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Carthage, The position of king was not hereditary. Instead, nobles of the…
Carthage
Carthage (814-146 BC)
Rise
(550-264 BC)
Although the Greeks had also started colonizing the Mediterranean, Mago I (r. 550-530 BC) managed to beat them and stablish Carthaginian dominance in the Western Mediterranean.
During the First Sicilian war (480 BC), a disastrous defeat at Himera (480 BC) led to a complete overall of the government.
The king was replaced by two judges (Suffets) who would be chosen by the senate to serve 1 year terms. Issues would be debated by the Suffets and the senate, and even the population when necessary.
After Himera, Carthage withdrew from Mediterranean conflicts and focused on expanding its territory and trade.
The Sicilian wars restarted in 410 BC, and Carthage fared much better, taking basically all of Sicily, with the exception of Syracuse, by 280 BC.
Fall (264-146 BC)
During the Pyrrhic war (280-275 BC) Sicily was briefly lost, but a Carthage-Rome alliance allowed the Romans to take Southern Italy.
• The First Punic war (264-241 BC) was fought over Sicily, which Carthage lost after the naval battle of Aegates (241 BC).
o Carthage relied a lot on mercenaries during the war, and its inability to pay them because of Roman reparations led to the Mercenary war (240-238 BC), which Rome used to take Sardinia and Corsica unopposed.
• Hannibal Barca sparked the Second Punic war (218-201 BC) and invaded Italy through the Alps, but was finally defeated at Zama (202 BC), and Rome dismantled the Carthaginian empire.
• Although Carthage was no longer a major power, Rome decided to utterly crush it in the Third Punic war (149-146 BC), completely destroying the city.
Founding (814-550 BC)
According to legend, Carthage was founded by the Phoenician queen Dido in 814 BC, who was fleeing from a palace coup.
With the rise of the Neo-Assyrian empire (911-609 BC), many Phoenicians fled from Tyre to Carthage.
By 650 BC, it was able to create its first colony, and with Tyre paying heavy tribute to Babylon, Carthage became protector of all Phoenician colonies.
The position of king was not hereditary. Instead, nobles of the senate would vote, and political dynasties would often form.
• Hamical Barca, who ended the Mercenary war, conquered much of Hispania, which contained lots of silver, used to pay Roman reparations.