Ancient Carthage ( KAR-thij; Punic: π€π€π€π€π€π€π€π€, lit.β'New City') was an ancient civilization based in North Africa. It grew from a small settlement in present-day Tunisia into the Carthaginian Empire, a major power that dominated the western half of the Mediterranean Sea.
Carthage was settled around 814 BC by merchants from Tyre, a leading Phoenician city-state located in present-day Lebanon. In the 7th century BC, following Phoenicia's conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Carthage became independent of its eastern neighbors. Leveraging its naval power, Carthage then began to grow a vast patchwork of colonies, vassals, and satellite states until it was the economic and political hegemon of the western Mediterranean. By 300 BC, Carthage controlled the coast of northwestern Africa, southern and eastern Iberia, and the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta, and the Balearic Islands.
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