The capital of the ancient Carthaginian Empire was founded by the Phoenicians (city-state of Tyros) in 814 BC twelve kilometres north of Tunis as a trading colony (according to Greek mythology by the female mythical figure Dido). The latter also brought viticulture here and the Carthaginians adopted their knowledge. There were flourishing vineyards around the city. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (90-21 BC) describes the Carthaginian countryside in the fourth century BC as full of vines and olives, especially in the Bagradas valley and in the south of present-day Tunisia. From the Punic writer Mago (2nd century BC) comes the 26-volume work "De re rustica" in Punic about agriculture, including viticulture, which no longer survives but is often quoted by later authors. The Roman historian Tacitus (55-120) reports in his Annals about a Carthaginian wine made from dried grapes.
When the Greeks gained dominance in the eastern Mediterranean in the 8th century, contact with the mother city Tyros was lost. Around 650 BC, Carthage then became the dominant power in the western Mediterranean and conquered western Sicily and Sardinia. In the following centuries, Carthage engaged with Rome in the so-called Punic Wars, the third of which ended in 146 BC with the complete destruction of Carthage. The Roman politician Cato the Elder (234-149 BC) had vehemently advocated the destruction of Carthage, but did not live to see it. Under Julius Caesar (100-44 BC), Carthage became a Roman colony in 44 BC. The picture shows the Antoninus Pius Baths, which is a Roman bath complex from the 2nd century. See also under Ancient Wines and Ancient Vines.
By Institute for the Study of the Ancient World
Flickr: Antonine Baths at Carthage, CC BY 2.0, link
