From Cartagena to Ibiza, from Kerkouane to Trasimene — and all the way to Missouri.
14 places shown
Founded by Hasdrubal the Fair under the same name as Carthage: Qart Hadasht, "New City". Capital of the Barcids in Iberia, close to rich silver mines, it was Hannibal's base before Italy. Scipio took it in 209 BC; its Punic wall can be visited today.
Every September: the "Carthaginians and Romans" festival
Hannibal →
An ally of Rome, besieged for eight months by Hannibal (Livy): its fall sparked the Second Punic War.
The Punic Wars →
The Punic colony of Ybšm (Ibossim); the Puig des Molins necropolis holds thousands of its tombs.
A Phoenician trading post, Carthage's ally and its gateway to the Atlantic. Before leaving for Italy, Hannibal went there to fulfil his vows at the temple of Melqart (Livy).
The "White Cape", founded by Hamilcar Barca early in the Barcid conquest of Iberia; it is most often placed at Alicante, though not with certainty.
Hamilcar →
The acropolis of the legend of Elissa and the oxhide. On its slope, the "Hannibal quarter": Punic houses of the 2nd century BC.
The founding →
The only Punic city found intact, abandoned in the 3rd century BC and never rebuilt by Rome: streets, houses and hip baths.
Sanctuary of Baal Hammon and Tanit, used from the 8th century to 146 BC: thousands of urns and stelae whose interpretation is still debated.
Religion →
The circular harbour sheltered the war fleet — 220 ship sheds according to Appian — and the rectangular harbour, trade.
The economy →
Tophet stelae, masks, jewellery and amulets: one of the great Punic collections in the world.
Where Scipio defeated Hannibal. The exact site is still debated, in the north-west of present-day Tunisia.
The Punic Wars →
The scene of the greatest ambush of Antiquity: the consul Flaminius died there with some 15,000 Romans.
Hannibal's double envelopment: according to Polybius, some 70,000 Romans died there.
Tactics →
Founded after the destruction of Motya, the Punic fortress of Sicily held out against the Roman siege until 241. Its museum displays the wreck of a Punic warship found in 1971.
The army →
Approximate borders based on historical syntheses (spheres of influence, not modern borders). Base map: Natural Earth. Ancient sites: customary locations.