The subjugation of southern Italy by the Ro mans brought the two great conquering nations into collision, and the First Punic War arose (n.c, 204), and after a great naval victory of the Romans, terminated in we. 241, the Carthagin ians giving up Sicily, and paying to the lbanans a large sum of money. Soon after this a mutiny of the hired troops of Carthage, onibined with an insurrection of the I iteyall tribes. the ancient inhabitants of the country, who were kept down by the arbitrary rule of the Carthaginian colo nists, threatened the entire ruin of the city.
Ila•ca brought this bloody war to a success ful termination, but Carthage, crippled by the struggle, was unable to prevent the Romans from seizing Sardinia and Corsica. About n.c. 230 Handlcar 11area tel an army to Spain. where be, and, after him, his son-in-law, 1 lasdrubal, obtained great successes. here was founded New Carthage, now Cartagena (q.v.). After Ilasdru hal's death (u.e. 221), Hannibal (q.v.), burning to revenge the defeat which his native city had sustained from the Romans, attacked and took Saguntluns a city on the Ebro, allied with Rome (n.c. 219). Thus began the Second Punic War, in which Hannibal pursued his career of con quest from Spain. through Gaul. and across the Alps into Italy itself, defeated the Romans kith terrible slaughter in various battles. and, by that of Canna. in particular. brought llome to the brink of ruin. Yet the war terminated in the total defeat of the Carthaginians by Publin: Cornelius Scipio, who overthrew their power in Spain and was victorious over llannibal in the final and decisive battle of Zama. in Afriea. in October. 202. A peaee was then eoncluded. in the Carthaginian: were limited to their African territories. while most of their ships of war and war elephant: were taken from them, besides an immense sum of money, and they were bound not to make war without permission of the Romans. Massinissa. King of Numidia, skillfully availed himself of dissensions which arose within Carthage between the noble: and the people. to advance own interests at the expense of the Carthaginians; and as they (tic. l51) opposed him, and drove his adherents out of the city, the Romans seized the opportunity for a new declaration of war ( n.c. 149), on the ground that the treaty was broken, and after a siege of two years Carthage was taken by Pub tins Cornelius Scipio ( [Lc. 140). For
six days the combat was maintained in the street: of the city, and for seventeen days the work of its destruction by fire was carried on by the conquerors. The eountry became a Ro man province. Gait:: Gracehus sent out 6000 colonists to found a new city on the site of Carthage. It was called Junonia, but it did not prosper. Augustus, carrying out the intention of his great uncle. restored the city, in n.c. 29, and the new Carthage had become, in the Second :and Third centuries of the Christian Era, one of the finest cities of the Roman Empire. In A.D. 439 made it the capital of the Vandal kingdom ; Belisarins conquered it in 533. and named it Justinian:1: the Arabs under Hassan utterly destroyed it in .t.n. (IL : and now only two or three small hamlets and a few ruins mark its site. Remains of the ancient walls, and pos sibly of the harbors, have been found, and •e cently many grave: of Punic and Roman times. yielding many inscriptions and smaller objects, have been opened.
We have not very satisfactory accounts of the constitution of the Cartlmginian State. It was highly esteemed by Aristotle, but his account of it has perished. and our information is scattered: nor is it certain that it remained entirely un changed. At the nominal head were two sit/frit:. (Hebrew, &hof flint, 'judges' in the Bible). who seem to have been chosen by the people on the nomination of the Senate. The nobles, who seem co have needed money as well as birth to main tain their position, seem to hare formed a Sen ate of 300, from whom a body of 30 ( including the suffetir) were chosen to (imy on the ordi nary government. Later we hear of the intro duction of a body of 104 judges, who seem to have power over all offieials, including the generals, and, like the Council of Ten at Venice, to have become the real rulers of the State, We eau gather dimly. from various scat tered statements, that the ca•thoginian oli while despising the multitude. was itself split tip into factions and torn by family jeal ousies. On the other hand, our knowledge of Carthage comes chiefly from her enemies, and the government, though not always consistent in policy, and undoubtedly oppressive to its sub ject.. was remarkably free from revolution or (Wen popular uprising.