Virgil there is a See also:representation in See also:miniature of workmen shaping marble blocks and columns for Dido's palace.

The early history of Carthage is very obscure. It is only in the 6th century that real history begins. By this time the city is unquestionably a considerable See also:

capital with a domain divided into the three districts of Zeugitana (the environs of Carthage and the peninsula of C. Bon), Byzacium (the shore of the Syrtes), and the third comprising the See also:emporia which stretch in the form of a See also:crescent to the centre of the Great Syrtis as far as Cyreiiaica. The first contest against the Greeks arose from a boundary question between the settlements of Carthage and those of the Greeks of See also:Cyrene. The limits were eventually fixed and marked by a See also:monument known as the " See also:Altar of Philenae." The destruction of See also:Tyre by See also:Nebuchadrezzar (q.v.), in the first half of the 6th century, enabled Carthage to take its place as See also:mistress of the Mediterranean. The Phoenician colonies founded by Tyre and See also:Sidon in See also:Sicily and See also:Spain, threatened by the Greeks; sought help from Carthage, and from this period See also:dates the Punic 1 supremacy in the western Mediterranean. The Greek colonization of Sicily was checked, while Carthage established herself on all the Sicilian coast and the neighbouring islands as far as the Balearic Islands and the coast of Spain. The inevitable conflict between See also:Greece and Carthage See also:broke out about 550. (2) Wars with the Greeks.—In 550, the Carthaginians, led by the suffetes Malchus, conquered almost all Sicily and expelled the Greeks. In 536 they defeated the Phocaeans and the Massaliotes before Alalia on the Corsican coast. But See also:Malthus, having failed ' in See also:Sardinia, was banished by the stern Carthaginian senate and swore to avenge himself.

He laid siege to Carthage itself, and, after having sacrificed his son Carthalo to his lust for vengeance, entered the city as a See also:

victor. He ruled until he was put to See also:death by the party which had supported him. See also:Mago, son of See also:Hanno, succeeded Malchus, as suffetes and See also:general-in-chief. He was the true founder of the Carthaginian military See also:power. He conquered Sardinia and the Balearic Islands, where he founded See also:Port Mahon (See also:Portus Magonis), and so increased the power of Carthage that he was able to force commercial See also:treaties upon the Etruscans, and the Greeks of both Sicily and See also:Italy. The first agreement between Carthage and Rome was made in 509, 'one year after the See also:expulsion of the Tarquins, in the consulship of ' i.e. " of the Poeni (Phoenicians)." See also:Junius See also:Brutus and See also:Marcus Horatius. The See also:text is preserved by Polybius (Hist. iii. 22-23). It assigned Italy to the Romans and the African See also:waters to Carthage, but See also:left Sicily as a dangerous neutral See also:zone. Mago was succeeded as See also:commander-in-chief by his See also:elder son See also:Hasdrubal (c. 500), who was thrice chosen suffetes; he died in Sardinia about 485.

His brother Hamilcar, having collected a fleet of 200 galleys for the See also:

conquest of Sicily, was defeated by the combined forces of See also:Gelo of See also:Syracuse and Theron of See also:Agrigentum under the walls of See also:Himera in 48o, the year in which, the See also:Persian fleet was, defeated at See also:Salamis (some say the two battles were •simultaneous); it is said that 15o,000 Carthaginians were taken prisoners. The victory is celebrated by See also:Pindar (Pyth. i.). These two leaders of, the powerful See also:house of the Barcidae each left three sons. Those of Hasdrubal were See also:Hannibal, Hasdrubal and Sapho; those of Hamilcar, Himulco, See also:Hanna and Gisco. All, under various titles, succeeded to the authority which it had already enjoyed. About 46o Hanno,a passing beyond the Pillars of See also:Hercules • (Straits of See also:Gibraltar), founded settlements along the West African coast in the modern See also:Senegal and See also:Guinea, and even in See also:Madeira and the See also:Canary Islands. In Sicily the See also:war lasted for a century with varying success. In 406 Hannibal and Himilco destroyed Agrigentum and threatened See also:Gela, but the Carthaginians were forced back on their strongholds in the south-west by See also:Dionysius the Elder, Dionysius the Younger, See also:Timoleon and See also:Agathocles successively, whose cause was aided by a terrible See also:plague and See also:civil troubles in Carthage itself, A certain Hanno, unquestionably of the Barcide house, attempted to seize the supreme power, but his partisans were overwhelmed and he himself suffered the most cruel See also:punishment. Profiting by these troubles, Timoleon defeated the Carthaginians at Crimissus in 340, and compelled them to See also:sue for See also:peace. This peace was not of long duration; Agathocles crossed to Africa and besieged Carthage, which was then handicapped by the See also:conspiracy of Bomilcar. Bomilcar was crucified, and Agathocles having been obliged to return to Sicily, his general Eumarcus was compelled to carry his See also:army out of Africa, where it had maintained itself for three years (See also:August 310 to See also:October 3o7), After the death of Agathocles, the Carthaginians re-established their supremacy in Sicily, and Mago even offered assistance to Rome against the invasion of See also:Pyrrhus (,d$o). Pyrrhus crossed to Sicily in 277, and was preparing to emulate Agathocles by sailing to Africa when he was compelled to return to Italy (see SICILY: History).

Delivered from these dangers and mote arrogant than before, Carthage claimed the See also:

monopoly of Mediterranean waters, and seized every See also:foreign See also:ship found between Sardinia and the Pillars of Hercules. " At Carthage," said Polybius, " no one is blamed, however he may have acquired his See also:wealth." The sailors took• the utmost care to conceal the routes which they followed; there is a story that a Carthaginian ship, pursued by a Roman galley as far as the See also:Atlantic, preferred to be driven out of her course and sunk rather than reveal the course to the See also:Cassiterides, whither she was See also:bound in quest of See also:tin. The owner being saved, the senate made See also:good his losses from the public See also:treasury (Strabo iii. 5' 11). (3) Wars with Rome.3—The first Punic War lasted twenty-seven years (26S-241); it was fought by Carthage for the See also:defence of her Sicilian possessions and her supremacy in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Romans, victorious at the See also:naval battles of Mylae (Melazzo) and Ecnornus (26o and 256), sent M. Atilius See also:Regulus with an army to Africa. But the Carthaginians, by the help of the Spartan Xanthippus, were successful, and Regulus was captured. The fighting was then transferred to Sicily, where Hasdrubal was defeated at Panormus (250); subsequently the Romans failed before Lilybaeum and were defeated at Drepanum, but their victory at the Aegates Islands ended the war (241). a The See also:identification of this Hanno with the son of Hamilcar is conjectural; see HANNo. LLFor the military side of these wars seePuaac WARS; HANNIBAL; HASDRLTBAL. Carthage now' desired to disband her forces, but the-mercenaries claimed their arrears of pay, and on being refused revolted under Spendius and Maths), pillaged the suburbs of Carthage and laid siege to the city itself.

Only the See also:

genius of Hamilcar See also:Barca raised the siege; the mercenaries were caught in the,See also:defile of the See also:Axe, where they were cut down without See also:mercy. This war, which all but ruined Carthage, is known to the Roman historians as the bellum inexpiabile. This peril averted, Carthage undertook the conquest of Spain. It was the work of Hamilcar, and lasted nine years up to the day of Harnilcar's death, See also:sword in See also:hand, in 228. His sonsin-See also:law, Hasdrubal Pulcher, built Carthagena in 227 and concluded with Rome a treaty by which the See also:Ebro was adopted as the boundary of the Carthaginian See also:sphere. On his death the soldiers See also:chose for themselves as See also:leader Hannibal, son of Hamilcar. At this period Carthage, with a See also:population of perhaps r,000,000, was in the enjoyment of extraordinary prosperity alike in its See also:internal See also:industries and in its foreign See also:trade. The manufacture of See also:woven goods, especially, was a flourishing See also:industry; the Greek writer Polemo records a See also:special treaty dealing with Carthaginian fabrics which were a recognized luxury throughout the ancient See also:world. In Sicily, Italy and Greece the Carthaginians sold especially See also:black slaves, See also:ivory, metals, See also:precious stones and all the products of Central Africa, which came thence by See also:caravan. In Spain they sought See also:copper and See also:silver, and it was by them that the modern mines of See also:Huelva, as also those of Osca and Carthagena, were first exploited. The district round Carthage, with its amazing fertility, was the granary of the city, as it was later that of Rome. Mago had drawn up a treaty dealing with See also:agriculture and' rural See also:economy generally, which was subsequently brought to Rome and translated into Latin by Decimus Silanus by See also:order of the senate (J.

P. See also:

Mahaffy, " The Work of Mago," in Ifermathena, xv. pp. 29-35). In the midst of this prosperity the Second War with Rome broke out. At this time the genius of Carthage is incarnate in Hannibal; his See also:campaigns in Spain, Italy and Africa have won the admiration of military experts of all periods. The war became inevitable in 219 when Hannibal captured See also:Saguntum, which was in See also:alliance with Rome. Passing through Spain and See also:Gaul, Hannibal resolved to carry the war into the heart of Italy (218-217). The battles of the Ticinus, See also:Trebia and See also:Trasimene Lake are but stages in the wonderful progress which culminated in the See also:battle of See also:Cannae (August 2, 216). The road to Rome was now open to him, but he did not profit by his See also:advantage, while the Carthaginian senate, to its shame, withheld all further support. His brother Hasdrubal with his relieving army was defeated at the Metaurus in 207; the Romans recovered their hold in Spain, and, seeing that Hannibal was unable to move in Italy, carried the war back to Africa. See also:Hearing that Scipio had taken Utica (203) and defeated Hasdrubal and Syphax, king of See also:Numidia, Hannibal returned from Italy, but with a hastily levied army was defeated at Zama (October a9; 202). The subsequent 'peace was disastrous to Carthage, which lost its fleet and See also:ill See also:save its African possessions.

After the Second War Carthage soon revived. The population is said still to have numbered 700,000, and despite its humiliation, the city never ceased to inspire alarm at Rome. The Numidian See also:

prince See also:Massinissa, See also:rival of Syphax and a Roman protege, took advantage of a clause in the treaty of 202, which forbade Carthage to make war without the consent of the Roman senate, to extend his possessions at the expense of Carthage. In response to a protest from Carthage an See also:embassy including M. Porcius See also:Cato the Elder was sent to inquire into the See also:matter, and Cato was so impressed with the city as a whole that on returning to Rome he never made a speech without concluding with the warning " Delenda est Carthago." At this time there were three See also:political parties in Carthage: (r) that which upheld the Roman alliance, (2) that which advocated the Numidian alliance, and (3) the popular party. These three were led respectively by Hanno, Hannibal Passer, Hasdrubal and Carthalo. The popular See also:faction, which was turbulent and exasperated by the See also:bad faith of the Romans, expelled theforbidden. Constitutional History.—The narrative must here be interrupted by an See also:account of the political and religious development of Phoenician Carthagq.: Carthage was an aristocratic See also:republic based on wealth rather than on See also:birth. Indeed, the popular party, which included certain See also:noble families such as the Barcidae, was always powerful, and thus government by demagogues was not infrequent. So See also:Aristotle, See also:writing about 330, emphasizes the importance of great wealth in Carthaginian politics. The government was in fact a See also:plutocracy. The aristocratic party was represented by the two suffetes and the senate; the democratic by the popular assembly.

The suffetes (Sofetim) presided in 'the senate and controlled the civil See also:

administration; the See also:office was annual, but there was no limit to re-See also:election. Hannibal was elected for twenty-two years. The senate, which, like that of Tyre, was composed of 300 members, exercised ultimate See also:control over all public affairs, decided on peace and war, nominated the See also:Commission of Ten, which was charged with aiding and controlling the suffetes. This commission was subsequently replaced by a See also:council of one See also:hundred, called by the Greeks gerousitr. This tribunal, which maintained law and order and called the generals to account, gradually became a tyrannical See also:inquisition. Frequently it met at See also:night in the Temple of Eshmun on Byrsa, in See also:secret sessions described by Aristotle as av¢oiria rwv ~T0.!(7{G1Y.. i .. The popular assembly was composed, not of all the citizens, but of the timuchi (Gr. Tsob, Exas), i.e. those who possessed a certain See also:property-qualification. The election of the suffetes had to be ratified by this assembly. The two bodies were almost always in opposition, and this was one of the chief causes of the ruin of Carthage. The army was recruited externally by senators who were sent to the great emporia or trade-centres, even to the most remote, to See also:contract with See also:local princes for men and See also:officers. The payments, agreed upon in this way, were frequently in arrears; hence the terrible revolts such as that of the " See also:helium inexpiabile.

; It was not till the 3rd century that Carthage, in See also:

imitation of the See also:kings of See also:Syria and See also:Egypt, began to make use of elephants in war. The See also:elephant used was the African type (elephas capensis), which was smaller than the See also:Asiatic (elephas indicus), though with longer ears. In addition to the mercenaries, the army contained a .See also:legion composed of See also:young men belonging to the best families in the state; this force was important as a nursery of officers. See also:Religion.—The religion of Carthage was that of the Phoenicians. Over an army of See also:minor deities (alonim and baalim) towered the trinity of great gods composed of See also:Baal-See also:Ammon or See also:Moloch (identified by the Romans with Cronus or Saturn); Tanit, the virgin goddess of the heavens and the See also:moon, the Phoenician See also:Astarte, and known as Juno Caelestis in the Roman period; Eshmun, the protecting deity and See also:protector of the See also:acropolis, generally identified with See also:Aesculapius. There were also special cults: of lolaus or Tammuz-See also:Adonis, whom the Romans identified to some extent with Mercury; of the See also:god Patechus or Pygmaeus, a deformed and repulsive See also:monster like the See also:Egyptian Ptah, whose images were placed on the prows of See also:ships to frighten the enemy; and lastly of the Tyrian Melkarth, whose functions were analogous to those of Hercules. The statue of this god was carried to Rome after the siege of 146 (See also:Pliny, Nat. Hist. See also:xxxvi. 12. 39). From See also:inscriptions we know the names of other minor deities, which are perhaps only other names of the same gods, e.g. Rabbat Umma, " the great See also:mother "; Baalat haedrat, mistress of the See also:sanctuary "; Ashtoreth (Astarte), Illat, Sakon, Tsaphon, Sid, Aris (?

See also:

Ares). From the See also:close of the 4th century B.C. the intimate relations between the Carthaginians and the Sicilian Greeks began to introduce Hellenic elements into this religion. In the forum of Carthage was a temple to Apollo containing a See also:colossal statue, which was transported Numidian party and declared war in 149 on Massinissa, who was victorious at Oroscope. Rome then intervened, determined finally to destroy her now enfeebled rival. War was declared on the pretext that Carthage had engaged in war with Massinissa without the See also:sanction of Rome. The third Punic War lasted three years, anfl after a heroic resistance the city See also:fell in 146; The last champions of See also:liberty entrenched themselves under Hasdrubal in the temple of Eshmun, the site of which is now occupied by the chapel of St Louis. The Roman troops were let loose to See also:plunder and See also:burn. The thick See also:bed of cinders, blackened stones, broken See also:glass, fragments of See also:metal See also:twisted by See also:fire, half-calcined bones, which is found to-See also:clay at a See also:depth of 13 to 16 ft. under the remains of Roman Carthage between Byrsa and the harbours, bears grim See also:witness, in See also:accord with the accounts of Polybius and See also:Appian, to the terrible See also:fate which overtook this part of the city. Before long a commission arrived from Rome to decide the fate of the See also:province of Carthage. In the city itself, temples, houses and fortifications were levelled to the ground, the site was dedicated with See also:solemn imprecations to the infernal gods, and all human habitation throughout the vast ruined area was expressly 430 to Rome. The Carthaginians once at least sent offerings to See also:Delphi, and Tanit approximated to some extent to See also:Demeter; hence on the coins we find the See also:head of Tanit or the Punic Astarte crowned with ears of See also:corn, in imitation of the coins of the Greek Sicilian colonies. The See also:symbol of Tanit is the crescent moon; in her temple at Carthage was preserved a famous See also:veil or peplus which was venerated as the city's See also:palladium.

On the innumerable votive stelae which have been unearthed, we find invocations to Tanit and Baal-Ammon, as two See also:

associate deities (O of aapeSpot). The usual See also:formula in these inscriptions is, " To the great See also:lady Tanit, the manifestation [reflex, See also:face] of Baal (Tanit-Pena-Baal) and to our See also:lord Baal-Ammon, the See also:vow of Bomilcar, son of Mago, son of Bomilcar, because they have heard his See also:prayer " (Corp. inscr. semit. vol. i. pp. 276 f.; Audollent, See also:Garth. Rom. p. 369). Baal-Ammon or Moloch, the great god of all See also:Libya, is represented as an old See also:man with See also:ram's horns on his forehead; the ram is frequently found with his statues. He appears also with a See also:scythe in his hand (" falcem ferens senex pingitur," St See also:Cyprian, De idol. vanit, II). At Carthage See also:children were sacrificed to him, and in his temple there was a colossal See also:bronze statue in the arms of which were placed the children who were to be sacrificed (Diod. Sic. xx. 14; See also:Justin xviii. 6, xix. 1; Plut.

De superstit. 13, De sera num. vindic. 6.). The children slipped one by one from the arms into a See also:

furnace amid the plaudits of fanatical worshippers. These sacrifices persisted even under Roman rule; See also:Tertullian states that even in his time they took place in secret (A polog. cix. ; cf. Delattre, Inscript, de Carth.," in Bulletin ipigraphique, iv. p. 317 ; Audollent, op. cit. p. 398). (4) Roman Period.—In 122 B.C., twenty-four years after the destruction of the city by Scipio Aemilianus, the Roman senate, on the proposal of Rubrius, decided to plant a Latin colony on the site. C. See also:Gracchus and Fulvius See also:Flaccus were entrusted with the foundation of the new city, which was christened Colonia Junonia, and placed under the See also:protection of Juno Caelestis, the new name for the Punic Tanit.

But its prosperity was obstructed both by unpropitious omens and by the very recollection of the ancient See also:

feud, and fifty years later See also:Marius, proscribed by See also:Sulla, found the ruins practically deserted. In the neighbourhood were the scattered remnants of the old Punic population, who, according to See also:Athenaeus (Deipnosoph. v. 50), had actually had the assurance to send ambassadors to See also:Mithradates the Great assuring him of their support against Rome. Ultimately M. Minucius See also:Rufus passed a law abrogating that of 122 and suppressing the Colonia Junonia. See also:Julius See also:Caesar, pursuing the lost supporters of See also:Pompey, encamped on the ruins of the city, and there, according to tradition, had a See also:dream which induced him to re-establish the abandoned colony. Returning to Rome, he despatched thither the poor citizens who were demanding land from him. Later on See also:Augustus sent new colonists, and, henceforward, the machinery of administration was regularly centred there (Appian viii. 136; Dio See also:Cass. lxxx. 1; Audollent, op. cit. p. 46). The proconsuls of the African province had hitherto lived at Utica; in 14–13 B.C.

C. Sentius See also:

Saturninus transferred his headquarters to Carthage, which was henceforth known as Goiania Julia Carthago. Several inscriptions use this name, as also the bronze coins which See also:bear the heads of Augustus and Tiberius, and were struck at first in the name of the suffetes, afterwards in that of duumviri. See also:Pomponius See also:Mela and Strabo already describe Carthage as among the greatest and most wealthy cities of the empire. Herodian puts it second to Rome, and such is the force of tradition that the Roman citizens See also:resident in Carthage boasted of its Punic past, and loved to recall its See also:glory. Virgil in the Aeneid celebrated the misfortunes of Dido, whom the colonists ultimately identified with Tanit Astarte; a public Dido-cult See also:grew up, and the citizens even pretended to have discovered the very house from which she had watched the departure of See also:Aeneas. The religious See also:character of these legends, coupled with the city's resumption of its old role as mistress of Africa, and its See also:independent spirit, reawakened the old distrust, and even up to the invasions of the Vandals the jealous rivalry of Rome forbade the reconstruction of the city walls. The revolt of L. See also:Clodius See also:Macer, See also:legate of Numidia, in A.D. 68 was warmly supported by Carthage, and one of the coins of this See also:short-lived power bears the symbol of Carthage personified. At the moment of the See also:accession of See also:Vitellius, See also:Piso, See also:governor of the province of Africa, was in his turn proclaimed See also:emperor at Carthage. A little later, under Antoninus See also:Pius, we read of a fire which devastated the quarter of the forum; about the same time, i.e. under See also:Hadrian and Antoninus, there was built the famous Zaghwan aqueduct, which poured more than seven million gallons of water a day into the reservoirs of the Mapalia (La Malga); the cost of this gigantic work was defrayed by a special tax which pressed heavily on the inhabitants as late as the reign of Septimius See also:Severus; allusions to it are made on the See also:coin-types of this emperor (E.

Babelon, Rivista italiana di numismatica, 1903, p. 157). In the early history of See also:

Christianity Carthage played an auspicious part, in virtue of the number of its disciples, the See also:energy and learning of their leaders, the courage and eloquence of its teachers, the persecutions of which it was the scene, the number of its See also:councils and the heresies of which it witnessed the birth, See also:propagation or extinction (see CARTHAGE, SYNODS OF). The labours of Delattre have filled the St Louis museum at Carthage with memorials of the early Church. From the end of the 2nd century there was a See also:bishop of Carthage; the first was Agrippinus, the second Optatus. At the head of the apologists, whom the persecutions inspired, stands Tertullian. In 202 or 203, in the amphitheatre, where Cardinal Lavigerie erected a See also:cross in See also:commemoration, occurred the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas. Tertullian was succeeded (248) by a no less famous bishop Cyprian. About this time the proconsul See also:Gordian had himself proclaimed (239) emperor at Thysdrus (El Jem). Shortly afterwards See also:Sabinianus, aspiring to the same dignity, was besieged by the See also:procurator of See also:Mauretania; the inhabitants gave him up and thus obtained a disgraceful See also:pardon (R. Cagnat, L'armee romaine d'Afrique, p. 52; Audollent, op. cit. p.

73). Peace being restored, the persecution of the Christians was renewed by an See also:

edict of the emperor See also:Decius (250). Cyprian escaped by hiding, and subsequently caused the See also:heresy of Novatian to be condemned in the council of 251. In 257, in a new persecution under See also:Valerian, Cyprian was beheaded by the proconsul See also:Galerius See also:Maximus. About 264 or 265 a certain See also:Celsus proclaimed himself emperor at Carthage, but was quickly slain. See also:Probus, like Hadrian and Severus, visited the city, and Maximian had new baths constructed. Under See also:Constantius Chlorus, See also:Maxentius proclaimed himself emperor in Africa; this caused great excitement in Carthage, and the See also:garrison, which was hostile to the pre-See also:tender, compelled L. Domitius See also:Alexander to assume the See also:purple. Domitius was, however, captured by Maxentius and strangled at Carthage. About 311 there arose the famous Donatist heresy, supported by 270 African bishops (see See also:DONATISTS and See also:CONSTANTINE I.). At the See also:synod of Carthage in 41I this heresy was condemned owing to the eloquence of See also:Augustine. Two years later the Carthaginian sectaries even ventured upon a political See also:rebellion under the leadership of Heraclianus, who proclaimed himself emperor and actually dared to make a descent on Italy itself, leaving his son-in-law Sabinus in command at Carthage.

Being defeated he fled precipitately to Carthage, where he was put to death (413). Donatism was followed by Pelagianism (see See also:

PELAGIUS), also of Carthaginian origin, and these religious troubles were not settled when in May 429 the Vandals, on the See also:appeal of See also:Count See also:Boniface, governor of Africa, crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and invaded Mauretania. Genseric, who was hailed with one accord by all the different sectaries as the See also:champion of their several views, appeared in 439 before the walls of Carthage, which had been hastily rebuilt after five hundred years by the order of Theodosius II. The See also:priest Salvianus has left a splendid picture of Carthage at this moment (de Gubern. vii. 16). It had 500,000 inhabitants, and 22 basilicas (several of which have been discovered by Delattre). Genseric entered almost without a See also:blow (October I9, 439), and gave over the city to plunder before departing for his attack on Italy. From this time Carthage became, in the hands of the Vandals, a mere pirate stronghold, such as Tunis and See also:Algiers were subsequently to become. Once, in 470, the fleet of the Eastern empire under the orders of Basiliscus appeared in the Bay of Carthage, but Genseric succeeded in setting fire to the attacking ships and from Byrsa watched their entire annihilation. Byzantine Rule.—Under Genseric's successors (see VANDALS), Carthage was still the scene of many displays of See also:savage brutality, though Thrasamund built new baths and a basilica. Ultimately Gelimer, the last Vandal king, was defeated at Ad Decimum by the Byzantine army under Belisarius, who entered Carthage unopposed (See also:September 14, 533). The restored city now received the name of Colonia Justiniana Carthago; Belisarius rebuilt the walls and entrusted the government to See also:Solomon.

New basilicas and other monuments were erected, and Byzantine Carthage re-covered for a century the prosperity of the Roman city. At length the Arabs, having conquered See also:

Cyrenaica and Tripolitana (647), and founded See also:Kairawan (67o), arrived before Carthage. In 697 See also:Hasan See also:ibn en-Noman, the Gassanid governor of Egypt, captured the city almost without resistance. But the garrison left by the Arabs was quite unable to defend itself against the patrician Joannes, who retook the city and hastily put it in a state of defence. Hasan returned furious with anger, defeated the Byzantines again, and decreed the entire destruction of the city. His orders were fulfilled; and in 698 Carthage finally disappears from history. Once again only does the name appear in the See also:middle ages, when the French king, Louis IX., at the head of the eighth crusade, disembarked there on the 17th of See also:July 1270. He died, however, of the plague on the 25th of August without having recovered See also:northern Africa for See also:civilization. II. Modern.—The most important are: Falbe, Recherches sur l'emplacement de Carthage (Paris, 1833) ; Dureau de la Malle, Topographic de Carthage (Paris, 1835) ; Nathan Davis, Carthage and her Remains (See also:London, 1861); Beule, Fouilles a Carthage (Paris, 1861); Victor See also:Guerin, Voyage archeologique clans la regence de Tunis (Paris, 1862) ; E. de Sainte Marie, See also:Mission a Carthage (Paris, 1884) ; C. See also:Tissot, Geographic comparee de la province romaine d'Afrique (Paris, 1884-1888, 2 vols.) ; E. Babelon, Carthage (Paris, 1896) ; Otto Meltzer, Geschichte der Karthager (See also:Berlin, 1879-1896, 2 vols.) ; See also:Paul Monceaux, Les Africains, etude sur la litteralure latine de IAfrique; Les Paiens (Paris, 1898) ; Histoire litteraire de IAfrique chretienne (Paris, 1901-1909, 3 Vols.); Pallu de Lessert, Vicaires et comtes d'Afrique (Paris, 1892); Fastes See also:des provinces africaines sous la domination romaine (Paris.

1896-1901, 2 vols.) ; R. Cagnat, L'Armee romaine d'Afrique (Paris, 1892); C. Diehl, L'Afrique byzantine, histoire de la domination byzantine en Afrique (Paris, 1896) ; Aug. Audollent, Carthage romaine (Paris, 1901); A. J. Church and A. See also:

Gilman, Carthage in " Story of the Nations " series (1886). For the numerous publications of PereDelattre scattered in various See also:periodicals see Etude sur les diverses publications du R:P. Delattre, by See also:Marquis d'See also:Anselme de Puisaye (Paris, 1895); See also:Miss Mabel See also:Moore's Carthage of the Phoenicians (London, 1905) contains a useful See also:summary of Delattre's excavations. See further for the discussion of particular points: "Chronique archeologique africaine," published by Steph. Gsell, in the Revue africaine of Algiers, 1893, and following years; and in the Melanges d'archeologie et d'histoire de l'Ecole francaise de Rome, vol. xv. (1895 and following years) ; Dr Carton, " Chronique archeologique See also:nord-africaine," in the Revue tunisienne.

(E.

End of Article: CARTHAGE (Phoenician Kart-hadshat, " New City "; Gr. Kapxn5c; v, Lat. Carthago or Carchedon)

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