4. The siege of Carthage, 149-146 BCE
Carthage was a powerful empire in the Mediterranean region and northern Africa, built primarily upon sea power. Wealthy from its extended trading operations, the Carthaginians found natural rivals among the Berber tribes of North Africa, including the Numidians. They also found themselves in conflict with the growing Roman Republic, particularly over control of the settlements in what is Sicily today. A series of wars with the Romans, known as the Punic Wars, was the inevitable result of the rival empires and cultures. The Carthaginians also developed enemies among the tribes and settlements of the northern African regions they dominated, including today’s Libya and Tunisia.
Around 149 BCE Numidian tribes began seizing lands controlled by Carthage. The latter had largely disarmed itself as part of its treaty with the Romans following the 2nd Punic War. After entreating Rome for aid against the Numidians, Carthage again found itself at war with the Republic when the Romans ignored what was in essence a mutual defense arrangement and refused to intervene. The third Punic War found the Carthaginians fighting the Numidians and other Berber tribes as well as the armies of the Roman Republic, the latter led by Manius Manilius. It was, for lack of a better term, a very strange war to modern eyes.