Tunisia. Searching for Carthage, Ancient Capital of the Punic Empire
Positioned in the northeastern part of modern-day Tunisia, the ancient City of Carthage was established as a Phoenician colony and later, as capital of the Punic Empire (650 BC to 146 BC). Traveling from Tyre in modern-day Lebanon, Phoenician settlers came ashore near the present-day city of Tunis in the early 9th century BC. Later known as Carthaginians, they constructed their capital on a promontory extending into the Mediterranean Sea. Like their Phoenician ancestors, the Carthaginians were skilled shipbuilders and mariners who valued trade and the importance of naval supremacy. Since all ships traveling through the Mediterranean had to pass between Carthage and Sicily, the city’s strategic location made it an important center for trade. Carthage also projected influence through colonies and subservient city-states.
At its height, the Punic Empire extended eastward along the North African coast from present-day Morocco to Libya. Also included were portions of southern Spain and the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. Carthage had two harbors, one for warships and the other for ships used in maritime trade. The city had markets, squares, residential areas, and public buildings. Most agriculture lands were outside the city walls. At the city’s highest elevation and near its center was a citadel called Byrsa. Carthage was protected by a 37-kilometer-long wall that was up to 13 meters tall and a force of 20,000 infantry, 4,000 calvary, and 300 elephants. Under the Magonid Dynasty (550 to 340 BC), Carthage became a leading commercial power of the western Mediterranean, leading to conflict with the Greeks and later, the Romans. When Carthage invaded Sicily in 480 BC, Rome countered with a series of military attacks known as the Punic Wars.
In 146 BC, Roman General Scipio Aemilianus led a siege of the city during the Third Punic War. The battle began with the destruction of the Carthaginian fleet. Soon after, Roman forces went house to house killing residents. The 50,000 Carthaginians who survived were put into slavery and the city was set ablaze. Today, the term “Carthaginian peace” refers to brutal peace treaties that demand complete subjugation of the defeated population. A century after the siege, the city was rebuilt as Roman Carthage. The city was conquered by the Muslims during the 7th century. It was recaptured but destroyed again in 698 to prevent its occupation by the Byzantines. During the 19th century, Tunisia fell under French control and in 1956 the country achieved its independence from France with Tunis as its capital.
The former city of Carthage is located 15 kilometers east-northeast of Tunis, near the towns of Sidi Bou Said to the north and Le Kram to the south. The ruins of the city have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Today, Byrsa Hill is topped by the Byzantine-style Cathedral of Saint Louis, built in 1890. Carthage is not an impressive archaeological site since little of the ancient city has survived. Our tour included a stop at the Baths of Antoninus. Built during the reign of Roman Emperor Hadrian and completed in the 2nd century, the bath complex was the largest outside Rome. Its facilities included a frigidarium (cold room), caldarium (hot room), and tepidarium (hot bath). Only the lower levels have survived. In AD 439 the baths were destroyed by the Vandals with some stone used in later construction projects.
Near the baths is an overgrown garden and a few Punic graves. There is also a small Christian church with a mosaic tiled floor. Nearby is the Tophet of Carthage, a cemetery located outside the city’s walls. The word tophet refers to a place described in Hebrew scripture where people of the ancient Canaanite religion sacrificed children to appease gods. Inside the cemetery is the Sanctuary of Tanit and stone monuments called stelae that mark infant graves. It is believed that infants were killed as part of ritual sacrifice. More than 20,000 urns containing infant bones and ash having been found under stelae.
The city’s agora (market) was a focal point for business and commerce. Carthaginian houses were built around open courtyards. A few apartments were up to six stories tall and served by stone staircases. Foundations that today mark building locations were discovered under Roman structures or embankments.
