Carthage's Greek Side Revealed

The Carthaginians were a people of Semitic or Middle Eastern background. Carthage was settled by these Phoenician traders around 800 B.C. Carthage was their capitol and it was located along the coast of North Western Africa. Within several hundred centuries the Carthaginians were well established traders. It was the mastery of trade and not war that permitted them great success in dominating the western Mediterranean sea basin. By comparison the Carthaginians were more cosmopolitan than than their Roman counterparts. By the time of the Successor period (circa 300 B.C. to 45 B.C.) the Carthaginians were the carriers of eastern culture and goods to the west. The Carthaginians might have lacked the morality of the Romans but they were very adaptable, even hiring foreigners to make up armies units and generals to lead their armies and navy.

The people of Carthage had a king and an assembly. The people were a blend of the Punic settlers and the local natives. Things were really run by an oligarchy or a group of politically powerful families. In general Carthaginian society was very open in fact I would call Carthaginian society elastic unlike the Romans.

In relation to the army, things were equally elastic and almost ragged. Around a regiment of citizen foot and horse the Carthaginian army built up and relied on native subjects from their Spanish, Libyan and African dependencies as well as eastern mercenaries. I take the position that while the Carthaginian army of this time, when Hannibal started moving below the Po river valley, might not have been a pike army but it was certainly organized along what I call the Macedonian or Successor System. The main difference is in what the men carry for weapons-either long spear or pike. I organize them along the lines of the Successor system by spiera and chiliarch. Players can decide for themselves whether these carried the pike or the long spear.

The total expeditionary force Hannnibal entered Italy with numbered 34,100 men of both horse and foot. The list is made in the form of unit markers and is intended to be printed or copied. Just save/download to your hard drive or open image and print.