History glossary
Carthaginian
belonging to Carthage, the North African city-state that became Rome's great rival.
- Category
- People and culture
- Region
- Carthage and the western Mediterranean
- Date range
- especially 3rd-2nd centuries BCE
What it means
Carthaginian refers specifically to Carthage, the powerful North African city founded by Phoenician settlers near modern Tunis. In the Punic Wars, Carthaginian fleets, commanders, citizens, allies, and subject communities formed the western Mediterranean power Rome had to defeat.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Roman Republic
From the expulsion of Rome’s kings to the rise of Augustus, the Roman Republic built a powerful mixed constitution, expanded across the Mediterranean, and ultimately collapsed into civil war and one-man rule.
The Punic Wars: The Story of Rome, Carthage and Hannibal
From rivalry over Sicily to Hannibal's invasion, Zama, and the destruction of Carthage, the Punic Wars made Rome the dominant power of the Mediterranean and changed the Republic forever.
