Republic of Carthage: Bibliography
Sat Jan 22 21:19:49 UTC 2022
Note: for a quick introduction to the topic, see
"Carthage Must Be Destroyed,"
But Must It Be Forgotten? by David Soren
in Archaeology Odyssey (November/December 2000)
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
- Armstrong, Donald, The Reluctant Warriors
(1966)
Although it may have an axe to grind, don't pass this one
up. Written by a Brigadier General, it has some of the
best analysis of the 3rd Punic War as well as the clearest
and most detailed maps.
- Aubet, Maria Eugenia,
The Phoenicians and the West: Politics, Colonies and Trade (1996)
The Spanish author goes into more depth than anyone on the
details of trade, trade routes and everything else. Even
dives into the rarely discussed topic of currents within
the Mediterranean. The maps are very good. There is even
one showing which parts of the Mediterranean are beyond
the sight of land, a tricky problem when one considers
hills and mountains. Origins of names including Phoenicians
are discussed. Best of all is the detail on the nature of
the Phoenician colonies, their dates and purposes. There
are a few translation problems, such as when the Barcids
are called the Barcidas, but they are minor.
2001 Revised Edition
reflects the latest archaeological findings.
Chapters:
(1) Who were the Phoenicians?
(2) Phoenica during the Iron Age
(3) The bases for the expansion in the Mediterranean
(4) Phoenician trade: exchange mechanisms and organization
(5) The great political institutions: the palace and the temple
(6) The routes of Phoenician expansion into the Mediterranean
(7) The Phoenicians in the west: chronology and historiography
(8) The Phoenician colonies in the central Mediterranean
(9) The colonies of the far west: Gadir and the silver trade
(10) Concluding thoughts
(I) Phoenician Iron Age archaeology
(II) The Journey of Wen-Amon to Phoenicia
(III) Oracles against Tyre
(IV) The settlements of the central Mediterranean
- Bradford, Ernle, Hannibal (1981)
- Bryher,
The Coin of Carthage (historical fiction)
- Charles-Picard, Gilbert and Colette,
Daily Life in Carthage
- Durham, David:
Pride of Carthage (2005)
- Goldsworthy, Adrian:
- Harden, The Phoenicians
- Herm, Gerhard,
The Phoenicians
- Hoyos, Dexter,
- Carthage: A Biography
(2020)
Great assembly of disparate sources and is the most modern take on much
disputed events. Covers the periods after the fall of
Carthage as well. Very good if you ever wondered, what, for example,
Carthaginian names, houses or lives were like. There is much more in this
deceptively slim volume.
- Hannibal's dynasty: power and politics in the western Mediterranean, 247-183 BC
Great assembly of disparate sources with excellent discussion of
which are more likely to be correct.
Also good on the First Punic War,
events in Spain between the wars, Hannibal as political leader after the
Second Punic War and his subsequent flight and work with Antiochus.
One of the few books on this topic willing to critique the Barcas, for example
their poor conceptualization of sea power and lack of ability with sieges
(the little town of Saguntum took Hannibal eight months and he never essayed
Rome at all).
- Hunt, Patrick N., Hannibal (2017)
Both readable and accurate. Has very short chapters so you can easily
read it in whatever bite sizes are most convenient for you.
The author is a professor of archaeology.
- Kagan, Donald, On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace
Great discussion on why the Second Punic War broke out and who was most
responsible.
- Kinder, Hermann and Werner Hilgemann,
Anchor Atlas of World History, The
- Leckie, Ross:
- Lancel, Serge,
Carthage
- Liddell Hart, Basil Henry,
Scipio Africanus/Greater than Napoleon
(1994)
- Miles, Richard,
Carthage Must be Destroyed:
The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization (2010)
- Moscati, Sabatino,
- Picard, Gilbert, Carthage (1965)
- Scullard, H. H.,
A History of the Roman World 753-146 B.C.
(1961)
- Soren, David, Aicha Ben Abed Khader and Hedi Slim,
Carthage: A Mosaic of Ancient Tunisia
(1990)
- Warmington, B. H.,
Carthage
(1960)
Articles:
- Ancient Carthaginian town of Motya on Sicily not destroyed by the Greeks:
Science Daily
ANSA
Rick Heli