Ruins of Carthage – Tunisia

Carthage (Arabic رطاج‎,) is an ancient city in Tunisia that dates back to the ninth century before Christ according to common legend although its exact date remains a mystery because any documents and records were destroyed by the Romans.

Today the ruins of Carthage stand as an ancient window into our past that is a major tourist attraction with many people visiting on a yearly basis to enjoy the splendour of this magnificent ancient city.

History of Carthage

The history of Carthage is a contentious point because of the problems associated with knowing its age and usage because the Roman Empire destroyed all known knowledge of its past before the 1st century AD.

Common legend tells us that a Queen Elissa (later in history to become Queen Dido) founded Carthage in 814 BC.

The story goes that Queen Elissa ruled a large metropolis and hundreds of surrounding settlements elsewhere with her husband the high priest. Queen Elissa’s brother was not happy and murdered her husband because he was not happy that the high Priest held more power than himself so Queen Elissa fled her lands and started a new city called Carthage.

To maintain the city and protect its borders as civilization flourished under Queen Elissa’s rule she employed foreign mercenaries from other areas of North Africa.

Carthage as a city fell in 146 BC to the hands of the Romans after three hard fought wars called the Punic Wars. During these wars the Romans suffered great losses to their army and naval forces but this did not stop them defeating the city of Carthage.

From what is understood the Romans pillaged the city of valuables and took all the civilians as slaves before burning the city to the ground leaving a city of ruins.

The Romans then took the land as part of the Roman Empire but did not rebuild the city until the second century AD.

In the fourth century AD Carthage became an important place of Christianity as it was an early centre of Christianity with the biblical canon of the Western Church being confirmed there in 397 AD.

After the Romans the Byzantine Empire enjoyed a short reign over the city before it finally came under Islamic rule in the 7th century. Under the Islamic rule of Hasan ibn al-Nu'man Carthage was again burned to the ground and Tunis was replaced as the most important city in the region.

Visiting Carthage

Although only ruins remain of Carthage it is still a much visited and much loved monument to Tunisia’s past and is a must to add to your travel itinerary if you are in the northern area of Tunisia.

Every year thousands of people from all areas of the globe descend on Carthage to view the beauty of the surrounding area, enjoy the mystery of this once great city, admire the ruins of the old city and generally enjoy a great day out.

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