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Tunisia: Head of a bearded man in coloured glass, Carthage, 4th-3rd centuries BCE; possibly a pendant or part of a necklace

Tunisia: Head of a bearded man in coloured glass, Carthage, 4th-3rd centuries BCE; possibly a pendant or part of a necklace

Carthage (Latin: Carthago or Karthago, Ancient Greek: Karkhēdōn, Arabic: Qarṭāj‎, Berber: Kartajen, meaning New City) is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC. It is currently a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia, with a population (2004 Census) of 20,715.

The first civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic (a form of the word Phoenician) or Carthaginian. The city of Carthage is located on the eastern side of Lake Tunis across from the centre of Tunis. According to Roman legend it was founded in 814 BC by Phoenician colonists from Tyre under the leadership of Elissa (Queen Dido).

It became a large and rich city and thus a major power in the Mediterranean. The resulting rivalry with Syracuse and Rome was accompanied by several wars with respective invasions of each other's homeland.

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