[Teaser] How to Raise a Carthaginian Army

Intro

Carthage is famous for fielding vast armies of mercenaries studded with exotic units such as Balearic slingers, Numidian cavalry, and towering war elephants. These are most famous for their clashes with Roman armies during the Punic Wars. Yet, the spectacle of these battles often blinds us to the far more important machinery of war which placed them there in the first place. As the often cited adage goes: “amateurs talk tactics, professionals study logistics.” So, today, let’s explore How to Raise a Carthaginian Army.

Background

The means and methods of Carthaginian war-making are typically understood through the lens of the Punic Wars. But its martial traditions date back many centuries before this era to its founding in the 9th century BC and its roots in the even older near east. For context we shall present an abridged version of this history.

Around the year 814 BC, Phoenicians from the city of Tyre reportedly established the colony of Carthage upon the shores of North Africa at the nexus of important trade routes. The burgeoning city was likely ruled by an appointed governor who was assisted in his task by the nobility. Such men held sway over the population and would have called out a levy of citizens when the need arose to take part in military action. These forces would have been rather similar to their peers and thus were somewhat unremarkable. Indeed, what few records we have regarding this period hint that Carthage was but a minor power dominated by the neighboring Libyans and other Phoenician cities.

Within a century, however, it reached a population of 30,000 people with a bustling economy, rapid city development, and a new set of walls. This trend would accelerate in the years that followed when Tyre began to decline, leaving a power vacuum for Carthage to fill in the geopolitics of the west. This began locally at first as the colony was able to reform itself into an Oligarchic Republic and begin to assert itself over its neighbors.

During this period more robust methods of military organization were developed. A new leadership structure was adopted in keeping with the constitutional reforms while the armed forces themselves were expanded as the wealth and size of the city-state grew. Records from this period indicate that they began to deploy a mixed force of infantry, cavalry, and chariots which still featured Punic citizens. As Carthage came to expand across North Africa and the islands of the Mediterranean, however, it would leverage these new subjects for military purposes. Often this was done by way of a treaty which required the commitment of men, materials, and money in times of war. Over the generations this practice was expanded to the point that the majority of Carthaginian armies were composed of such auxiliaries. Yet during the Sicilian wars of the 6th and 5th centuries BC we still see the deployment of core Carthaginian units such as the Sacred Band. However when disaster struck and these were lost in large numbers, it was said that the African city now vowed to never risk its precious citizenry again. Thus, Carthage once more evolved its armed forces.

In this new model, the citizen infantryman began to be phased out in favor of auxiliaries, allies, and mercenaries funded by the deep Carthaginian coffers. By the 3rd century BC this trend had accelerated to the point that Punic citizens primarily held positions as officers and generals. It is this multifaceted and multi-ethnic force which appears most vividly in the Punic Wars with Rome. But while the history books focus on their battlefield prowess, let us now explore how they were raised and deployed in the first place.