Carthāgo

, a celebrated city of Africa, the rival of Rome, and long the capital of the country, and mistre of Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia. The precise time of its foundation is unknown, yet most writers seem to agree that it was first built by Dido, about 869 years before the christian era, or, according to others, 72 or 93 years before the foundation of Rome. This city and republic flourished for 737 years, and the time of its greatest glory was under Annibal and Amilcar. During the first Punic war, it contained no le than 700,000 inhabitants. It maintained three famous wars against Rome, called the Punic wars [ See: Punicum bellum ], in the third of which Carthage was totally destroyed by Scipio the second African us, B.C. 147, and only 5000 persons were found within the walls. It was 23 miles in circumference, and when it was set on fire by the Romans, it burned ince antly during 17 days. After the destruction of Carthage, Utica became powerful, and the Romans thought themselves secure; and as they had no rival to dispute with them in the field, they fell into indolence and inactivity. Cæsar planted a small colony on the ruins of Carthage. August us sent there 3000 men; and Adrian, after the example of his imperial predece ors, rebuilt part of it, which he called Adrianopolis. Carthage was conquered from the Romans by the arms of Genseric, A.D. 439; and it was for more than a century the seat of the Vandal empire in Africa, and fell into the hands of the Saracens in the seventh century. The Cart hag in i ans were governed as a republic, and had two persons yearly chosen among them with regal authority. They were very superstitious, and generally offered human victims to their gods; an unnatural custom, which their allies wished them to abolish, but in vain. They bore the character of a faithle and treacherous people, and the proverb Punica fides is well known. Strabo , bk. 17 .— Virgil , Æneid bk. 1 , . — Mela , bk. 1 , . — Ptolemy bk. 4 .— Justin. — Livy , bk. 4 , . — Paterculus , bks. 1 & 2.— Plutarch , Life of Hannibal , . — Cicero. ――Nŏva, a town built in Spain, on the coasts of the Mediterranean, by Asdrubal the Cart hag in i an general. It was taken by Scipio when Hanno surrendered himself after a heavy lo . It now bears the name of Carthagena . Polybius , bk. 10 .— Livy , bk. 26 , ch. 43 , . — Silius Italic us , bk. 15 , li. 220 , . ――A daughter of Hercules.