alternatehistory.com

Carthage, as a city, was founded by Tyrian traders sometime around 800 BC, as both a colony and an important stop along the Tyrrhenian and the Hispano-Levatine trade route. The later trade route, primarily based on silver from Tartessus and other parts of Iberia being shipped back to Phoenicia to satisfy the tribute of the militaristic Assyrians later collapsed as silver became cheaper, and the outside hostile forces proceeded to invade and destroy the Phoenician cities sometime during the 7th century BC. This breakdown of trade damaged many Phoenician colonies in Africa, Spain and the Mediterranean Islands, but Carthage survives due to it's investment in the Tyrrhenian trade with Gaul and Italy.

What if, however, Carthage was more distant from this Tyrrhenian trade and collapsed with the trade from Iberia to Phoenicia, due to more powerful trade rivals in the region, preventing it from becoming a Mediterranean superpower in the centuries to come?
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