Carthage: uncovering the mysteries and splendors of ancient Tunisia

by Howard David Soren, Hédi Slim, Aïcha Ben Abed Ben Khader

The Carthage of today is a peaceful residential suburb & a successful holiday resort with wonderful beaches. The hotels & restaurants give few clues to its often troubled & violent 3000 year history. This book tells the story of Carthage, from the arrival of Princess Eiyssa in the land of the nomadic Berbers in the 9th or 8th century BCE, to the rise of Carthage as an important sea power & its eventual growth into the capital of the Phoenician Empire. 30 b&w photos.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Nonfiction, Africa, Archaeology, Ancient

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for a challenge in a GR group. This is not a book I would have picked up on my own, but I ended up learning quite a bit. This is a quick overview of the culture and history of Tunisia for about a thousand years beginning in the ninth century BCE.

[Rosemarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very informative about the history of Carthage through the ages and about archeological methods, but the writing was quite dry at times.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the three credited authors this doesn't read badly. Written for the general public, it's generally accessible and sometimes witty. For me, the best part was that about the period before the third Punic War. I don't know that material well so much of it was illuminating. The coverage of the years after the Roman conquest leading up to the Moslem conquest were, however, disappointing. I do know much of that history and here the authors' coverage struck me as too sketchy. Also, given that there's a lot of text about the arts and architecture of Roman Carthage (and surrounding areas), it was frustrating that so little of what was described was also pictured. If they couldn't afford more photographs they should have had less on this and used the space for a more thorough history.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Carthage is not a bad general introduction to the history of this ancient civilization. It is from the late 20th century, however, and it feels even older than that. It spends more time on Roman and late antique Carthage than on its earlier pre-Punic Wars history, which disappointed me. Additionally the authors seem overly committed to the progress-narrative of sedentary, literate civilizations and are utterly ham-handed (when not blatantly offensive) with regard to race . E.g., Soren and his co-authors use the term "black savages" to describe the sub-Saharan Africans encountered by Phoenician sailors upon circumnavigating Africa. The authors do not use quotation marks or in any other way indicate that this is thought and terminology belonging to the ancient Phoenicians, so the reader is left to assume it is the authors' own thought and terminology represented. Really guys? They are considerably more aware and subtle when discussing class, but I was still in turns annoyed and disappointed with the scope and execution of this work. There are some interesting facts and details peppered throughout, but I would not recommend this to anyone.

[Michael Crofford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gives a good basic overview of Carthage. I think the main difficulty is the lack of material we have to go on (compared to the Roman empire). Carthage was razed and resettled with Roman veterans. We still know very little. This book casts a much wider net than just Carthage. It touches on the city during Roman rule as well as the predecessors to Carthage - the Phoenicians. There's also commentary on the child sacrifices that for which Carthage is notorious.

I like the Edward Fairfax translation of Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered that the author quotes at the end of his book :


Great Carthage low in ashes cold doth lie,
Her ruins poor, the herbs in height can pass;
So cities fall, so perish kingdoms high,
Their pride and pomp lie hid in sand and grass.

[Jagdish · Rating 5 out of 5]

A central analysis is devoted to Carthage’s material culture, celebrating Punic artists’ accomplishments in mosaics, stone sculpture, jewelry, and sacred architecture. The authors probe beyond art to explore the city’s social structure, noting the harsh conditions often faced by slaves and the controversial practice of child sacrifice. Through archaeological studies, the book weighs ancient accusations against demographic data, questioning if child sacrifice occurred or if some cases reflect high infant mortality rather than ritualistic slaughter.

Soren examines Carthage across eras, from its Phoenician origins and Punic heyday through Roman, Vandal, and Byzantine occupations. The narrative details elegant villas, temples, and a lively popular culture, including theater and literature, painting a portrait of a city continually adapting to external pressures and internal change. The authors pay particular attention to Carthage's hybrid religion—a blend of Punic, Berber, Greek, Roman, and indigenous traditions.

The book is recognized for its broad scope, spanning the city’s origins through its catastrophic fall and reincarnation under Roman rule. Readers are invited to consider not only Carthage’s place in history but also the challenges in reconstructing its past, given sparse surviving evidence and biased ancient sources. The analysis of religious practice, especially child sacrifice, is nuanced; Soren uses recent archaeological evidence from necropolises to argue that child sacrifice was rare, possibly occurring after natural deaths, contrary to longstanding sensationalist accounts.

While the book receives praise as an accessible introduction and a resource for non-academic audiences, some critiques note its uneven balance between visual and textual content, with a preference for photographs over in-depth historical narrative at times. Nevertheless, Soren’s synthesis of literary, archaeological, and cultural evidence establishes Carthage as a multifaceted civilization, worthy of study beyond its military encounters with Rome.

Overall, "Carthage" stands as a significant contribution to Mediterranean history, uncovering the city’s mysteries and splendors by weaving together its art, religion, politics, and daily life, and reminding readers of the complexities that define ancient societies.

[Valerie]

I'm not sure this is the book I read. I was looking for information about Hanno The Navigator, and found very little, along with far too much about the Punic Wars.

If this is the book I read, it contained one very interesting point--the author used archaelological studies at places like the necropolis to argue that if the Carthaginians did sacrifice their children, it was done after the children had died of natural causes. There were simply not more sacrificed children than the expected rate of infant mortality in the area at the time.

Still looking for a source on Hanno the Navigator, though.

[Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because I am a huge fan of Carthage and I would not really recommend it to anyone unless they were researching the topic. There is a chapter on the debate over child sacrifice in Carthage that is an interesting read and a few other new and interesting tidbits can be gleaned from the book but I wouldn't recommend nor is it intended for an average reader.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. I have found it somewhat difficult to find books about ancient Carthage that don't focus heavily on the Punic Wars. This book examined Carthage before and after the wars and looked at religion, the child sacrifice issue and the Carthaginians love of the sea and exploration. For anyone who wants some readable non-academic history about Cathage I recommend this book.