alternatehistory.com

After a long absence, preceded by barely any activity, I arrive once again to the shores of this site.

The concept of "What if Carthage won" is so played with that it's enough to make people sick. However, I think that is because most of the time, we're seeing "what if Carthage won and did something like Rome did." Frankly, I don't think Carthage had the capacity to do so, but I do know that if it won, the annals of history would be changed in drastic ways. I suppose in a way, this is more a "what if Rome lost" scenario than a "what if Carthage won" version, as the Carthaginian Republic itself soon collapses in on itself, brought down by its decentralized and mercenary nature.

The point of divergence in this particular universe starts with a sickness. In the year 222 BC, the consul Fabius Maximus comes down with a rather bad case of cholera, and dies after months of fighting the sickness. The Roman Republic mourns, but remains unaware of the great blow that has been done to them and the sands of time. Instead of the derided cunctator, a man named Marcus Minucius became the dictator of the Roman Republic in the heat of the Second Punic War. This is the gravest mistake the now doomed Republic had ever made.

But before we continue on the unseen death blow to the Republic, we must first look back a generation ago, to Hamilcar Barca. Barca had established himself and his family in Iberia, creating the port called Barcino in the honour of his family. There, he forged alliances and united what he could in the divided Iberian lands, forming a more centralized vassal to the Carthaginian Republic that would serve as one of the greatest suppliers of troops to the Second Punic War's Carthaginian Army. However, the Iberians were loyal to the Barcas, not Carthage, a fact that the shofets were quite aware of and not very pleased about. So were sewn the seeds of discontent among the two halves of Carthage -- the decentralized trade league in the south, and the semi-united kingdom in the North. But for the moment, there were more pressing matters at hand.

Now, before I continue on, I'd like to see feedback on what I've said so far. It's a start, but no where near the size I know it's going to be when I'm done. There will be transcripts, letters, bits of (alternate history) plays, and the like, all describing key events in this world's history.
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