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After the victory of Hannibal the Great at the siege and battle of Rome, he left Italy under the command of Hasdrubal and returned to Carthage in triumph, venerated like a god by the people. His enormous popularity prompted the Oligarchy to attempt to assassinate him. The attempt failed, and Hannibal used this as an excuse to disband the institution and declare himself absolute ruler of the Punic Empire.
The city of Rome had been reduced to rubble after the end of the war. Capua replaced it as the principle Italian city, the Romans were killed, enslaved and their remnants thoroughly Punicized. The greek cities in the south regained stature and cities that had supported Hannibal were treated well. Carthage was thence in control of the entire Italian peninsula to the Alps (The Veneti had swore total allegiance to him after the victory). Hannibal then conquered the southern Gallic tribes to connect the territory to Spain. Carthaginian naval forces conquered Dalmatia.
Carthage then set her sights eastwards, and led by Hannibal himself once more, conquered from Cyrene to Ptolemaic Egypt and into Judea in a brilliant series of campaigns. Hannibal then expands and consolidates his holdings in North Africa, from Mauritania to Numidia and Tripolitania.
Hannibal reforms the army to include more Punic citizens, and resurrects the sacred band as a heavy infantry force.
After the death of Hannibal, his only son, Hamilcar II (Hannibal retroactively placed his father as the first emperor), succeeds him. Hamilcar was thoroughly groomed by Hannibal in the arts of war and statesmanship, and accompanied his father on campaign in Egypt. He proves to be an excellent ruler as well, but more inclined to statesmanship than war. Under his rule agriculture in north Africa is encouraged and subsidized, and the Punic population explodes. He encourages colonization of conquered areas . The navy is greatly expanded during this time, and advancements in naval technology are made. Punic navigators reach the Congo River by 160 BC and set up colonies all along the coast from Gambia to Nigeria. Eventually, the entire Niger basin is conquered and colonized.
Hamilcar II also leads the army on a campaign to conquer Macedon. His army of Punic heavy infantry and Numidian-Punic cavalry totally outmatches Macedon’s antiquated phalanxes and all of Greece is either conquered or vassalized by 160 BC.
Carthage’s rapid expansion continues in the next decades into Asia with the conquest of Judea and Anatolia, and Punic forces help to dislodge the Parthians from Persia as a rebel army under the leadership of Gotarzes founds a new native dynasty. However, civil war among Gotarzes’ grandsons soon causes the empire to collapse, and three successor states emerge. Punic armies snatch up Mesopotamia and much of western Persia during this chaos, and vassalize the remnant Dahae Empire in the north.
By 1 AD Punic navigators round the Cape of Good Hope and reach India, establishing colonies all along the coast and in Madagascar. Carthage grows fabulously wealthy dominating the trade with India and China, and imperial coffers pay for massive armies, further conquest, and great city developments.
A Punic delegation visits the Chinese court in 10 AD and meets Wang Mang. After a return trip later on, the delegation chooses to remain in Chang’an and they become prominent court advisors. Their financial expertise, the opening of trade between the Punic and Chinese Empires, and their effect on Wang’s perception of the importance of merchants helps the Xin to balance a well-oiled economy. This allows Wang Mang to better deal with the change in the Yellow River’s course, lending aid the farmers affected. Contact with Carthage also increases his understanding of foreign relations. Support for his reign grows and the Xin dynasty consolidates itself.
In India, Carthage sets up trading colonies all along the coast, and uses its military might to sway wars to and fro. Punic forces help the Satavahanas Empire to drive out the Saka and conquer most of north and west India. The Ay Kingdom conquers the far south with Punic help.
In 60 AD, emperor Hannibal III orders a massive invasion of the Indus River. The Pahlava kingdom is driven upstream by a series of defeats. It isn’t subdued completely, but the Poeni hold the wealthiest parts of the river and now have a virtual monopoly on the Indian Ocean trade.
In 80 AD, a second capital, called “Great City” in Punic, is built near Tyre in Phoenicia, the Punic ancestral homeland. This capital is used to administer the eastern half of the empire, while Carthage administered the western half. The empire was not split in two as OTL Rome, but was one empire with two capitals.
The empire’s steady expansion took it into Arabia, conquering the peninsula’s cities and subjecting the Bedouins, who were employed to ferry trade goods across the peninsula in a formalized version of the ad hoc routes of older times.
The empire established friendly relations with the Iazyges and Dacians, aiding them in local wars and guaranteeing the Danube and Dalmatia protection from raids.
Carthage’s massive wealth allowed the construction of a Suez canal in 120 AD, a huge system of highways connecting every corner of the empire, and, in 130 AD, a gigantic system of walls and defensive fortifications along contested frontiers.
The mercantile nature, dynamic adaptability, massive trade wealth, steady and smooth colonization movements, and organic mode of expansion allowed Carthage greater conquest and longevity than the Romans OTL.
Cyan: the three successor states of the Gotarzid Persian Empire that drove out the Parthians with the help of the Poeni but later collapsed into civil war.
Gold: Dahae Empire. A state formed by the remnants of the Parthians, based in the Aral Sea basin, which has conquered to the Caspian coast and regained some power, but is still a vassal of the Poeni.
Purple: Satavahanas Empire. With help of Poeni forces, and under osmotic influence of Poeni culture, this state has managed to drive out the Saka and conquer most of north and central India.
Green: Ay Kingdom. Poeni Naval forces and marines aided this state in its conquest southernmost India. Poeni trading colonies line the coast.
Grey: Kalinga. Enemies of Carthage, Ay, and Satavahanas, this state’s only source of trade income is received from East Asia. As a result, its culture is becoming increasingly easternized, and the dynasty largely adopts the character of the Khmer and Champa.
Magenta: Pahlava Kingdom. Greatly reduced after a massive Poeni invasion of the Indus river, this state is a bitter enemy of Carthage and a massive system of fortifications is needed to keep them at bay.
Navy: Xin Dynasty of China. After Punic influence, Wang Mang improved his skills as a statesman and economic mind. His dynasty consolidated rule in China, and expanded Chinese control into Tibet. Xin has friendly and enormously profitable trade relations with Carthage.
Red: Silurian Kingdom. Carthage never cared much for the north of Europe, but sent forces to Britannia to help this kingdom gain hegemony over the British Isles to guarantee Poeni access to Cornish tin.
Lavender: Dacia. a friendly trading partner and ally of Carthage, along with the Iagyges (Aqua).
Punic Empire at its height under emperor Hannibal VII in 200 AD: