Spain being the void makes you wonder about European history if they’d just sawed off the Iberian peninsula, BugsBunnyFlorida.gif style, circa 1600. It’d be a quieter place for sure.
After the First Punic War, when Carthaginians lost control of their part of Sicily, Hamilcar Barca returned to Carthage with his son Hannibal. He wanted to plan revenge, but the Carthaginian senate was lukewarm to the idea. He asked them for permission to leave to the parts of the Northern Mediterranean still controlled by Carthage so he could recrute indigenous troop and have free reign to prepare a force that could prevent further Roman extension, and maybe eventually get Sicily back.
They accepted, but aside from the void in the western Mediterranean, the only Carthaginian territories left in this sea were Sardinia and Corsica. This means the only territories Hamilcar could extend upon without immediate confrontation with the Romans is Gaul.
Southwestern Gaul is difficult to sail to, because of the Pyrenees that give directly into the seas. Landing in central southern Gaul, he is dangerously close to Massalia, the daughter-city of the Greek city Phocea. To avoid them allying with the Romans, Hamilcar has to approach them diplomatically. The Massalians, seeing the growth of Rome as a threat since their conquest of Magna Graecia in southern Italy, agree to an alliance. Through them, Hamilcar starts building a network amongst the Greek city-states, while winning battles against the Gauls to expend his own territory and army. The Greeks don’t all agree to side with Carthage tho: Those of Syracuse, for example, remain allies of Rome, accordingly to their treaty. However, when king Hiero II died, his son Hieronymus embraced a more pro-Carthage position, which shifted the power balance. At this point, Hannibal had taken over from his father. He invaded Italy, and the war lasted years, as Rome Itself was hard to take… But with the number of Gaulic troops rallied to the Carthaginians, and secure supply lines, Hannibal conquers Rome.
They keep expending on both sides of the Mediterraneans, with frontiers that end up looking like those of Rome… However, it is the city of Carthage and it’s surrounding that mostly expend and enrich themselves, and when the Empire starts to decline, North African cities are better equiped to defend themselves. Going into the early middle ages, they no longer control Gaul and have only a sporadic influence over Italy, but are strong enough not to get conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate. Carthage also remains a Holy place, where European worshippers of Baal-Hammon come in pilgrimage.
It has also expended it’s commercial and cultural influence within and across the Sahara. The king of Ghana converted himself to Hammonism instead of Islam.
However, the Arabs did conquer Egypt, leading to a loss of access to the Red Sea and the Asian trade. Carthaginians merchants decide to circumnavigate Africa, but one of them gets a better idea: These old greek texts talk about the Earth being round, right? And it’s even possible to calculate it’s circumference… Wouldn’t it be possible for one to sail west all the way to India?
Spain being the void makes you wonder about European history if they’d just sawed off the Iberian peninsula, BugsBunnyFlorida.gif style, circa 1600. It’d be a quieter place for sure.
After the First Punic War, when Carthaginians lost control of their part of Sicily, Hamilcar Barca returned to Carthage with his son Hannibal. He wanted to plan revenge, but the Carthaginian senate was lukewarm to the idea. He asked them for permission to leave to the parts of the Northern Mediterranean still controlled by Carthage so he could recrute indigenous troop and have free reign to prepare a force that could prevent further Roman extension, and maybe eventually get Sicily back.
They accepted, but aside from the void in the western Mediterranean, the only Carthaginian territories left in this sea were Sardinia and Corsica. This means the only territories Hamilcar could extend upon without immediate confrontation with the Romans is Gaul. Southwestern Gaul is difficult to sail to, because of the Pyrenees that give directly into the seas. Landing in central southern Gaul, he is dangerously close to Massalia, the daughter-city of the Greek city Phocea. To avoid them allying with the Romans, Hamilcar has to approach them diplomatically. The Massalians, seeing the growth of Rome as a threat since their conquest of Magna Graecia in southern Italy, agree to an alliance. Through them, Hamilcar starts building a network amongst the Greek city-states, while winning battles against the Gauls to expend his own territory and army. The Greeks don’t all agree to side with Carthage tho: Those of Syracuse, for example, remain allies of Rome, accordingly to their treaty. However, when king Hiero II died, his son Hieronymus embraced a more pro-Carthage position, which shifted the power balance. At this point, Hannibal had taken over from his father. He invaded Italy, and the war lasted years, as Rome Itself was hard to take… But with the number of Gaulic troops rallied to the Carthaginians, and secure supply lines, Hannibal conquers Rome.
They keep expending on both sides of the Mediterraneans, with frontiers that end up looking like those of Rome… However, it is the city of Carthage and it’s surrounding that mostly expend and enrich themselves, and when the Empire starts to decline, North African cities are better equiped to defend themselves. Going into the early middle ages, they no longer control Gaul and have only a sporadic influence over Italy, but are strong enough not to get conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate. Carthage also remains a Holy place, where European worshippers of Baal-Hammon come in pilgrimage. It has also expended it’s commercial and cultural influence within and across the Sahara. The king of Ghana converted himself to Hammonism instead of Islam. However, the Arabs did conquer Egypt, leading to a loss of access to the Red Sea and the Asian trade. Carthaginians merchants decide to circumnavigate Africa, but one of them gets a better idea: These old greek texts talk about the Earth being round, right? And it’s even possible to calculate it’s circumference… Wouldn’t it be possible for one to sail west all the way to India?
The Moors migrated the strait up to the Iberia/France border to avoid unexpected inquisitions.