Modern scholarship · modern scholarship

Carthage: A New History

Eve MacDonald

Composition

2015 CE

Language: english

Single-volume modern history of Carthage from foundation to destruction, emphasizing recent archaeological evidence and the wider Mediterranean context. MacDonald foregrounds Carthage as a major power in its own right, not merely Rome's antagonist, and integrates work on Punic colonies, trade networks, and religion. Particularly strong on the city's material culture and on situating political events alongside archaeological data.

Claims citing this source

Appius Claudius Caudex's crossing of the Strait of Messina in 264 BCE was the first time a Roman army had ever deployed outside the Italian peninsula, a structural shift whose long-term significance is underemphasized in narrative accounts focused on the Mamertine crisis.
The Roman senate was divided on whether to intervene at Messana, and the matter was referred to the comitia centuriata for decision, an unusual constitutional step that suggests serious doubt about the legitimacy or wisdom of the war.
Hannibal's elephants at Zama were inadequately trained, contributing to their failure when Scipio's maniples opened lanes for them to charge through harmlessly.
Zama ended Carthage as a great power.
The Battle of Zama was fought near Naraggara (modern Sakiet Sidi Youssef, Tunisia), not at Zama Regia itself, despite the traditional name.