포에니 전쟁: 카르타고 문명의 몰락

Abstract

This paper studied on the Carthaginian Empire and its civilization through the Punic wars. While Rome controlled a tight󰠏knit Italian confederacy based on a complex system of alliances, Carthaginian maritime empire was sprawled out. Carthaginians showed their ability in devising mixed constitution seeking checks and balances among oligarchic rulers and aristocrats, but never pursued a policy of opening civil rights to the subjects, or embracing them. The bond between empire and its subjects was loose, still more they harbored strong hostility toward Carthaginians due to the heavy burden of tribute. Such a system of empire proved to be a vulnerable point during the second Punic war. Although ancient historians and modern scholars have focused exclusively on the battles and strategy of Hannibal regarding the second Punic war, it was the Carthaginian government that set the aims of war and took responsibility for conducting war. In the first phase Carthage had enough war materials which derived from Hispanic mines, agricultural resources of Northern Africa, tribute, and trade income. As Hannibal’s dazzling victories could not force the Romans to suggest peace talks, Carthago was losing ground in the prolonged war. When Rome made conquer Hispania, the war economy of Carthage finally collapsed. The resources which Carthage could mobilize, compared with those of Rome, were far from sufficient owing to the weakness inherent in the system of empire. As the result of war was to be settled in Northern Africa, Masinissa, the king of Numidia was become a Roman ally, and Libyan tribes watched for an opportunity to cast off the Carthaginian yoke. After the battle of Zama, Carthago lost its empire and became a weak state which was not able to wage war inside Africa without permission of Rome. Although Carthago limited to the northwestern part of present day Tunisia never constituted a threat to the Roman Empire, the Romans aiming at destroying old enemy devastated it exhaustively in 146 B.C. The third Punic war corresponded to a siege of Carthago by the Roman army. The territory of Carthago became provincia Africa, and Carthago itself was destroyed systematically. However the story that Scipio Aemilianus had its ground plowed and sprinkled salt over it, proved to be a myth. Greek and Roman writers got used to make an ethnic streotypes against Carthaginians, and criticized their civilization severely. Such a phenamena became noticeable after the fall of Carthago.