The
Punics (from
Latin punicus meaning
Phoenician) were a group of western
Semitic-speaking peoples originating from
Carthage in
North Africa who traced their origins to a group of
Phoenician and
Cypriot settlers, but also to North African
Berbers. Punics were probably a mix of Berbers and Phoenicians in terms of culture and ancestry. Contrary to other Phoenicians, Punics had a landowning
aristocracy who established a rule of the hinterland in Northern Africa and
trans-Sahara traderoutes. In later times one of these clans conquered a
Hellenistic-inspired empire in
Iberia, possibly having a foothold in western
Gaul. Like other Phoenician people their urbanized culture and economy was strongly linked to the sea. Overseas they established control over coastal regions of the
Maghreb,
Tripolitania,
Sardinia,
Corsica,
Sicily, the
Baleares,
Malta, other small islands of the Western
Mediterranean and possibly along the
Atlantic coast of Iberia, although this is disputed. In the Baleares, Sardinia, Corsica and Sicily they had strong economic and political ties to the independent natives in the hinterland. Their naval presence and trade extended throughout the Mediterranean to the
British Isles, the
Canaries, and
West Africa.
[1] Famous technical achievements of the Punic people of Carthage are the
development of uncolored glass and the use of
lacustrine limestone to improve the purity of molten iron.
Most of the Punic culture was destroyed as a result of the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage, while traces of language, religion and technology could still be found in Africa during the early Christianisation. After the Punic Wars, Romans used the term Punic as an adjective meaning treacherous.
In archaeological and linguistic usage Punic refers to a Hellenistic and later-era culture and dialect from Carthage that had developed into a distinct form from the Phoenician of the mother city of Tyre. Phoenicians also settled in Northwest Africa (the Maghreb) and other areas under Carthaginian rule and their culture and political organisation were a distinct form. Remains of the Punic culture can be found in settlements from the Iberian Peninsula in the West to Cyprus in the East.
The Punics based their religion from their Phoenician forefathers, who worshiped Baal Hammon and Melqart, but merged Phoenician ideas with African deities and some Greek and Egyptian, such as Apollo, Tanit, and Dionysis, with Baal Hammon being clearly the most important Punic deity.[2] Punic culture became a melting pot, since Carthage was a major hub of trade in the known world, but they retained some of their old cultural identities and practices, such as child sacrifice. Children were sacrificed for religious purposes.[3] One of Hannibal Barca's brothers may have been a sacrifice because Hamilcar Barca, his father, had fathered four children but we only have three names Hannibal Barca; Hasdrubal Barca; and Mago Barca[citation needed]. So, it is a possibility - not an unusual one either - since many cultures of the time made human sacrifices, such as the Greeks, Gauls, and Romans, although more often used animals.
