A Manual of Ancient History

by M. E. Thalheimer

B. C. 585.

191. So far our story is mixed with fable, though containing, doubtless, a large proportion of truth. What we certainly know is, that the latest colony of Tyre soon became the most powerful; that it grew by the alliance and immigration of the neighboring Libyans, as well as of its sister colonies; and that it gained in wealth by the destruction[20] of its parent city in the Babylonian wars. While the Levantine commerce of Tyre fell to the Greeks, that of the West was naturally inherited by the Carthaginians.

192. The African tribes, to whom the colonists were at first compelled to pay tribute for the slight foot-hold they possessed, became at length totally subjugated. They cultivated their lands for the benefit of Carthage, and might at any time be forced to contribute half their movable wealth to her treasury, and all their young men to her armies. The Phœnician settlements gradually formed themselves into a confederacy, of which Carthage was the head, though she possessed no authority beyond the natural leadership of the most powerful. Her dominions extended westward to the Pillars of Hercules, and down the African coast to the end of the Atlas range; on the east her boundaries were fixed, after a long contest with the Greek city of Cyre´ne, at the bottom of the Great Syrtis, or gulf, which indents the northern shore.

193. Not content with her continental domains, Carthage gained possession of most of the islands of the western Mediterranean. The coast of Sicily was already dotted with Phœnician trading stations. These came under the control of Carthage; and though out-rivaled in prosperity by the free cities of the Greeks, especially Agrigen´tum and Syr´acuse, the western portion of the island long remained a valuable possession. The Balearic Islands were occupied by Carthaginian troops. Sardinia was conquered by a long and severe conflict, and became a most important station for the trade with Western Europe. Settlements were established in Corsica and Spain, while, in the Atlantic, the islands of Madeira and the Canaries were early subdued.

194. These conquests were made chiefly by means of foreign mercenaries drawn both from Europe and Africa. South and west of Carthage were the barbarous but usually friendly tribes of Numid´ia and Mauritania; and her merchants in their journeys had frequent dealings with the warlike races of Spain, Gaul, and northern Italy. It is said that the Carthaginians mingled these various nations in their armies in such a manner that difference of language might prevent their plotting together.

195. The navy of Carthage was of great importance in protecting her commerce from the swarms of pirates which infested the Mediterranean. The galleys were propelled by oars in the hands of slaves, but the officers and sailors were usually native Carthaginians. With these land and naval forces, Carthage became for several centuries undisputed mistress of the central and western Mediterranean.

B. C. 509.

196. Toward the middle of the sixth century B. C., a great commercial rival appeared in the western waters. The Greeks had begun their system of colonization; had opened a trade with Tartes´sus, multiplied their settlements in Sicily and Corsica, and built Massil´ia near the mouth of the Rhone. Near the close of our First Period, the two powers came into fierce collision, and the Grecian fleet was destroyed by that of Carthage, aided by her Etruscan allies. At the same time Rome, which had grown powerful under her kings, became free by their expulsion; and the Carthaginians, hitherto on friendly terms with the Italians, made a treaty of alliance with the new Republic which was to prove their most unrelenting foe.

197. The government of Carthage, under the forms of a republic, was really an aristocracy of wealth. The two chief officers were the Suffe´tes, who at first, like the Hebrew rulers from Joshua to Samuel, led the people in war and judged them in peace. In later times their office became exclusively civil, and generals were appointed for military command. The Suffetes were elected only from certain families, and probably for life.

198. Next came the Council of several hundreds of citizens, from which committees of five were chosen to administer the various departments of state. At a later period, when the house of Mago had risen to a degree of military power which was thought to endanger the public safety, a Council of One Hundred was added to these, before which all generals returning from war were obliged to present themselves and render an account of their actions. So severe were the judgments of this tribunal, that an unsuccessful general often preferred suicide upon the field of battle to meeting their awards. With the two judges and the two high priests, this council constituted the Supreme Court of the Republic.