Sources

Sources and bibliography

The ancient writers who tell us about Carthage — nearly all of them Greek or Roman — followed by the modern works by historians and archaeologists that this site relies on.

59references, ancient and modern

The Carthage hall of the Bardo National Museum, Tunis — Bardo National Museum, Tunis

12Ancient sources
14General works
16Carthage
6Art and exhibition catalogues
7Archaeology
4Further reading

Filter the bibliography

59 references shown

Ancient sources

Carthage left almost no writings of its own: we know it mostly through its enemies. Each source is shown with what it contributes and its bias.

Polybius
Histories
2nd c. BC, Greek
The main source for the first two Punic Wars and the Mercenary War, preserving the treaties between Rome and Carthage; Polybius witnessed the fall of 146. Methodical, but close to the Scipios and to the Roman viewpoint.
Livy
History of Rome (books 21–30)
Late 1st c. BC, Latin
The most detailed continuous account of the Second Punic War, from Saguntum to Zama. Written under Augustus to glorify Rome: dramatised scenes, reconstructed speeches and a hostile portrait of Hannibal ("Punic perfidy").
Appian of Alexandria
Libyca (The African Book)
2nd c. AD, Greek
The only connected narrative of the Third Punic War and the siege of Carthage, probably drawing on lost books of Polybius. Late and second-hand: its figures and set scenes need caution.
Diodorus Siculus
Library of History
1st c. BC, Greek
Irreplaceable for Carthage's wars in Sicily (Himera, Dionysius of Syracuse, Agathocles in Africa). A compilation following Sicilian Greek historians such as Timaeus, often hostile to the Carthaginians.
Plutarch
Parallel Lives (Timoleon, Fabius Maximus, Marcellus, Cato the Elder)
1st–2nd c. AD, Greek
Sheds light on Carthage through its opponents: Timoleon's war in Sicily, Fabius' strategy against Hannibal, Cato and the Carthaginian fig. A moralising biographer, more interested in character than chronology.
Justin
Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories (books 18–19)
Date debated (2nd–4th c. AD), Latin
The main account of the foundation by Elissa and of early Carthage (Malchus, the Magonids). A late summary of a lost Augustan-era work, in which legend and history are intertwined.
Cornelius Nepos
Lives of Hamilcar and Hannibal
1st c. BC, Latin
The only surviving ancient biographies of Carthaginian generals, rather admiring of Hannibal. Very short, sketchy on details and sometimes inaccurate.
Aristotle
Politics (book 2)
4th c. BC, Greek
The only contemporary analysis of Carthage's institutions (sufetes, Council, the Hundred and Four, popular assembly), praised as a stable mixed constitution. A Greek philosopher's view, measuring Carthage against Sparta and Crete.
Pliny the Elder
Natural History
1st c. AD, Latin
Preserves precious fragments: Mago's farming treatise translated into Latin by order of the Senate, the voyages of Hanno and Himilco, Cato's fig. An encyclopedia that piles up information without criticism.
Strabo
Geography (book 17)
1st c. BC – 1st c. AD, Greek
Describes the site of Carthage, the Byrsa and the harbours, and gives figures (700,000 inhabitants, 300 towns in Libya) that are probably inflated. A geographer writing second-hand, after the destruction.
Silius Italicus
Punica (epic poem)
1st c. AD, Latin
A seventeen-book epic on the Second Punic War, the longest surviving Latin poem. A literary work rather than a historical source: gods, dreams and heroic duels in the manner of Virgil.
Anonymous
Periplus of Hanno
Greek text (Heidelberg manuscript)
Presents itself as the translation of an inscription dedicated by Hanno in a temple at Carthage, recounting an expedition along Africa's Atlantic coast. The only text of its kind of Carthaginian origin; its date, route and the faithfulness of the translation remain debated.

General works

Phoenicians, the ancient Mediterranean and Rome's wars: the wider setting.

Chapter
Samir Aounallah
Carthage punique : la cité d'Élissa (814-146 avant J.-C.)
dans Carthage : histoire et archéologie d'une métropole méditerranéenne 814 avant J.-C. – 1270 après J.-C.
Paris : CNRS Éditions, 2020 · coll. L'Esprit des lieux · p. 11-109
ISBN 978-2271134714
Read online
Book
Josette Elayi
Histoire de la Phénicie
Paris : Éditions Perrin, 2013 · 341 p.
ISBN 978-2262036621
Book
Michel Fauquier
Rome et Carthage : 509-29 av. J.-C.
Paris : Armand Colin, 2020 · coll. Cursus · 256 p.
ISBN 978-2200630133DOI 10.3917/arco.fauqu.2020.01
Read online
Book
Michel Gras, Pierre Rouillard, Javier Teixidor
L'Univers phénicien
Paris : Arthaud, 1989 · 283 p.
ISBN 978-2700307320
Book
Stéphane Gsell
Histoire ancienne de l'Afrique du Nord
Paris : Hachette, 1920 · t. IV : La civilisation carthaginoise · 515 p.
Book
Véronique Krings (dir.)
La civilisation phénicienne et punique : manuel de recherches
Leyde : Éditions Brill, 1995 · 923 p.
ISBN 978-9004100688
Book
Yann Le Bohec
Histoire des guerres romaines : milieu du VIIIe siècle avant J.-C. – 410 après J.-C.
Paris : Éditions Tallandier, 2017 · coll. L'art de la guerre · 608 p.
ISBN 979-1021023000DOI 10.3917/talla.leboh.2017.01
Read online
Book
Edward Lipinski (dir.)
Dictionnaire de la civilisation phénicienne et punique
Turnhout : Brepols, 1992 · 502 p.
ISBN 978-2503500331
Book
Khaled Melliti
Carthage : histoire d'une métropole méditerranéenne
Paris : Éditions Perrin, 2023 · coll. Tempus · 768 p.
ISBN 978-2262103064DOI 10.3917/perri.melli.2023.01
Read online
Book
Sabatino Moscati
L'épopée des Phéniciens
Paris : Fayard, 1971 · 370 p.
Book
Claude Nicolet (dir.)
Rome et la conquête du monde méditerranéen
Paris : Presses universitaires de France, 1997 · coll. Nouvelle Clio · t. 2 : Genèse d'un empire (264-27 av. J.-C.) · 502 p.
ISBN 978-2130439134
Read online
Book
André Piganiol
La conquête romaine
Paris : Presses universitaires de France, 1995 · coll. Dito · 704 p.
ISBN 978-2130470656DOI 10.3917/puf.piga.1995.01
Read online
Chapter
Éric Teyssier
Rome et Carthage, l'éléphant face à la baleine : Italie du Sud, 264 av. J.-C.
dans Les secrets de la Rome antique
Paris : Éditions Perrin, 2015 · coll. Synthèses Historiques · p. 55-80
ISBN 978-2262051297
Read online
Article
Carthage, la cité qui fit trembler Rome
Les Cahiers de Science et Vie, n° 104, avril-mai 2008
ISSN 1157-4887

Carthage

Syntheses and studies devoted to the Punic city.

Book
Maria Giulia Amadasi Guzzo
Carthage
Paris : Presses universitaires de France, 2007 · coll. Que sais-je ? · 127 p.
ISBN 978-2130539629
Book
Azedine Beschaouch
La légende de Carthage
Paris : Éditions Gallimard, 1993 · coll. Découvertes Gallimard · 176 p.
ISBN 978-2070532124
Book
Gilbert Charles-Picard, Colette Picard
La Vie quotidienne à Carthage au temps d'Hannibal
Paris : Hachette, 1958
Book
François Decret
Carthage ou l'empire de la mer
Paris : Éditions du Seuil, 1977 · coll. Points Histoire · 251 p.
ISBN 978-2020047128
Book
Jean-Gabriel Demerliac, Jean Meirat
Hannon ou l'empire punique
Paris : Les Belles Lettres, 1983 · 359 p.
ISBN 978-2251334172
Book
Hédi Dridi
Carthage et le monde punique
Paris : Les Belles Lettres, 2006 · 287 p.
ISBN 978-2251410333
Book
Abdelmajid Ennabli, Jacques Pérez
Carthage retrouvée
Paris : Herscher, 1995 · 151 p.
ISBN 978-9973190550
Book
M'hamed Hassine Fantar
Carthage, approche d'une civilisation
Tunis : Alif, 1993 · 762 p.
ISBN 978-2271050281
Book
M'hamed Hassine Fantar
Carthage la cité punique
Tunis : Alif, 2007
Article
M'hamed Hassine Fantar, Moez Achour, Lorenzo Nigro, Federico Cappella
Carthage entre mémoire funéraire et développement urbain : résultats préliminaires de la cinquième campagne de fouilles, étude et valorisation (2025) à Carthage par la mission tuniso-italienne INP-Sapienza
Vicino Oriente, vol. XXX, 2025, p. 95–145
ISSN 2724-587XDOI 10.53131/VO2724-587X2025_6
Book
Madeleine Hours-Miédan
Carthage
Paris : Presses universitaires de France, 1982 · 126 p.
ISBN 978-2130374893
Read online
Book
Serge Lancel
Carthage
Paris : Fayard, 1992 · 643 p.
ISBN 978-9973194206
Book
Yann Le Bohec
Histoire militaire des guerres puniques : 264-146
Monaco : Éditions du Rocher, 2003 · 337 p.
ISBN 978-2268021478
Book
Colette Picard
Carthage
Paris : Les Belles Lettres, 1951
Chapter
Maurice Sznycer
Carthage et la civilisation punique
dans Rome et la conquête du monde méditerranéen (Claude Nicolet (dir.))
Paris : Presses universitaires de France, 1978 · t. 2 : Genèse d'un empire · p. 545–593
Book
Salah-Eddine Tlatli
La Carthage punique : étude urbaine, la ville, ses fonctions, son rayonnement
Paris : Adrien Maisonneuve, 1978 · 302 p.

Art and exhibition catalogues

Exhibition catalogues and books on Phoenician and Punic art.

Book
M'hamed Hassine Fantar
De Carthage à Kairouan : 2000 ans d'art et d'histoire en Tunisie, Musée du Petit Palais de la Ville de Paris, 20 octobre 1982-27 février 1983
Paris : Association française d'action artistique, 1982 · 280 p.
ISBN 978-2865450152
Book
Élisabeth Fontan, Hélène Le Meaux (dir.)
La Méditerranée des Phéniciens : de Tyr à Carthage
Paris : Somogy, 2007 · 407 p.
ISBN 978-2757201305
Book
Sabatino Moscati, Pierre Amiet
Les Phéniciens
Paris : Le Chemin vert, 1989 · 590 p.
ISBN 978-2714423788
Book
André Parrot, Maurice H. Chéhab, Sabatino Moscati
Les Phéniciens
Paris : Éditions Gallimard, 2007 · coll. L'Univers des formes · 348 p.
ISBN 978-2070118977
Book
Collectif
Carthage : l'histoire, sa trace et son écho
Paris : Paris Musées, 1995 · 319 p.
ISBN 978-2879001968
Article
Collectif
La Méditerranée des Phéniciens
Connaissance des arts, n° 344, octobre 2007
ISSN 0293-9274

Archaeology

Excavations, sites and conservation: Carthage, Kerkouane and ancient Tunisia.

Book
Pierre Cintas
Manuel d'archéologie punique : histoire et archéologie comparées
Paris : Picard, 1970-1976 · 928 p.
Book
Abdelmajid Ennabli
Pour sauver Carthage : exploration et conservation de la cité punique, romaine et byzantine
Paris/Tunis : Unesco/Institut national d'archéologie et d'art, 1992 · 251 p.
ISBN 978-9232027825
Book
Abdelmajid Ennabli, Alain Rebourg, Helmuth Nils Loose
Carthage : le site archéologique
Tunis : Cérès, 1993 · 91 p.
ISBN 978-9973700834
Book
M'hamed Hassine Fantar
Kerkouane : cité punique au pays berbère de Tamezrat, VIe-IIIe siècle avant J.-C.
Tunis : Alif, 2005 · 125 p.
ISBN 978-9973221209
Book
Jean-Paul Morel (dir.)
La Tunisie, carrefour du monde antique
Dijon : Éditions Faton, 1995 · 135 p.
ISBN 978-2878440201
Book
Hédi Slim, Nicolas Fauqué
La Tunisie antique : de Hannibal à saint Augustin
Paris : Mengès, 2001 · 259 p.
ISBN 978-2856204214
Read online
Article
Collectif
Carthage, sa naissance, sa grandeur
Archéologie vivante, vol. 1, n° 2, 1968-1969

Wikipedia articles

This site also draws on the French Wikipedia articles "Carthage" and "Civilisation carthaginoise" (Carthaginian civilisation), whose content, published under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, has been rewritten. The bibliographies above come from them.

CC BY-SA 4.0 licence

History of the victors

Why the ancient sources on Carthage are almost all Roman or Greek.

Timeline

From foundation to fall, the key dates of Carthage.