What do you think?
Carthage: A new history of an ancient empire
'This is not only history reclaimed, this is history at its best!' Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, author of the Age of the Great Kings
Carthage was a power that dominated the western Mediterranean for almost six centuries before its fall to Rome. The history of the realm and its Carthaginians was subsumed by their conquerors and, along the way, the story of the real Carthage was lost. An ancient North African kingdom, Carthage was the home of Hannibal and of Dido, of war elephants and enormous power and wealth, of great beauty and total destruction.
In this landmark new history, Eve MacDonald tells the essential story of the lost culture of Carthage and of its forgotten people, using brand new archaeological analysis to uncover the history behind the legend. A journey that takes us the Phoenician Levant of the early Iron Age to the Atlantic and all along the coast of Africa, Carthage puts the city and the story of North Africa once again at the centre of Mediterranean history. Reclaimed from the Romans, this is the Carthaginian version of the tale, revealing to us that, without Carthage, there would be no Rome.
Carthage was a power that dominated the western Mediterranean for almost six centuries before its fall to Rome. The history of the realm and its Carthaginians was subsumed by their conquerors and, along the way, the story of the real Carthage was lost. An ancient North African kingdom, Carthage was the home of Hannibal and of Dido, of war elephants and enormous power and wealth, of great beauty and total destruction.
In this landmark new history, Eve MacDonald tells the essential story of the lost culture of Carthage and of its forgotten people, using brand new archaeological analysis to uncover the history behind the legend. A journey that takes us the Phoenician Levant of the early Iron Age to the Atlantic and all along the coast of Africa, Carthage puts the city and the story of North Africa once again at the centre of Mediterranean history. Reclaimed from the Romans, this is the Carthaginian version of the tale, revealing to us that, without Carthage, there would be no Rome.
354 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 7, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
October 4, 2025
I am notorious (if anyone cared that is) for liking ancient history the least of all time periods. I find the inability to tell cohesive stories for many ancient people to be a big drawback to my feeble brain. Then, there is a book like Carthage by Eve MacDonald, and I finally get it. For this particular book, at least.
MacDonald tells the story of the world power that Rome tried to erase from history. The major points are here like the Punic Wars and the scourge of Rome, Hannibal. Incidentally, these are the strongest points of the book. MacDonald weaves in archaeology, but I personally loved her willingness to say numerous times, "We really don't know what happened," and especially, "this was definitely exaggerated because that's what they did back then." MacDonald's writing style is familiar while being erudite (yes, I did have to google to double check that was the word I was going for as clearly I am not erudite myself) - (ironic self-burn!).
As I am a curmudgeon, I did have a little trouble with the early chapters. The opening salvo about Dido is quite good, but slows down a bit for me before picking up before the Punic Wars. That said, this is not my era. If you are an ancient history nerd, then I am almost positive this is a 5 star book. If you are like me, this is still well worth your time. You may even change your mind about ancient history books.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by NetGalley and W.W. Norton.)
MacDonald tells the story of the world power that Rome tried to erase from history. The major points are here like the Punic Wars and the scourge of Rome, Hannibal. Incidentally, these are the strongest points of the book. MacDonald weaves in archaeology, but I personally loved her willingness to say numerous times, "We really don't know what happened," and especially, "this was definitely exaggerated because that's what they did back then." MacDonald's writing style is familiar while being erudite (yes, I did have to google to double check that was the word I was going for as clearly I am not erudite myself) - (ironic self-burn!).
As I am a curmudgeon, I did have a little trouble with the early chapters. The opening salvo about Dido is quite good, but slows down a bit for me before picking up before the Punic Wars. That said, this is not my era. If you are an ancient history nerd, then I am almost positive this is a 5 star book. If you are like me, this is still well worth your time. You may even change your mind about ancient history books.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by NetGalley and W.W. Norton.)
July 31, 2026
This year of reading is getting crazier and crazier for me—all of a sudden I’m reading nonfiction? Well, one book at least, but I’m kind of hooked, and hopefully it won’t be the last.
Admittedly, it’s a dry topic—such ancient history that there are hardly any sources to back it up, lots of speculation, and almost exclusively Roman sources, which, of course, don’t paint Carthage in the best light.
But this book is very well written; it flows smoothly and doesn’t dwell on any one topic for too long, so the scenes kept changing just when I was starting to get sleepy.
The most interesting part, of course, was everything about Hannibal. It’s just a shame that there aren’t any good sources on this either. I would have loved to know what was going on in his mind.
And then (I love Rome, everything Roman, everything Italian)—but to think, what if he had brought Rome to its knees, what if he had actually conquered Rome...
…the only piece of Carthaginian literature that the Romans preserved from its libraries after their destruction of the city was the text of a man named Mago who wrote about agricultural techniques and innovation, how to cultivate the best wine and what species of plants thrived in the landscape. 😂
Hamilcar turned to Hannibal and asked him if he wanted to join the expedition. When the boy accepted his father’s words with ‘delight’, Hamilcar took Hannibal by the hand and led him forward to the slaughtered animal on the altar. There, the father laid the hand of the son on the sacrificial victim and asked the young boy to vow that he would never befriend the Romans, that he would remain an implacable enemy to Rome. 😳
Admittedly, it’s a dry topic—such ancient history that there are hardly any sources to back it up, lots of speculation, and almost exclusively Roman sources, which, of course, don’t paint Carthage in the best light.
But this book is very well written; it flows smoothly and doesn’t dwell on any one topic for too long, so the scenes kept changing just when I was starting to get sleepy.
The most interesting part, of course, was everything about Hannibal. It’s just a shame that there aren’t any good sources on this either. I would have loved to know what was going on in his mind.
And then (I love Rome, everything Roman, everything Italian)—but to think, what if he had brought Rome to its knees, what if he had actually conquered Rome...
…the only piece of Carthaginian literature that the Romans preserved from its libraries after their destruction of the city was the text of a man named Mago who wrote about agricultural techniques and innovation, how to cultivate the best wine and what species of plants thrived in the landscape. 😂
Hamilcar turned to Hannibal and asked him if he wanted to join the expedition. When the boy accepted his father’s words with ‘delight’, Hamilcar took Hannibal by the hand and led him forward to the slaughtered animal on the altar. There, the father laid the hand of the son on the sacrificial victim and asked the young boy to vow that he would never befriend the Romans, that he would remain an implacable enemy to Rome. 😳
February 25, 2026
A very enjoyable history of Carthage with the latest archaeological evidence to back some of the expert speculations. I thought the author did a fantastic job showing the bias of the Roman sources that we are often forced to draw from because that’s all history has left us with. Eve also explains the history of the Barca family and its rise in the first Punic war through the eventual destruction of the city.
The only real disappointment I have with this book is that it feels too short to capture what I think the author was trying to do or at least my expectations of this being a grand history of an ancient powerhouse that was the Roman Republic’s greatest enemy and only military equal pre-empire. I understand the sources can be tricky and limited because this time is so far in the past and I was very captivated by the pre-Punic War history because I knew so little about it, but I think the author could’ve explored the Punic wars in more detail somehow. It just felt that those three wars were rushed to me and the author focused on building up this city-state and how its first real rival wasn’t even Rome but the Greeks in Sicily.
Overall a great read to anyone interested in the Carthaginian perspective of their rise and fall, and how they grew from a Phoenician colony to the most dominant North African state west of Egypt.
The only real disappointment I have with this book is that it feels too short to capture what I think the author was trying to do or at least my expectations of this being a grand history of an ancient powerhouse that was the Roman Republic’s greatest enemy and only military equal pre-empire. I understand the sources can be tricky and limited because this time is so far in the past and I was very captivated by the pre-Punic War history because I knew so little about it, but I think the author could’ve explored the Punic wars in more detail somehow. It just felt that those three wars were rushed to me and the author focused on building up this city-state and how its first real rival wasn’t even Rome but the Greeks in Sicily.
Overall a great read to anyone interested in the Carthaginian perspective of their rise and fall, and how they grew from a Phoenician colony to the most dominant North African state west of Egypt.
February 14, 2026
A mixed bag that, despite some clear strengths, doesn't quite deliver on its promise to present a fresh retelling of Carthaginian history by blending written sources with recent advancements in archaeology.
The Good
The book is clearly researched quite thoroughly and carefully by an expert in the field. No problems there!
The presentation of the book is also straightforward. MacDonald begins at the beginning and ends at the end (or, at least, what counts as "the end" in 2026). I wouldn't have taken notice of this except for the fact that Frahm's book on Assyrian history somehow managed to fumble on this point.
I also greatly appreciated MacDonald's careful epistemology. She regularly notes where we we can't be certain of details (large or small), whether because of the scarcity or the bias of our written sources.
MacDonald's attention not only to the history but also to the reception history is also fascinating, and well-woven into the narrative. After all, our written sources about Carthage are already primary sources on the reception of Carthaginian history by Greeks and Romans.
It's also worth mentioning that the narrative here is just plain interesting!
The Bad
Probably my primary disappointment with the book is its lack of cultural history. What elements of Phoenician culture did Carthage retain? What was their architecture like? There are plenty of references to Tanit and Baal, but what myths circulated about them? The author spends a few pages on the Tophet, but not enough to get a full idea of how she understands its role within Carthaginian religion and society (Which I'm aware is a hotly debated subject). What about burial practices? Diet? Wardrobe? Family structure? What traditions did the people of Carthage adapt from surrounding African cultures? Here is where I feel like the book fails in its stated goal: These are the kinds of details that archaeology helps us to learn, but MacDonald doesn't dwell on them -- even (to my memory) to specify what we don't know for sure.
This lack of cultural detail also contributes to a level of monotony to the narrative. The text moves from event to event without anything to break up the steady progression of names, dates, and battlefields.
One more complaint, not so much about the book itself as about the audiobook: I made the decision to use an Audible credit on this one so that I could actually work through the material sooner. That, I think, was a mistake in the long run. MacDonald narrates the book herself, and she's clearly not experienced. Her cadence is halting and awkward, and her tone wanes toward the end so that even she sounds bored.
To Sum Up
The books not all bad, by any means. I enjoyed it, but it makes me wish for another book on Carthage that might give me more of the archaeological angle I was looking for.
The Good
The book is clearly researched quite thoroughly and carefully by an expert in the field. No problems there!
The presentation of the book is also straightforward. MacDonald begins at the beginning and ends at the end (or, at least, what counts as "the end" in 2026). I wouldn't have taken notice of this except for the fact that Frahm's book on Assyrian history somehow managed to fumble on this point.
I also greatly appreciated MacDonald's careful epistemology. She regularly notes where we we can't be certain of details (large or small), whether because of the scarcity or the bias of our written sources.
MacDonald's attention not only to the history but also to the reception history is also fascinating, and well-woven into the narrative. After all, our written sources about Carthage are already primary sources on the reception of Carthaginian history by Greeks and Romans.
It's also worth mentioning that the narrative here is just plain interesting!
The Bad
Probably my primary disappointment with the book is its lack of cultural history. What elements of Phoenician culture did Carthage retain? What was their architecture like? There are plenty of references to Tanit and Baal, but what myths circulated about them? The author spends a few pages on the Tophet, but not enough to get a full idea of how she understands its role within Carthaginian religion and society (Which I'm aware is a hotly debated subject). What about burial practices? Diet? Wardrobe? Family structure? What traditions did the people of Carthage adapt from surrounding African cultures? Here is where I feel like the book fails in its stated goal: These are the kinds of details that archaeology helps us to learn, but MacDonald doesn't dwell on them -- even (to my memory) to specify what we don't know for sure.
This lack of cultural detail also contributes to a level of monotony to the narrative. The text moves from event to event without anything to break up the steady progression of names, dates, and battlefields.
One more complaint, not so much about the book itself as about the audiobook: I made the decision to use an Audible credit on this one so that I could actually work through the material sooner. That, I think, was a mistake in the long run. MacDonald narrates the book herself, and she's clearly not experienced. Her cadence is halting and awkward, and her tone wanes toward the end so that even she sounds bored.
To Sum Up
The books not all bad, by any means. I enjoyed it, but it makes me wish for another book on Carthage that might give me more of the archaeological angle I was looking for.
August 3, 2025
Carthage has spent centuries being seen through Roman eyes, from Virgil's mythologised account of its founding to how its destruction is inextricably linked to Roman national heroes like Cato and Scipio. In this book, MacDonald seeks to fill in the blanks using the tools of modern scholarship, examining what we do know about Carthaginian culture and showcasing a vibrant empire that managed to strike fear into Roman hearts. I admired how she drew on interesting aspects of material culture to explore Carthage's history, such as explaining how the debasement of its coinage gives clues as to its economic state during war, though her account of the Punic Wars is relatively brief (albeit because I'm assuming there's a lot of existing scholarship on this matter). Having spent a lot of time recently thinking about Carthage, for what I'm going to call "personal reasons", this is a wonderfully written history that resurrects one of history's most fascinating empires.
March 6, 2026
Very well done reexamination of what we know of Carthage based on the Roman and Greek sources (with recognition of the likely bias) and current archeological information. Carthage is an amazing civilization - for hundreds of years, it was one of the great civilizations of the Mediterranean and yet, we have very little material from that civilization. Rome not only burned the city, they made a concerted effort to eliminate all accounts of Carthage that didn't fit the Roman mythology. This book cannot completely avoid that, but it certainly tries.
September 22, 2026
An excellent and approachable survey of what is known about Carthage's history and the reasons it was destroyed so utterly.
There's very little concrete evidence remaining, so historians mostly rely on the written works of contemporary or near-contemporary authors like Livy, Appian, and Polybius. MacDonald uses these sources but also cites archaeological findings and seemingly unrelated sources, which she ties together well to explain the history of the empire. She acknowledges the lack of information and tells the reader when she thinks the claims are misleading or probably legitimate, which I appreciated.
I learned so much from this volume and now want to follow up. Because I listened to the audiobook, read competently by the author, I don't have a biography, so I'll have to purchase a different version!
There's very little concrete evidence remaining, so historians mostly rely on the written works of contemporary or near-contemporary authors like Livy, Appian, and Polybius. MacDonald uses these sources but also cites archaeological findings and seemingly unrelated sources, which she ties together well to explain the history of the empire. She acknowledges the lack of information and tells the reader when she thinks the claims are misleading or probably legitimate, which I appreciated.
I learned so much from this volume and now want to follow up. Because I listened to the audiobook, read competently by the author, I don't have a biography, so I'll have to purchase a different version!
August 28, 2025
Everyone knows the story of Hannibal crossing the Alps with his elephants but ancient Carthage was so much more than that. It was a power that dominated the western Mediterranean for six centuries before it fell to Rome.
Starting with the Phoenicians of the early Iron Age this book reclaims the story of Carthage from the Romans. History is told by the victors but archaeological evidence is now showing us the true story behind the legend.
The only piece of Carthaginian literature that the Romans preserved from its libraries after their destruction of the city was the text of a man named Mago who wrote about agricultural techniques,how to cultivate the best wine and innovations to help plants thrive The Romans took all the Carthaginian technology and land to build their power base. It is no wild claim to state that without Carthage,there would have been no Roman Empire.
Starting with the Phoenicians of the early Iron Age this book reclaims the story of Carthage from the Romans. History is told by the victors but archaeological evidence is now showing us the true story behind the legend.
The only piece of Carthaginian literature that the Romans preserved from its libraries after their destruction of the city was the text of a man named Mago who wrote about agricultural techniques,how to cultivate the best wine and innovations to help plants thrive The Romans took all the Carthaginian technology and land to build their power base. It is no wild claim to state that without Carthage,there would have been no Roman Empire.
September 17, 2025
I haven't read a book solely on Carthaginian history before, and this is a great one to start with i found. It covers the entire story of cathage with a little extra either side. It introduced me to new figures, such as Agothoclese of Syracuse, who i want to read more about. Its a very captivating read and not one I wanted to put down. Overall I would 100% recommend this to anyone, those who haven't or have already read about the history of Carthage, as this was a great read.
5/5
5/5
August 22, 2026
One of the best history books I've read thus far this year. The only point against it was that it felt too short. Beautiful written, and plenty of maps (each of the first 8 chapters starts with a new map), and the text references to the images.
Again this is a history about people who have no written record from their perspective left and therefor we are left with the writing of their adversaries. Macdonald does an excellent job of weaving a reliable history from these stories/myths and drawing a few of her own conclusions aided by archeologistic finds.
Of course the story truly takes off when Hamilcar Barca enters the stage, followed by his son Hannibal. While I often get confused (in other books) by all the cities and generals warring against each other and changing alliances, Macdonald manages it to keep it focused and clear.
Again this is a history about people who have no written record from their perspective left and therefor we are left with the writing of their adversaries. Macdonald does an excellent job of weaving a reliable history from these stories/myths and drawing a few of her own conclusions aided by archeologistic finds.
Of course the story truly takes off when Hamilcar Barca enters the stage, followed by his son Hannibal. While I often get confused (in other books) by all the cities and generals warring against each other and changing alliances, Macdonald manages it to keep it focused and clear.
March 23, 2026
What a disappointing book… The promised retelling of Carthage history does not happen. 600 years of history and 2/3 of the book focuses on a long tell of the Punic wars that is not even the best out there. The promised new facts of archeology and genetics are barely hinted at.
It mainly relies on vibes and to be fair not that well written. It seems unsure of what its audience is and struggle with changes in style between from the most lyrical to the biggest platitudes. Most of the arguments are made in passing and are half baked.
It’s not completely uninformative so two stars.
It mainly relies on vibes and to be fair not that well written. It seems unsure of what its audience is and struggle with changes in style between from the most lyrical to the biggest platitudes. Most of the arguments are made in passing and are half baked.
It’s not completely uninformative so two stars.
Did Not Finish
January 30, 2026DNF.
In no way a bad book, but with so many other books on my TBR pile, I simply lost interest in reading it.
In no way a bad book, but with so many other books on my TBR pile, I simply lost interest in reading it.
July 26, 2026
3.5 rounded down. The rounding down is possibly a bit harsh, as it's a good introduction to Carthage. If you have never read anything about this ancient city/empire, this is perfectly adequate - balanced and considerate. But to call it a 'new history' is, I think, a bit much.
My main complaint is that this focuses too much on the military side of things. Which is not a problem in itself, but the conflict with Rome is by far the best known aspect of the history of Carthage and while new research adds some fresh elements, they are not particularly fundamental. I was hoping for much more on trade, culture, religion and other dimensions of the empire. I know that the sources are often scarce, but strangely we get much more on these other aspects in the early chapters, where we have much less information than later on. I learned very little about how the empire functioned or why it's called an empire at all. MacDonald also just seems more assured when writing about war than she does about other aspects of Carthage like religion, for example. If I hadn't read Josephine Quinn on the function of the tophet, I am not sure I would have understood what this book was trying to say (I think MacDonald tried to be extra respectful when handling the thorny issue of child sacrifice, but the outcome was just confusing).
Still, happy to see that Carthage has not been forgotten.
My main complaint is that this focuses too much on the military side of things. Which is not a problem in itself, but the conflict with Rome is by far the best known aspect of the history of Carthage and while new research adds some fresh elements, they are not particularly fundamental. I was hoping for much more on trade, culture, religion and other dimensions of the empire. I know that the sources are often scarce, but strangely we get much more on these other aspects in the early chapters, where we have much less information than later on. I learned very little about how the empire functioned or why it's called an empire at all. MacDonald also just seems more assured when writing about war than she does about other aspects of Carthage like religion, for example. If I hadn't read Josephine Quinn on the function of the tophet, I am not sure I would have understood what this book was trying to say (I think MacDonald tried to be extra respectful when handling the thorny issue of child sacrifice, but the outcome was just confusing).
Still, happy to see that Carthage has not been forgotten.
June 15, 2026
«Con "Cartago. Una nueva historia de un antiguo imperio", Eve MacDonald firma un genuino acto de restauración intelectual. Al combinar un profundo conocimiento arqueológico con una ética narrativa que cuestiona las herencias de la conquista, la autora logra apartar el pesado velo del olvido impuesto por Roma. El resultado es un ensayo riguroso que reequilibra la balanza de la memoria histórica, permitiendo al lector comprender que la identidad cartaginesa no se resume en ser el enemigo derrotado de las legiones, sino en haber sido el epicentro de la fusión cultural y comercial del mundo antiguo».
RESEÑA COMPLETA: https://atrapadaenunashojasdepapel.bl...
RESEÑA COMPLETA: https://atrapadaenunashojasdepapel.bl...
July 3, 2026
Found it a bit disappointing. I appreciate there's limited sources on Carthage and basically nothing even close to their own words. At the same time I really hoped for more than just repeating from the few histories we do have with caveats attached. I thought there'd be more about what archaeology can tell us, how much we can tell from their Phonecian cousins. There's absolutely some of that but so much is just names and dates with regular reminders that our sources are limited. Like half of it just becomes repeating a couple of Roman/Greek sources on the Punic Wars. The blurb made me expect more new stuff but I was probably expecting too much.
The other thing that stands out in the Punic Wars is that, even taking into account numbers inflation, the Roman ability to take huge losses and then be back to a full army within a year is unbelievable. It feels like I'm reading magic
The other thing that stands out in the Punic Wars is that, even taking into account numbers inflation, the Roman ability to take huge losses and then be back to a full army within a year is unbelievable. It feels like I'm reading magic
July 29, 2026
With comparatively fewer histories from the Carthaginian point of view, I believe this book did a wonderful job compiling those in a comprehensive and compelling manner. It was a wonderfully humanizing read.
August 16, 2026
Such a good audiobook and interesting read, coming from someone who struggles to read non fiction books. Really glad I read this for a Goodreads bookmark challenge.
June 15, 2026
Good comprehensive history of a city state that was consciously been wiped out of memory by the Romans. This book offers a counter balanced perspective and given its scope it provides some missing context. Most people associate Carthage with Hannibal and elephants crossing the Alps but it is clearly much more than Hannibal. This book offers this context along with an understanding of the underlying economics so we see more than familial conflicts e.g. Barcids against the Scipio family. The role of politics in villifying the losers comes across well. Overall a good book to read.
July 27, 2026
4 stars
This book profoundly altered the way I think about Carthage’s destruction. I had previously regarded its fall with a certain detachment, even a degree of amusement, shaped in part by Cato the Elder’s relentless insistence on its annihilation and by my own instinctive identification with the Roman side of the story. But this book made the loss feel far more solemn and deeply sad.
It lays bare the extent to which Rome’s conquest was driven by jealousy and greed - the need for domination and power, and it is impossible to read that without feeling the weight of what was erased: a people, a culture, a language. What had once seemed like a distant historical episode became, through this book, a genuine tragedy.
It is thoughtful, compelling, and quietly devastating. The prose may not be especially ornate, but the perspective it offers is valuable and moving. It is easy to listen to.
This book profoundly altered the way I think about Carthage’s destruction. I had previously regarded its fall with a certain detachment, even a degree of amusement, shaped in part by Cato the Elder’s relentless insistence on its annihilation and by my own instinctive identification with the Roman side of the story. But this book made the loss feel far more solemn and deeply sad.
It lays bare the extent to which Rome’s conquest was driven by jealousy and greed - the need for domination and power, and it is impossible to read that without feeling the weight of what was erased: a people, a culture, a language. What had once seemed like a distant historical episode became, through this book, a genuine tragedy.
It is thoughtful, compelling, and quietly devastating. The prose may not be especially ornate, but the perspective it offers is valuable and moving. It is easy to listen to.
April 7, 2026
A very well written history of ancient Carthage and its people. Like Richard Miles’ earlier work “Carthage Must be Destroyed,” Eve MacDonald seeks to provide a more balanced telling of the Carthaginian story than presented by the mostly Roman historical accounts. When the victors write the history they often favor their version of events. For a number of reasons (mostly writing style) I found Ms Macdonald’s book a more lively and enjoyable account.
July 19, 2026
MacDonald made the connection between Carthage and colonialism at the end of the book and while I don’t think Carthage was by any means a catalyst (she doesn’t suggest that) I kept thinking of the parallels between this story and the conquest of Mexico. Maybe that’s because the are similar types of things, maybe that’s because one created the idea of the other, or maybe it’s because the people who participated and remembered the conquest, chose to see themselves in the stories of the conquest of Carthage. Obviously there are clear differences between these two events but some of the parallels are interesting.
May 30, 2026
Good content but not great for Kindle
Solid writing with not-many editorial issues (rare these days so overall, that’s a thumbs up). Lots of links that take you to other pages, but in both a kindle and the kindle iOS app, you won’t find a way back to the original page, which is infuriating. Not super happy with the black-and-white photos, either.
Solid writing with not-many editorial issues (rare these days so overall, that’s a thumbs up). Lots of links that take you to other pages, but in both a kindle and the kindle iOS app, you won’t find a way back to the original page, which is infuriating. Not super happy with the black-and-white photos, either.
Read
March 26, 20265 out of 10.
Perfectly fine narrative history of Rome's first big rival on its road to empire. I'd recommend Richard Miles' Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization over this volume but either would be fine if you're interested in learning more about Carthage from a less Roman-centric point of view.
Perfectly fine narrative history of Rome's first big rival on its road to empire. I'd recommend Richard Miles' Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization over this volume but either would be fine if you're interested in learning more about Carthage from a less Roman-centric point of view.
August 25, 2025
3,5 stars;
August 7, 2026
3.9 A good history of Carthage, but nothing revelatory if you’ve studied its history previously
September 1, 2026
hard not to get emotional reading about hannibal tbh
May 11, 2026
Season tickets
September 1, 2026
It is impossible to understand ancient Rome without understanding its enemies. Rome's history is so often presented as an inevitable march toward greatness that it is easy to forget there were powerful civilizations standing in its way, civilizations that had their own ambitions, cultures, technologies, political systems, armies and stories. Carthage is perhaps the most important of these, and Eve MacDonald's Carthage: A New History attempts to pull this extraordinary civilization out from underneath the enormous shadow Rome cast over it.
What makes Carthage so fascinating is also what makes it so difficult to write about. The Romans destroyed the city in 146 BCE so completely that much of Carthage's own written history disappeared with it. What survives comes largely through the people who defeated and hated them, supplemented by archaeology, inscriptions, coins and other fragments. MacDonald takes this uneven evidence and reconstructs the story of a civilization that dominated the western Mediterranean for centuries, beginning with its Phoenician origins and following its expansion across North Africa, Iberia, Sicily, Sardinia and beyond.
I particularly loved the way MacDonald begins to separate the historical Carthage from the mythology surrounding it. There is something almost irresistible about Queen Dido, the legendary founder of Carthage, and her doomed relationship with the Trojan Aeneas. Virgil's Aeneid transforms Dido into one of the great tragic women of the ancient world: she welcomes Aeneas, falls in love with him, and then watches him abandon her because his destiny lies elsewhere. Her suicide becomes part of the mythology of the inevitable hostility between Carthage and Rome. It is a beautiful story, but it is also Roman storytelling, written centuries after the traditional founding of Carthage. MacDonald reminds us that behind the legend was a real city and real people whose history was much larger than the tragedy Rome eventually made of them.
And then there is Hannibal.
This is where the book becomes almost impossible to put down. Hannibal Barca is one of those historical figures who seems to have been invented for a novel. MacDonald places him within the larger Barcid family story, giving attention not only to Hannibal but also to his brothers Hasdrubal and Mago and to their father Hamilcar. This was not simply the story of one military genius. It was a family determined to rebuild Carthaginian power after Rome's victory in the First Punic War.
Hannibal's invasion of Italy is, of course, the spectacular centerpiece. The image of an army crossing the Alps with elephants has survived for more than two thousand years because it sounds completely insane. Hannibal leaves Spain, moves through hostile territory, crosses rivers and mountains, and somehow gets war elephants over the Alps. I knew the story before reading this book, but MacDonald makes the logistical nightmare of it feel newly astonishing. These were not merely elephants marching dramatically through the snow; they were living animals requiring food, care and protection, moving alongside thousands of soldiers through some of the most difficult terrain imaginable.
And Hannibal actually wins.
He defeats Rome repeatedly, most famously at Cannae, where his army delivers one of the most devastating military defeats Rome ever suffered. Yet the extraordinary thing is that Rome refuses to collapse. Hannibal can win battles, but he cannot make Rome surrender. That distinction becomes increasingly important as the war continues and Carthage's resources, alliances and military position begin to unravel.
Eventually Rome turns the war back toward Carthage. The final destruction of the city is devastating precisely because MacDonald has spent the book showing us what was lost: not simply an enemy of Rome, but a sophisticated, wealthy, multicultural Mediterranean power. Carthage had enormous fleets, extensive trade networks, technological expertise and a political and cultural identity that survived even after Rome tried to erase it.
What I appreciated most about this book is that it forces me to reconsider the familiar Roman story. Carthage is not simply the villain standing in the way of Rome's destiny. It was a civilization with its own destiny, and for a very long time, there was absolutely nothing inevitable about Rome winning.
That is ultimately what makes Carthage: A New History so compelling. It asks us to look at history from the other side of the battlefield. Rome survived, conquered and wrote the history. Carthage lost—and therefore, in many ways, lost its voice. MacDonald gives some of that voice back.
And honestly, after spending so much time with Hannibal, his brothers, Dido and those unbelievable elephants making their way across the Alps, I found myself wondering just how different our understanding of the ancient world might be if Carthage had been the one left standing.
What makes Carthage so fascinating is also what makes it so difficult to write about. The Romans destroyed the city in 146 BCE so completely that much of Carthage's own written history disappeared with it. What survives comes largely through the people who defeated and hated them, supplemented by archaeology, inscriptions, coins and other fragments. MacDonald takes this uneven evidence and reconstructs the story of a civilization that dominated the western Mediterranean for centuries, beginning with its Phoenician origins and following its expansion across North Africa, Iberia, Sicily, Sardinia and beyond.
I particularly loved the way MacDonald begins to separate the historical Carthage from the mythology surrounding it. There is something almost irresistible about Queen Dido, the legendary founder of Carthage, and her doomed relationship with the Trojan Aeneas. Virgil's Aeneid transforms Dido into one of the great tragic women of the ancient world: she welcomes Aeneas, falls in love with him, and then watches him abandon her because his destiny lies elsewhere. Her suicide becomes part of the mythology of the inevitable hostility between Carthage and Rome. It is a beautiful story, but it is also Roman storytelling, written centuries after the traditional founding of Carthage. MacDonald reminds us that behind the legend was a real city and real people whose history was much larger than the tragedy Rome eventually made of them.
And then there is Hannibal.
This is where the book becomes almost impossible to put down. Hannibal Barca is one of those historical figures who seems to have been invented for a novel. MacDonald places him within the larger Barcid family story, giving attention not only to Hannibal but also to his brothers Hasdrubal and Mago and to their father Hamilcar. This was not simply the story of one military genius. It was a family determined to rebuild Carthaginian power after Rome's victory in the First Punic War.
Hannibal's invasion of Italy is, of course, the spectacular centerpiece. The image of an army crossing the Alps with elephants has survived for more than two thousand years because it sounds completely insane. Hannibal leaves Spain, moves through hostile territory, crosses rivers and mountains, and somehow gets war elephants over the Alps. I knew the story before reading this book, but MacDonald makes the logistical nightmare of it feel newly astonishing. These were not merely elephants marching dramatically through the snow; they were living animals requiring food, care and protection, moving alongside thousands of soldiers through some of the most difficult terrain imaginable.
And Hannibal actually wins.
He defeats Rome repeatedly, most famously at Cannae, where his army delivers one of the most devastating military defeats Rome ever suffered. Yet the extraordinary thing is that Rome refuses to collapse. Hannibal can win battles, but he cannot make Rome surrender. That distinction becomes increasingly important as the war continues and Carthage's resources, alliances and military position begin to unravel.
Eventually Rome turns the war back toward Carthage. The final destruction of the city is devastating precisely because MacDonald has spent the book showing us what was lost: not simply an enemy of Rome, but a sophisticated, wealthy, multicultural Mediterranean power. Carthage had enormous fleets, extensive trade networks, technological expertise and a political and cultural identity that survived even after Rome tried to erase it.
What I appreciated most about this book is that it forces me to reconsider the familiar Roman story. Carthage is not simply the villain standing in the way of Rome's destiny. It was a civilization with its own destiny, and for a very long time, there was absolutely nothing inevitable about Rome winning.
That is ultimately what makes Carthage: A New History so compelling. It asks us to look at history from the other side of the battlefield. Rome survived, conquered and wrote the history. Carthage lost—and therefore, in many ways, lost its voice. MacDonald gives some of that voice back.
And honestly, after spending so much time with Hannibal, his brothers, Dido and those unbelievable elephants making their way across the Alps, I found myself wondering just how different our understanding of the ancient world might be if Carthage had been the one left standing.
May 12, 2026
Carthage looms large as both the bogeyman of Republican history and the great what-if of post Alexander Ancient History. In many respects a mirror image of Rome, the defeat of Carthage marked the last time that Rome would genuinely be threatened for supremacy of the Mediterranean for the best part of 500 years, and the turning point where the greatest enemy for the Republic became the enemy within.
As such, trying to free the narrative of Carthage from both a heavily Roman perspective and a whiggish reading of history is a worthwhile goal, but whether Eve MacDonald succeeds in doing more than providing a fairly solid narrative of existing sources is another matter.
It's not to say that Carthage is a poor book - it's well researched, does a good job of opening up the topic for the layman without dumbing it down too much for the expert, and does a good job of avoiding getting too deeply bogged down in source material. MacDonald does a good job of being careful to assume too much of her sources (with a couple of exceptions) and some of the material around the early origin and culture of Carthage was welcome and interesting.
That being said, it's equally hard to get too excited about this as anything more than a serviceable book to serve as a go-to introduction for the topic. In part, MacDonald's writing style, while serviceable, doesn't seem to ever truly come alight or really convey passion or enthusiasm for this civilisation - it makes all of the right noises without ever seeming to find the prose to truly inspire and enthrall, as if it's not sure whether it wants to be a textbook or to try and sweep you off your feet.
Secondly, the narrative doesn't really engage in a great deal of analysis, and there's not really a core thesis which is being advanced - there's not really a clear view as to why Carthage was successful or failed, or indeed that it's been shabbily treated by recent historiography, or how it's truly echoed down the ages in a post-Roman world.
Lastly, and linked to the above, for all the book tries to be a new history... it doesn't really achieve it. While, in part, it is limited by the primary source material available (and the Roman focus which tends to emerge), there's no real attempt to go beyond that or present new evidence.
Past a certain point, the narrative focuses almost entirely on the Barcids and Hannibal, and then through the later Punic Wars with an increasingly Roman focus at the expense of North Africa, and while there are some attempts to focus on Numidian and Carthaginian perspectives, they're pretty feeble and the narrative tends to revert to a standard Hannibal-Scipio-Cato account within a few paragraphs.
Given the issue of written source material, I genuinely don't think there would have been much objection to a genuine new history of Carthage which deliberately ignored or minimised the extent to which the Punic Wars (and especially the second one) featured in favour of a deep dive into the Iberian Penninsula and North Africa, even if this mainly focused on social history, material culture or even more less traditional avenues of historical examination which haven't been previously exposed to mainstream historical discourse.
Ultimately, MacDonald's work is a good introduction to the basic narrative of Carthage for those who don't wish to get bogged down in reading the primary sources in translation, but I don't consider that it's necessarily worthy of the title of a 'New' History.
As such, trying to free the narrative of Carthage from both a heavily Roman perspective and a whiggish reading of history is a worthwhile goal, but whether Eve MacDonald succeeds in doing more than providing a fairly solid narrative of existing sources is another matter.
It's not to say that Carthage is a poor book - it's well researched, does a good job of opening up the topic for the layman without dumbing it down too much for the expert, and does a good job of avoiding getting too deeply bogged down in source material. MacDonald does a good job of being careful to assume too much of her sources (with a couple of exceptions) and some of the material around the early origin and culture of Carthage was welcome and interesting.
That being said, it's equally hard to get too excited about this as anything more than a serviceable book to serve as a go-to introduction for the topic. In part, MacDonald's writing style, while serviceable, doesn't seem to ever truly come alight or really convey passion or enthusiasm for this civilisation - it makes all of the right noises without ever seeming to find the prose to truly inspire and enthrall, as if it's not sure whether it wants to be a textbook or to try and sweep you off your feet.
Secondly, the narrative doesn't really engage in a great deal of analysis, and there's not really a core thesis which is being advanced - there's not really a clear view as to why Carthage was successful or failed, or indeed that it's been shabbily treated by recent historiography, or how it's truly echoed down the ages in a post-Roman world.
Lastly, and linked to the above, for all the book tries to be a new history... it doesn't really achieve it. While, in part, it is limited by the primary source material available (and the Roman focus which tends to emerge), there's no real attempt to go beyond that or present new evidence.
Past a certain point, the narrative focuses almost entirely on the Barcids and Hannibal, and then through the later Punic Wars with an increasingly Roman focus at the expense of North Africa, and while there are some attempts to focus on Numidian and Carthaginian perspectives, they're pretty feeble and the narrative tends to revert to a standard Hannibal-Scipio-Cato account within a few paragraphs.
Given the issue of written source material, I genuinely don't think there would have been much objection to a genuine new history of Carthage which deliberately ignored or minimised the extent to which the Punic Wars (and especially the second one) featured in favour of a deep dive into the Iberian Penninsula and North Africa, even if this mainly focused on social history, material culture or even more less traditional avenues of historical examination which haven't been previously exposed to mainstream historical discourse.
Ultimately, MacDonald's work is a good introduction to the basic narrative of Carthage for those who don't wish to get bogged down in reading the primary sources in translation, but I don't consider that it's necessarily worthy of the title of a 'New' History.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
In "Carthage: A New History," Eve MacDonald sets out to recover a civilization known primarily through the testimony of its executioners. Rather than rehash the familiar story—Carthage as Rome’s cunning, morally suspect rival— MacDonald asks a more complicated question: what can be said about Carthage when we stop taking Roman hostility at face value and instead combine hostile literary sources with two decades of archaeological and scientific research?
The book traces Carthage’s history from its Phoenician foundations to its destruction in 146 BCE, but its real subject is not chronology. MacDonald argues that Carthage was not a marginal antagonist in Rome’s rise but one of the foundational cultures of the western Mediterranean. Rome did not merely defeat Carthage; it inherited and repurposed many of its economic systems, maritime practices, and imperial assumptions. This is framed as a corrective to a historiography shaped almost entirely by Roman survival.
MacDonald is strongest when archaeology does the work Roman texts cannot. Coinage debasement during the First Punic War reveals economic strain more vividly than any moralizing account by Polybius—the silver content drops, the inflation is measurable, and the desperation becomes concrete rather than rhetorical. DNA and isotope analysis from mass graves complicate simplistic notions of “mercenary armies” and instead point to a highly mobile, interconnected Mediterranean world. Her treatment of the Tophet—a sanctuary containing thousands of urns with cremated infant remains that Romans claimed proved child sacrifice—is careful and restrained: she resists both Roman sensationalism and modern wishful thinking, accepting ambiguity where the evidence demands it.
The writing stays accessible without condescension. MacDonald uses well-known individuals such as Dido, Hamilcar, Hannibal, and Sophonisba as entry points into broader political and social structures rather than heroic centerpieces. War fills the latter half, but trade, agriculture, religion, and civic governance remain present forces, not scenery. Carthage emerges as a society shaped by negotiation between oligarchic elites, popular assemblies, and powerful generals, a balance that was often productive and occasionally disastrous.
The book’s limitations are real, and MacDonald acknowledges them without apology. The absence of Carthaginian voices forces a degree of inference that sometimes leans heavily on suspicion of Roman motives. Readers hoping for a fully reconstructed “Carthaginian perspective” will find that the sources’ silence remains stubbornly intact. Still, this is less a flaw than a condition of the subject itself, and MacDonald rarely overstates what the evidence can bear.
Ultimately, the book doesn’t overturn Rome’s victory—that’s impossible—but it does break Rome’s monopoly on interpretation. MacDonald does not ask readers to admire Carthage uncritically. She asks them to recognize how much of Mediterranean history has been narrowed by conquest—how the economic networks, the shipbuilding innovations, the political experiments have all been filtered through Roman memory. In doing so, she restores Carthage from its historical role as a foil to a serious civilization whose loss diminished the story Rome went on to tell unilaterally.
This review is of an advance reader’s edition provided by NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company.
The book traces Carthage’s history from its Phoenician foundations to its destruction in 146 BCE, but its real subject is not chronology. MacDonald argues that Carthage was not a marginal antagonist in Rome’s rise but one of the foundational cultures of the western Mediterranean. Rome did not merely defeat Carthage; it inherited and repurposed many of its economic systems, maritime practices, and imperial assumptions. This is framed as a corrective to a historiography shaped almost entirely by Roman survival.
MacDonald is strongest when archaeology does the work Roman texts cannot. Coinage debasement during the First Punic War reveals economic strain more vividly than any moralizing account by Polybius—the silver content drops, the inflation is measurable, and the desperation becomes concrete rather than rhetorical. DNA and isotope analysis from mass graves complicate simplistic notions of “mercenary armies” and instead point to a highly mobile, interconnected Mediterranean world. Her treatment of the Tophet—a sanctuary containing thousands of urns with cremated infant remains that Romans claimed proved child sacrifice—is careful and restrained: she resists both Roman sensationalism and modern wishful thinking, accepting ambiguity where the evidence demands it.
The writing stays accessible without condescension. MacDonald uses well-known individuals such as Dido, Hamilcar, Hannibal, and Sophonisba as entry points into broader political and social structures rather than heroic centerpieces. War fills the latter half, but trade, agriculture, religion, and civic governance remain present forces, not scenery. Carthage emerges as a society shaped by negotiation between oligarchic elites, popular assemblies, and powerful generals, a balance that was often productive and occasionally disastrous.
The book’s limitations are real, and MacDonald acknowledges them without apology. The absence of Carthaginian voices forces a degree of inference that sometimes leans heavily on suspicion of Roman motives. Readers hoping for a fully reconstructed “Carthaginian perspective” will find that the sources’ silence remains stubbornly intact. Still, this is less a flaw than a condition of the subject itself, and MacDonald rarely overstates what the evidence can bear.
Ultimately, the book doesn’t overturn Rome’s victory—that’s impossible—but it does break Rome’s monopoly on interpretation. MacDonald does not ask readers to admire Carthage uncritically. She asks them to recognize how much of Mediterranean history has been narrowed by conquest—how the economic networks, the shipbuilding innovations, the political experiments have all been filtered through Roman memory. In doing so, she restores Carthage from its historical role as a foil to a serious civilization whose loss diminished the story Rome went on to tell unilaterally.
This review is of an advance reader’s edition provided by NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews