Te struggle to the death between the Carthaginians and the Romans was one of the defining dramas of the ancient world. In an epic series of land and sea battles, both sides came close to victory before the Carthaginians finally succumbed and their capital city, history, and culture were almost utterly erased. Drawing on a wealth of new archaeological research, Richard Miles vividly brings to life this lost empire--from its origins among the Phoenician settlements of Lebanon to its apotheosis as the greatest sea power in the Mediterranean. And at the heart of the history of Carthage lies the extraordinary figure of Hannibal--the scourge of Rome and one of the greatest military leaders, but a man who also unwittingly led his people to catastrophe. --From publisher description.

Copy 2 donated by John M. McCaffrey (See Bookplate).

Prologue : The last days of Carthage -- Introduction : Recovering Carthage -- 1. Feeding the beast : the Phoenicians and the discovery of the West -- 2. New city : the rise of Carthage -- 3. The realm of Heracles-Melqart : Greeks and Carthaginians in the central Mediterranean -- 4. The economy of war : Carthage and Syracuse -- 5. In the shadow of Alexander the Great : Carthage and Agathocles -- 6. Carthage and Rome -- 7. The First Punic War --8. The camp comes to Carthage : the mercenaries' revolt -- 9. Barcid Spain -- 10. Don't look back -- 11. In the footsteps of Heracles -- 12. The road to nowhere -- 13. The last age of heroes -- 14. The desolation of Carthage -- 15. Punic faith.