<P> Greek cities contested with Carthage for the Western Mediterranean culminating in the Sicilian Wars and the Pyrrhic War over Sicily, while the Romans fought three wars against Carthage, known as the Punic Wars . </P> <P> The Carthaginian republic was one of the longest - lived and largest states in the ancient Mediterranean . Reports relay several wars with Syracuse and finally, Rome, which eventually resulted in the defeat and destruction of Carthage in the Third Punic War . The Carthaginians were Phoenician settlers originating in the Mediterranean coast of the Near East . They spoke Canaanite, a Semitic language, and followed a local variety of the ancient Canaanite religion . </P> <P> The fall of Carthage came at the end of the Third Punic War in 146 BC at the Battle of Carthage . Despite initial devastating Roman naval losses and Rome's recovery from the brink of defeat after the terror of a 15 - year occupation of much of Italy by Hannibal, the end of the series of wars resulted in the end of Carthaginian power and the complete destruction of the city by Scipio Aemilianus . The Romans pulled the Phoenician warships out into the harbor and burned them before the city, and went from house to house, capturing and enslaving the people . About 50,000 Carthaginians were sold into slavery . The city was set ablaze and razed to the ground, leaving only ruins and rubble . After the fall of Carthage, Rome annexed the majority of the Carthaginian colonies, including other North African locations such as Volubilis, Lixus, Chellah, and Mogador . </P> <P> The legend that the city was sown with salt remains widely accepted despite a lack of evidence among ancient historical accounts; According to R.T. Ridley, the earliest such claim is attributable to B.L. Hallward's chapter in Cambridge Ancient History, published in 1930 . Ridley contended that Hallward's claim may have gained traction due to historical evidence of other salted - earth instances such as Abimelech's salting of Shechem in Judges 9: 45 . B.H. Warmington admitted he had repeated Hallward's error, but posited that the legend precedes 1930 and inspired repetitions of the practice . He also suggested that it is useful to understand how subsequent historical narratives have been framed and that the symbolic value of the legend is so great and enduring that it mitigates a deficiency of concrete evidence . </P>

Where was carthage located a. sicily c. greece b. spain d. north africa
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