On Sardinia important changes took place in the seventh and sixth century BC following change in the eastern Mediterranean and the rise of the most important colony of Tyrus: Carthage. These changes took the form of a wave of secondary colonization resulting in increased control of the territories surrounding the Phoenician cities. The Sardinian Phoenicians themselves already were gaining more control over the surrounding Sardic lands ¹. The result of these changes was that at the end of the sixth century BC Sardinia had become Punic. Punic is a roman word derived from the Greek Phoinike that indicated the Phoenicians.

Carthage versus Sardinia

The Phoenician cities in the Lebanon became increasingly isolated from the west. This had mainly three causes. The first was the aggressive Assyrian policy aimed at domination of the entire Middle-East and Egypt and this seriously threatened the independence of the Phoenician city states. The second cause was the inflation of the price of silver because of the large quantities of this metal brought to the east by Tyrus from Spain. With silver giving a smaller return, investing in long distance travelling was less interesting for the merchants. The third cause was the colonization by the Greeks of Southern-Italy and Sicily, thereby gaining control over the seas and straits, which made travelling to the west more difficult for the Phoenicians to find friendly harbors ².

The Phoenician settlement of Motya
(Sicily)

The Phocaeans, founders of Massalia (Marseille) and Alalia (Corsica) in earlier times had been driven out of the Asia by the Persians. After drifting around for some time they decided to settle on Corsica in the existing colony of Alalia. They took to piracy in the Tyrrhenian sea and attacked etruscan and punic (and of course Sardinian) ships. Carthaginians and Etruscans decided to attack the Phocaeans together to make an end to the piracy and so the first sea battle recorded in history took place off the coast of Corsica and Sardinia, known as the battle of the Sardinia Sea. The Phocaeans claimed the victory but had to abandon Alalia and Corsica. They moved to Velia on the Souther-Italian coast (still known as an archeological site today) ⁵.

In the treaty between Rome and Carthage of 509 BC it is mentioned that the Romans could only set foot on Sardinia or trade on Sardinian soil under punic supervision. Historians and archaeologists see this as proof that Sardinia was finally brought under Carthaginian rule ⁶. Sardinia would remain under Punic rule until 238 BC when the island was taken over by the Romans. Only once is mentioned a rising against Punic rule in 368 BC ⁷ .

Architecture and Urbanization

The punic temple of Antas
was rebuilt by the Romans

Under Punic rule urbanization continued in the Phoenician cities of Sardinia. Walls as a protection against raids from inland Sardic barbarians were erected or reinforced and temples in stone were built ⁸. Because Carthage did not succeed in succumbing the entire island they had to control the sardic tribes by creating a fortification system to protect the main cities on the coast. They also tried to bind the local peoples to them by building the temple of Antas in the mining district of Iglesias, dedicating it to the main Sardic god, Sid (also known as Sardus Pater by the romans) ⁹.

A punic gravechamber still in
use in the nineteenth century AD

The tophet remained an important sanctuary in punic times and more intensely used. Many steles have been deposited in punic times in the sanctuary ¹⁰. The Punic gods were not very different to the Phoenician gods; the main goddess being Tanit (Astarte), Melqart (Baal) and Eshmun. Also mainly punic are the gravechambers as can be seen in Sulcis (Sant'Antioco) where literally an extended maze of catacombs has been created by the chambers and some have been in use until our days as housing for the poor ¹¹. Near Tharros on the promontory of Capo San Marco there are similar gravechambers, now fallen apart under the working of time and weather.

The Sardinian economy in punic times

According to roman sources the landowners were forced to grow only cereals under Carthaginian rule and that it was forbidden to plant grapes and olive trees or fruit trees. Possibly this has been a propagandistic element against Carthage and the Punics. It is true that Sardinia was important for the grain supplies of Carthage as it would be in later days for Rome ¹². Important was the production of jewelry with the use of gold, silver, coral and jasper from the town of Tharros. Jewelry has been found in the western mediterranean that could be retraced to the workshops on Sardinia. Fortunately some have been preserved from the grave chambers that have been emptied by looters and treasure hunters, and are now in museums like the British Museum in London ¹³.

Notes

¹ Barreca 1974, p.46; Sheratt and Sheratt 1993, p. 370-371
² Markoe 2000, p.140-143 ; Bunnens 1983, p. 191 ; Frankenstein 1979, p.291 ; Bondì 2000, p. 57 e.v.
³ Barreca 1974, p. 57; Moscati 1985, p. 147 ; Bondì 2000, p. 63-65
⁴ Barreca 1974, p. 58
⁵ Barreca 1974, p. 63; Moscati 1985, p. 148, Morel 2000, p. 21-25; Gras 2000, p.37-43; Colonna 2000, p. 47-53
⁶ Barreca 1974, p. 64 ; Moscati 1985, p. 148 ; Fantar 2000, p. 84
⁷ Barreca 1974, p. 69-70 ; Moscati 1985, p. 150
⁸ Barreca 1974, p. 142; Moscati 1985, p. 149
⁹ Barreca 1974, p. 142 en 244 e.v.; Moscati 1985, p. 149
¹⁰ Barreca 1974, p. 232; Moscati 1985, p. 161; Tronchetti 1995, p. 3-11
¹¹ Moscati 1985, p. 162-163
¹² Moscati 1985, p. 251
¹³ Moscati 1985, p. 183

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