Carthage Must Be Destroyed
The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization
1 of 1 copy available
The devastating struggle to the death between the Carthaginians and the Romans was one of the defining dramas of the ancient world. In an epic series of land and sea battles, both sides came close to victory before the Carthaginians finally succumbed and their capital city, history, and culture were almost utterly erased.
Drawing on a wealth of new archaeological research, Richard Miles vividly brings to life this lost empire-from its origins among the Phoenician settlements of Lebanon to its apotheosis as the greatest seapower in the Mediterranean. And at the heart of the history of Carthage lies the extraordinary figure of Hannibal-the scourge of Rome and one of the greatest military leaders, but a man who also unwittingly led his people to catastrophe.
The first full-scale history of Carthage in decades, Carthage Must Be Destroyed reintroduces modern listeners to the larger-than-life historical players and the ancient glory of this almost forgotten civilization.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
July 27, 2011 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781469055411
- File size: 407784 KB
- Duration: 14:09:32
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 11, 2011
In the spring of 146 B.C.E., the Roman commander Scipio Aemilianus ordered his army's final assault upon the very weakened North African city of Carthage. Surrounded on all sides by the Romans and facing starvation and death, many Carthaginians, including the city's commander, Hasdrubal, surrendered into certain slavery while others, refusing to submit, died in a hellish conflagration that consumed their city. In destroying the physical city of Carthage, the Romans also destroyed much of its history. Until now, Rome's version of the history and significance of Carthage has been unchallenged. Drawing deeply upon fresh archeological evidence, Miles dynamically recreates daily life in ancient Carthage by examining the numerous inscriptions and monuments that bring to life the religious and public rituals of the city's inhabitants. Such material evidence offers a glimpse of Carthage's social hierarchies while also providing clues to the city's reputation as an agricultural center known for its figs and pomegranates, and its invention of the Punic cart, a primitive but highly effective threshing machine. Miles breathtakingly narrates Carthage's rise to fame as an ancient cultural and commercial center and its demise before its rebuilding as a Roman city by the emperor Augustus in the first century C.E. Illus.; maps.
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