empires and dynasties: Africa dria was larger It was protected by massive walls that were 23 miles in length The city also had marketplaces, towers, a theater, a council house, an area for religious worship, a huge, elaborate cemetery, four residential areas, and, in the center, a tall citadel called the Byrsa Carthage, though, can also refer to the civilization that spread across North Africa to dominate the western Mediterranean Sea from the border of Egypt on the east to Morocco on the west The roots of the Carthaginian Empire extend back to the 10th century b.c.e and the eastern Mediterranean Sea The Phoenicians’ most important cities were first Tyre and then Sidon, but to protect their trading interests, they founded and controlled several trading posts around the region Among them was the city of Carthage, which provided a safe harbor for ships This network of trading cities also helped the Phoenicians protect their monopoly on natural resources used for trade Additionally, the early Phoenicians needed funds to pay tribute to the larger empires that dominated them They also feared that in time the Greeks would gain control of the entire region Because the Phoenicians were few in number and their cities were small, they embarked on a project to colonize cities throughout the Mediterranean region Their project was successful During the three centuries that followed its founding, Carthage became the center of the empire as Tyre declined and was eventually destroyed by the Greek conqueror Alexander the Great Leadership of the Phoenician Empire then passed to Sidon, but in time Carthage became the most dominant city The Phoenicians established 300 colonies in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya In 509 b.c.e Carthage signed a treaty with Rome that in essence divided the region into two spheres of influence, with Rome retaining its hold over the eastern Mediterranean The Carthaginian Empire included not only the north coast of Africa but also important Mediterranean islands, such as Sardinia, Malta, Cyprus, portions of Crete, Corsica, and the western portion of Sicily The Carthaginians also founded important colonies on the Iberian Peninsula (that is, Spain and Portugal), as well as the Balearic Islands, islands off the eastern coast of Spain that included Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, and Baleares The Carthaginians appointed magistrates who directed the activities of the colonies Eventually Carthage became too much of a threat to Rome Accordingly, Rome launched a series of wars called the Punic Wars, from the Latin word for Phoenician, Punicus; many older history texts use the word Punic rather than Carthaginian The First Punic War broke out in 264 and dragged on until 241 b.c.e The outcome was indecisive War broke out again in 218 b.c.e The Second Punic War remains famous because of Hannibal (247–183 b.c.e.), the Carthaginian general who marched his troops from Spain over the Alps and won convincing victories against the Romans The war ended only when the Romans invaded Carthage itself and the Carthaginians sued for peace The Third Punic War erupted in 149 b.c.e Unlike the First and Second Punic Wars, the Third Punic War was relatively brief The Romans invaded, laid siege 389 to the city of Carthage, and then finally destroyed it, killing its occupants or selling them into slavery Thus, in 146 b.c.e the Carthaginian Empire came to an abrupt end The destruction of Carthage has posed a significant problem for historians The Romans wiped out virtually every aspect of Carthaginian civilization, razing the city and destroying its documents Accordingly, historians have few primary documents to examine and study These include Greek and Latin translations of Carthaginian texts, but most of what is known about Carthage comes from Greek and Roman writers, including Livy, Appianos, Plutarch, Herodotus, and others But Rome and Greece were in competition with Carthage, so the objectivity of these sources is questionable More information has become available as a result of recent archaeological excavations of Carthaginian sites, but much of the new information still fails to provide a clear picture The basis of Carthaginian power and empire was its massive navy, which included up to 350 warships that continuously patrolled the Mediterranean Additionally, Carthage maintained a large fleet of merchant ships, each capable of carrying 100 tons of goods, all protected by two large harbors No nation would match Carthage’s naval fleet in size and tonnage until 18th-century Europe Unlike its rivals, Carthage did not typically maintain a standing army When the empire needed to protect itself, it raised an army, such as that commanded by Hannibal, or hired mercenary armies Much of the empire’s trade was based on the Iberian Peninsula, the source of large amounts of lead, silver, and tin ore Tin ore was especially important, for numerous ancient civilizations mixed tin with copper to make bronze The Carthaginians also traded for tin with Britain and possibly the Canary Islands, giving Carthage a monopoly on the tin trade and therefore on bronze Trading rivals were eager to obtain a portion of this tin, but the Carthaginians were so bent on protecting their monopoly that ship captains would deliberately crash their ships rather than allow other nations to learn where and how to approach the rocky shores of the British Isles Further, Carthage’s strategic location between Sicily and the African coast allowed it to control the supply of tin to the east Nearly as important as tin were the silver mines in North Africa and Iberia These mines were so productive that the Carthaginians were able to provide Hannibal with 300 pounds a day Another important commodity was a dye called Tyrian purple—a product so valued that a pound of it was equal in value to up to 20 pounds of gold Other important commodities included textiles (silk, wool, and cotton), spices, perfumes, pottery, incense, glasswork, wood, bronze, alabaster, precious stones, plows, mirrors, cabinetry, household items (pillows and bedding, for example), slaves, and weapons Food commodities included fish as well as a range of agricultural products, such as wine, olives and olive oil, grapes, dates, nuts, and fruits Carthage’s agricultural system was so efficient that after the Third Punic War, the Romans ordered that a Carthaginian agricultural treatise written by