Barbarians Rising Critique and the Lost Representation of Ancient North African General Hannibal By: Joshua Roberts Background on Carthage and Punic Wars The Carthaginians were descendants of Northwest Africa’s Meshwesh civilization (the eventual etymological origin for “Moorish” and possibly have an origin to the Hausa tribe that currently populates much of Central Sahara) and the Kanannite refugees escaping the Assyrian expansion in the Mesopotamia region. Carthage (Khart-Haddans) was founded by the Phoenicians around 814 B.C but gained its independence in 650 B.C. and spreading its influence all throughout Ancient North Africa. Carthage was an ancient metropolis and melting pot with a diverse population of people (right next to Mediterranean sea). With indigenous north African tribes and mediterranean cultures coming together to form one culture. It is important to realize that the Phoneticians were a mixed population due to being go heavily involved in the Mediterranean sea. You could view these people as more of a culture than a homogenous people. In 230 B.C, Hamilcar Barca (father of Hannibal) lead an unauthorized campaign into Spain for power and glory. Helping the Carthaginian empire expand, Hamilcar was able to amass a lot of wealth due to these campaigns. With this wealth he was allowed to buy most of Carthaginian support from their Senate. Hamilcar accumulated so much wealth that the Barca family became