Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The term Carthaginian (Latin: Carthaginiensis [karˌtʰaːgɪniˈẽːsɪs]) usually refers to the civilisation of ancient Carthage. It may also refer to: Punic people, the Semitic-speaking people of Carthage; Punic language, also known as Carthaginian; Carthaginian, a three-masted schooner built in 1921
The cothon at Carthage was divided into a rectangular merchant harbour followed by an inner protected harbour reserved for military use only. This inner harbour was circular and surrounded by an outer ring of structures divided into a series of docking bays for ship maintenance, along with an island structure at its centre that also housed navy ships.
The Greek translation of Hanno's periplus account names him a basileus, [5] a term which may be interpreted as "king", but was commonly used for other high-level Carthaginian officials. [6] The consensus of scholarship places Hanno as living sometime in the 5th century BC, [note 1] identifying him as a member of the aristocratic Magonid family. [8]
Ships became increasingly large and heavy, including some of the largest wooden ships hitherto constructed. These developments were spearheaded in the Hellenistic Near East , but also to a large extent shared by the naval powers of the Western Mediterranean, specifically Carthage and the Roman Republic .
According to both Plutarch and Appian, while Pyrrhus' army was being transported by ship to mainland Italy, the Carthaginian navy inflicted a devastating blow in the Battle of the Strait of Messina, sinking or disabling 98 out of 110 ships. Carthage sent additional forces to Sicily, and following Pyrrhus' departure, managed to regain control of ...
The ports of Carthage were arranged in such a way that ships could pass from one to the other; they were accessed from the sea through an entrance about 21 m wide, which was closed with an iron chain. The first port, reserved for merchant ships, was provided with numerous and varied moorings. In the middle of the inner harbour was an island.
The military of Carthage was one of the largest military forces in the ancient world.Although Carthage's navy was always its main military force, the army acquired a key role in the spread of Carthaginian power over the native peoples of northern Africa and southern Iberian Peninsula from the 6th century BC and the 3rd century BC.
Initial efforts of the Romans to construct a war fleet were based on copies of Carthaginian warships. In the Punic wars in the mid-third century BCE, the Romans were at first outclassed by Carthage at sea, but by 256 BCE had drawn even and fought the wars to a stalemate. In 55 BCE Julius Caesar used warships and transport ships to invade ...