Carthage

Carthage was an ancient city-state, whose inhabitants established a flourishing civilization. It was located on the northern coast of Africa, on the shore of bay of Tunis. They were traders and had a powerful merchant and military navy; they bought and sold Greek amphorae, olive oil, wine, tapestry, salt fish, and slaves. About 60% of the soldiers that made up their army were paid foreigners; in other words, mercenaries from all corners of the Mediterranean Sea, most of them Greeks from Sparta. Their most famous military and political leaders were Amilcar Barca and Hannibal.

Carthage was founded in 825 BC by the Phoenicians from the city of Tyre. Aside from building ships, they would also develop agriculture, producing olives and wheat, using slaves. Over the  years, the city grew and thrived economically, exerting great geopolitical influence on other free cities on the Mediterranean coasts, especially those on the island of Sicily and southern Italy. Over the years, Phoenician colonies on the coast of North African and Spain, such as Utica, Leptis Magna, and Malaga would become part the Carthaginian wealthy empire . They were colonies that symbolized their imperial expansion. They were polytheist and the only people in the Mediterranean to practice religious sacrifice of humans, children in this case.

Overtime, Carthage would militarily clash with another powerful city-state; Rome. The hegemonic struggle for the control of the Mediterranean Sea would lead to a series of three armed conflicts with Rome, which is known in history as the Punic Wars. At the end of the third war, the great city of Carthage would be destroyed, burned, and razed by the Romans in 146 BC, disappearing as civilization. Their inhabitants were sold as slaves and Rome romanized the region (Roman families settled there).