What is Carthage?
[[File:Carthage location.png|right|frame|A map of the middle of the [[Mediterranean Sea]]]] [[File:Roman Theater of Carthage (Tunisia).jpg|thumb|Roman theatre, in Carthage]] '''Carthage''' was an ancient [[city-state]] in what is now [[Tunisia]]. It began as a [[Phoenicia]]n [[colony]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=ddl |title=History of Carthage |author= |website= |publisher=HistoryWorld |accessdate=8 January 2016 |archive-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101030758/http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=ddl |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the height of its power, Carthage was the most important power in the [[Mediterranean]] and controlled parts of Spain, as well as [[Sicily]], [[North Africa]], and [[Sardinia]]. The [[Roman Republic]] destroyed Carthage during the [[Punic Wars]] of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. In later centuries, Rome started a [[colony]] in the same place that became an important city of [[Africa Province]]. Eventually, the [[Vandals]] conquered the city and used it to attack [[Rome]]. == Punic Wars == Carthage was a rival in the western [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] for the [[Roman Republic]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roman-empire.net/republic/carthage.html |title=Carthage |author= |website= |publisher=Roman-empire.net |accessdate=8 January 2016 |archive-date=22 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822201345/http://www.roman-empire.net/republic/carthage.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> which wanted to take over the whole region. Carthage was a large obstacle and so in 264 BC, the Romans responded to a plea for help by some rebels in [[Messina]] and landed an army in [[Sicily]]. That started the [[First Punic War]]. The Romans then invaded the Carthaginian areas in Sicily, and the Carthaginian generals could not stop them. Even at sea, the Romans copied the Carthaginian bireme ships, with two oars on each side, and won several major v