Carthage was one of the most powerful cities of the ancient world and spawned the powerful Carthaginian Empire which dominated much of the western Mediterranean. Carthage itself was central to the history of the ancient world. Legend states that the city was founded by the Phoenician Queen Dido in the 9th Century BC and the ancient metropolis certainly rose to prominence over the next 500 years. Dido was the daughter of the king of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre. The legend tells us that when the king died, Didos brother, Pygmalion, killed Didos wealthy husband, Sychaeus. Then the ghost of Sychaeus revealed to Dido what had happened to him. He also told Dido where he had hidden his treasure. Dido, knowing how dangerous Tyre was with her brother still alive, took the treasure, fled, and wound up in Carthage, in modern Tunisia. Dido bartered with the locals, offering a substantial amount of wealth in exchange for what she could contain within the skin of a bull. When they agreed to what seemed an exchange greatly to their advantage, Dido showed how clever she really was. She cut the hide into strips and laid it out in a semi-circle with the sea forming the other side. Dido then ruled Carthage as queen. However, three long and brutal wars with Rome, known as the Punic Wars, eventually led to the downfall and destruction of Carthage in 146BC. It is said the Romans salted the earth so nothing more could live on the site of the once-dominant city. Having destroyed the Carthaginian Empire however, the Romans later realized the potential in the strategic location of the site. In the 1st Century AD they re-founded Carthage and it grew to become one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 15:32:07 +0000
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