History of Tunisia: Carthaginians and Romans

In ancient times Tunisia was part of the mighty Carthaginian Empire. Its chief city, Carthage, was reputedly founded in 814BC by Phoenician traders, who had previously established several small trading posts along the North African coast. The site of Carthage, which became the largest and most famous of these Phoenician settlements, is thought to have been slightly to the north-east of the modern city of Tunis. The Carthaginian Empire dominated most of North Africa, as well as parts of the Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia and Sicily. By the third century BC, however, trouble was brewing for the Carthaginians, in the shape of the fast-expanding Roman Empire.