or Phoenician people, as
the ruling race in Carthage was called because of their dark skins, came
from the East. Their earliest homes were in Arabia and Syria. It was
from Tyre and Sidon, great and rich towns when Rome was hardly a
village, that the traders came and settled in North Africa. Their ships,
laden with woven stuffs in silk and cotton, dyed in rich colours, with
perfumes and spices, ivory and gold, ornaments and implements in metal,
sailed all the navigable seas, and brought home from distant places the
goods and raw materials of different lands. At a time when the Romans
had hardly begun to sail the seas at all, their vessels passed out of
the Mediterranean, through the Straits and up to the little-known lands
of the Atlantic. They brought home tin from distant Cornwall, silver
from Spain, iron from Elba, copper from Cyprus. Carthage itself was a
magnificent city and the richest in the world. Its citizens lived in
wealth and idleness on the labour of others. Trade supplied them with
riches: the hardy tribes of Africa, Numidians and Libyans, were their
slaves, manned their fleets and armies. Their navy ruled the seas. They
had settlements in Spain; Corsica and Sardinia were owned by Carthage;
all the west of Sicily was in their hands.

[Illustration: THE DESOLATION OF CARTHAGE TO-DAY]

In Sicily the Carthaginians and the Romans first met. The eastern part
of the island was ruled by King Hiero of Syracuse; but raids on it were
constantly made by the people of Messina. After one of these Hiero
attacked Messina. His force was driven off by the Carthaginians who then
occupied the citadel. The people of the town looked round for assistance
and finally appealed to Rome (265).

Messina was not a Roman city; but the Romans saw that if the
Carthaginians were left in possession they would hold a bridge from
which they could easily cross into Italy. That was the question that had
to be faced when the Senate met to consider whether they should help the
people of Messina. To do so meant war with Carthage at once. Not to do
so might mean war with Carthage later on. The Senate called upon the
people to decide. The people voted for war now.

[Illustration: CARTHAGINIAN PRIESTESS]

No man could then have foreseen how long and severe the war was going to
be. It lasted three and twenty years (264-241); and at the beginning all
the advantage seemed to be on the Carthaginian side. In the first place
Carthage had the str