Carthage - A Brief History

Carthage was founded around 800 b c by phoenician settlers. They formed the backbone of a new trans mediterranean trade network that persists to this day. Carthage soon became the richest city owing to its favorable geographic position, located on the narrow strait between africa and sicily. The carthaginians did not suffer the kind of class con flict that forever plagued rome access to the aristocracy - therefore power was based entirely on wealth.