Famous Latin phrase Carthago delenda est! known to every diligent student. As is known from the course of ancient history, the Roman commander and statesman Cato the Elder ended all his speeches in the Senate with her. The historian Guy Velley Paterculus several centuries later commented on this eternal motto: "Rome, having already conquered the whole world, could not be safe until Carthage was destroyed."
Carthage was indeed the bitterest enemy of Rome in the 4th – 2nd centuries BC. This giant city-state with almost a million inhabitants, lying on the African coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near modern Tunisia, was founded by the Phoenicians and was the capital of a trading empire that challenged Rome. Carthage maintained its monopoly on trade with the help of a large navy and a powerful mercenary army. But despite the fact that the confrontation was based on the same principles as now, that is, the struggle for resources and sales markets, the antagonism between the largest empires of the Ancient World was exacerbated by the difference in beliefs and, as it is fashionable to say now, the mentality of the two nations. The Roman Empire of the pre-Christian period was distinguished by considerable religious tolerance and allowed various religions to coexist peacefully. But,Despite this and the general cruelty of morals in those days, the ancient authors more than once spoke with hatred and curses about how children were executed in Carthage, trying to honor their bloodthirsty gods.
So what do we learn from the ancient chroniclers about this dark side of life in Carthaginian society?
The fact is that Carthage inherited the ancient customs of the Phoenicians, long obsolete in the Middle East. And these customs were gloomy. They still thrill everyone who is interested in ancient history. In one of the passages attributed to Sanhunyaton, the Phoenician historian of the XII-XI centuries BC. e., it is said that "during the great disasters that occurred either from wars or from droughts or pestilences, the Phoenicians sacrificed one of the most dear people." The sacrifice of a son, especially the firstborn, was considered a feat of piety, performed in the name of God and, as a rule, for the good of the native city. Children from noble families were often donated; it was the duty of those who ruled the city to give up what was most dear, in order to win the favor of the people. In such cases, the location of the deity was certainly considered secure. The Phoenicians believedthat the souls of murdered children rise directly to God and henceforth defend their homeland and family. Subsequently, in Carthage, noble people began to buy other people's children, giving them to the priests under the guise of their own.
For the Romans of ancient times, murder was not something out of the ordinary. Dozens and hundreds of gladiators killed each other in circus arenas to amuse the audience. Intrigue, conspiracy and murder were common practices in imperial Rome. And yet the Carthaginian practice of sacrifices caused disgust and horror among both plebeians and patricians.
The supreme deity of the Phoenicians and their descendants was Baal (Baal) - the thunderer, the god of fertility, waters, war, sky, sun and others. He was also worshiped in Assyria, Babylon, the Old Kingdom of Israel, Judea, Canaan and Syria. It was to him that bloody sacrifices were brought. Of course, human sacrifice was common among many ancient peoples, but among the religious fanatics of Carthage, the ritual murder of an innocent child turned into a disgusting sadistic act. The dark beginning of primitive magic in the Punic (Carthaginian) religion was combined with the sophisticated cruelty of an aging civilization.
In the central square of Carthage stood a huge hollow copper idol with the head of a bull - the totem animal of Baal. A fire was lit under it. As the historian of the 1st century BC testifies. e. Diodorus of Siculus, the children chosen for the sacrifice, were brought to the red-hot statue and placed on its brass hands, on which they slid down into the fire.
It was forbidden to cry during the sacrifice. It was believed that any tear, any sigh detract from the value of the sacrifice. Looking at the death of their children, their parents should have rejoiced, donning bright, elegant clothes. According to some historians, the gods allegedly demanded it. Others, such as Justin, who lived in the II century, were sure that "by such atrocities the Carthaginians averted the gods from themselves."
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Known in the Christian religion, Beelzebub - one of the evil spirits, the devil's henchman, often identified with him - is none other than Baal, or rather, one of the personifications of this ancient deity. Baal Zevuv means "lord of the flies" or "lord of things flying."
“As soon as they found themselves at the edge of the hole, the victims disappeared like drops of water on a hot metal, and white smoke rose among the crimson flames, - this is how, using ancient sources, Gustave Flaubert described the execution in honor of the monstrous deity in his novel Salammbeau. - It lasted a long time, infinitely long, until the evening. The inner walls of the compartments turned red, burning meat became visible. It even seemed to some that they could distinguish hair, individual limbs, the whole body of the victims."
Both the Romans and Greeks of ancient times, and the Europeans of the 19th century did not understand and did not accept such a harsh custom. Perhaps only the twentieth century could endure with such gods - the century of mass executions, the death of millions of people in wars, gas chambers, concentration camp furnaces …
Rome fought against Carthage three times, until what Cato dreamed of came true. The Roman troops finally approached the walls of Carthage.
And the disaster began. The fire moved on the city. It flew from floor to floor, and the intense heat burned people hiding under the roofs. Some cursed the gods, some enemies, but their voices died out when a new building, burned to the ground, fell, blocking the street and killing those who fled. The wounded were still shouting from under the stones, but no one heard them.
Fighting raged on the roofs of other houses. Spears, arrows and stones were flying. People fell one after another. If horsemen appeared in the opening of the street, they killed the fleeing with their swords, and the horses smashed the heads of the wounded with their hoofs.
And then the collectors came out of their hiding places and with hooks dragged both the dead and the still alive into the pit. People filled the ditches like rubbish.
Trumpets sounded, inspiring the victors and sending great fear to the dying city. The centurions shouted loudly, summoning the warriors, the troops moved quickly, confident of victory. All were possessed by madness and ferocity.
Some of the residents locked themselves in the temple of Eshmun and burned alive in it. After six days of street fighting, about 50,000 starved defenders of Carthage surrendered to the mercy of the Roman soldiers. Some were executed, others were sold into slavery.
So in 146 BC. e. Carthage fell. The third Punic War was ending. Now it was only possible to talk about him in the past tense. The city disappeared, was wiped off the face of the earth. Its territory was plowed up and covered with salt so that the grass would not grow there either. They destroyed all the monuments of art, handwritten books, architectural structures so that nothing would remind descendants of the despicable Punas.
However, after a hundred years the city began to revive, but already under Roman rule. In its place, Roman temples and public buildings were now erected, a circus for 60 thousand spectators, a theater, an amphitheater, huge thermae (baths) and a 132-kilometer aqueduct were built. In Roman times, Carthage had about 300,000 inhabitants and rivaled Alexandria in wealth and enlightenment.
In 439, it was captured and plundered by vandals, a century later submitted to the Byzantine commander Belisarius and became the residence of the Constantinople governor. And at the very end of the 7th century, Muslim Arabs conquered almost all of North Africa with inconceivable speed. In 698, the city was taken by the Arabs, and its stones served as material for the construction of the city of Tunis. In the following centuries, the marble and granite that once adorned the Roman city were removed from the country. According to some accounts, they were used to build cathedrals in Genoa, Pisa, and Canterbury Cathedral in Britain. The city with a thousand-year history, which terrified the entire ancient world, was again wiped off the face of the earth and never revived.