The Carthaginians

The Carthaginians reveals the complex culture, society and achievements of a famous, yet misunderstood ancient people. Beginning as Phoenician settlers in North Africa, the Carthaginians then broadened their civilisation with influences from neighbouring North African peoples, Egypt, and the Greek world. Their own cultural influence in turn spread across the Western Mediterranean as they imposed dominance over Sardinia, western Sicily, and finally southern Spain.
It was chiefly after her destruction in 146 BC that Carthage came to be depicted by Greeks and Romans as an alien civilisation, harsh, gloomy and bloodstained. Demonising the victim eased the embarrassment of Rome’s aggression; Virgil in his Aeneid was one of the few to offer a more sensitive vision. Exploring both written and archaeological evidence, The Carthaginians reveals a complex, multicultural and innovative people whose achievements left an indelible impact on their Roman conquerors and on history.