This blog is being created where I can post all of my history college papers, research, and projects.
I am a senior at Lubbock Christian University.
The following is an article review that I wrote for my Ancient History Course. The article is titled "The First Genocide: Carthage, 146BC." the article was written by Ben Kiernan and publlished in DIOGENES.
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Bobby Montgomery
September 5th 2006
Kiernan, Ben. “The First Genocide: Carthage, 146 BC.” Diogenes 51(no3 2004):27-36
Ben Kiernan wrote this article about the first genocide which took place in 146 BC. In the words of Marcus Porcius Cato “Carthage must be destroyed”. Cato called for the total annihilation of Carthage. Although the majority of Rome agreed with Cato there were still others who wanted to spare Carthage. Take Scipio Nasica the son in law to Scipio Africanus. He often said that ‘Carthage should be allowed to exist’. Even though there was some opposition, the third Punic War was launched just before Cato’s death and this is the war that put an end to Carthage. During the third Punic War, the entire culture of the Carthaginians was destroyed, but not all of the Carthaginians were killed. Some were sold as slaves. Rome was determined to destroy Carthage, its people, and its culture, even after they had surrendered in the 2nd Punic war. This is the reason that Ben Kiernan compares the destruction of Carthage to the 20th century genocide as practiced by the Germans in World War II and has since been outlawed.
Cato wanted the Roman Empire to dominate the world militarily. To Cato, sparing the Carthaginians did not make sense because the Carthaginians were already enemies of Rome. Cato planned to pursue his enemy and to take no prisoners. He killed most all of those that were his enemy. Cato put down many Carthaginian rebellions in Spain, some by force and others through diplomatic negotiations. At age 81 Cato was on a mission into Carthage and he was surprised by the resiliency the Carthaginians showed after they were defeated in the second Punic War and so he had predetermined they had to be destroyed. When he had returned to Rome he let everyone know in the Senate that they must be put down. He did so by using fig leaves and letting them fall on the ground and telling the members of the Senate that the land the leaves came from was only a three day journey by boat from Rome.
The majority of the Senate was farmers and they knew that the fig leaves did not come from Carthage but came from Cato’s garden. The question is then asked if the destruction of Carthage is due to the Carthagenian merchants. Did Rome want to put down the competition in the markets? Cato did not like merchants and thought that they were as bad as murderers or thieves. Cato compares the trader or the merchant with his favorite citizen the farmer in his book entitled ‘De Agri Cultura”. Cato thought that the best soldiers came from the farmers because they are loyal and brave.
Kiernan talked of the wars in his article and he also shared his feelings toward the people, especially his feelings on women. Cato thought that women had to be subdued and kept in check. He thought that women had to be kept in their place and he was not happy with the women being allowed to conduct organized meetings. He did not like to see women have more than a half ounce of gold or wear brightly colored clothing. He also did not like seeing women riding in horse driven buggies. Cato thought that the woman is like an “untamed animal”! He said that sex was a major reason that the slaves acted badly and therefore, he allowed his men slaves to have sex with the women slaves if they paid him. Cato could be considered a hypocrite because after his wife passed away he was frequently visited by a prostitute in private. However, Cato was hard on those that showed public affection such as the Senator who was banished for kissing his own wife in broad daylight. Men were also placed in the spotlight when it came to illicit sexual acts, especially that of homosexuality.
Cato ended his military career in 191 B.C. after Rome was victorious over Greece. He did not want the Roman culture to be jeopardized because of Greece. He believed that the Greek culture of being eccentric threatened the Roman way of life. But Rome was so vast that it seemed impossible to not stray into the Greek culture. After all, Romans were already using terminology from Greek architecture to Greek cosmetics. The majority of Roman historians wrote in Greek but Cato was the first Roman historian to produce a historical work in Latin. His work is now lost but it is said to be a seven volume set telling of the Roman kings, the Punic Wars, and even racial prejudice. That is just to name a few of the topics that these books are talking about. In the days of Cato the Greeks were people that just did not care about the rules. Although he did not like the Greeks in his later period of his life he did, however, learn the Greek language. To Cato, the Greeks and the Carthaginians were both a threat to the Roman way of life. According to some scholars, an attack of Greece was planned but was not ever launched. Any war with Greece would have been a long drawn out war and a difficult war to fight.
Rome ruled in the Mediterranean after the destruction of Carthage but the country was faced with many civil wars. Virgil, a Roman poet, began writing poetry in Latin and wrote of farmers and then finally his imperial epic ‘Aeneid’. ‘Aeneid’ is an irony and it is the telling the story of Dido the founder of Carthage. It talks about how Jupiter subdues the temper of Carthage. It tells of how Carthage was to be destroyed by using centuries of hate between Rome and Carthage while linking them with Troy.
Ben Kiernan wrote of the feelings that Cato held towards Carthage while l through out the article he gave illustrations and examples of Cato’s feelings that correlated with his feelings of Carthage. We got a chance to delve into the feelings that Cato had toward different members of the population of Rome; such as, farmers, merchants and women. We learned of his feelings of public affection and the ways in which his feelings about these different peoples or acts. We even got a chance to learn a little about the Roman literature regarding the Carthaginians and the Punic wars. Cato was a hard man that wanted what he wanted and most of all he wanted to see the annihilation of Carthage and he was able to see that. Cato thought that the spread of Greek culture was a bad thing for Rome and that it must be stopped.
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I am a senior at Lubbock Christian University.
The following is an article review that I wrote for my Ancient History Course. The article is titled "The First Genocide: Carthage, 146BC." the article was written by Ben Kiernan and publlished in DIOGENES.
------------
Bobby Montgomery
September 5th 2006
Kiernan, Ben. “The First Genocide: Carthage, 146 BC.” Diogenes 51(no3 2004):27-36
Ben Kiernan wrote this article about the first genocide which took place in 146 BC. In the words of Marcus Porcius Cato “Carthage must be destroyed”. Cato called for the total annihilation of Carthage. Although the majority of Rome agreed with Cato there were still others who wanted to spare Carthage. Take Scipio Nasica the son in law to Scipio Africanus. He often said that ‘Carthage should be allowed to exist’. Even though there was some opposition, the third Punic War was launched just before Cato’s death and this is the war that put an end to Carthage. During the third Punic War, the entire culture of the Carthaginians was destroyed, but not all of the Carthaginians were killed. Some were sold as slaves. Rome was determined to destroy Carthage, its people, and its culture, even after they had surrendered in the 2nd Punic war. This is the reason that Ben Kiernan compares the destruction of Carthage to the 20th century genocide as practiced by the Germans in World War II and has since been outlawed.
Cato wanted the Roman Empire to dominate the world militarily. To Cato, sparing the Carthaginians did not make sense because the Carthaginians were already enemies of Rome. Cato planned to pursue his enemy and to take no prisoners. He killed most all of those that were his enemy. Cato put down many Carthaginian rebellions in Spain, some by force and others through diplomatic negotiations. At age 81 Cato was on a mission into Carthage and he was surprised by the resiliency the Carthaginians showed after they were defeated in the second Punic War and so he had predetermined they had to be destroyed. When he had returned to Rome he let everyone know in the Senate that they must be put down. He did so by using fig leaves and letting them fall on the ground and telling the members of the Senate that the land the leaves came from was only a three day journey by boat from Rome.
The majority of the Senate was farmers and they knew that the fig leaves did not come from Carthage but came from Cato’s garden. The question is then asked if the destruction of Carthage is due to the Carthagenian merchants. Did Rome want to put down the competition in the markets? Cato did not like merchants and thought that they were as bad as murderers or thieves. Cato compares the trader or the merchant with his favorite citizen the farmer in his book entitled ‘De Agri Cultura”. Cato thought that the best soldiers came from the farmers because they are loyal and brave.
Kiernan talked of the wars in his article and he also shared his feelings toward the people, especially his feelings on women. Cato thought that women had to be subdued and kept in check. He thought that women had to be kept in their place and he was not happy with the women being allowed to conduct organized meetings. He did not like to see women have more than a half ounce of gold or wear brightly colored clothing. He also did not like seeing women riding in horse driven buggies. Cato thought that the woman is like an “untamed animal”! He said that sex was a major reason that the slaves acted badly and therefore, he allowed his men slaves to have sex with the women slaves if they paid him. Cato could be considered a hypocrite because after his wife passed away he was frequently visited by a prostitute in private. However, Cato was hard on those that showed public affection such as the Senator who was banished for kissing his own wife in broad daylight. Men were also placed in the spotlight when it came to illicit sexual acts, especially that of homosexuality.
Cato ended his military career in 191 B.C. after Rome was victorious over Greece. He did not want the Roman culture to be jeopardized because of Greece. He believed that the Greek culture of being eccentric threatened the Roman way of life. But Rome was so vast that it seemed impossible to not stray into the Greek culture. After all, Romans were already using terminology from Greek architecture to Greek cosmetics. The majority of Roman historians wrote in Greek but Cato was the first Roman historian to produce a historical work in Latin. His work is now lost but it is said to be a seven volume set telling of the Roman kings, the Punic Wars, and even racial prejudice. That is just to name a few of the topics that these books are talking about. In the days of Cato the Greeks were people that just did not care about the rules. Although he did not like the Greeks in his later period of his life he did, however, learn the Greek language. To Cato, the Greeks and the Carthaginians were both a threat to the Roman way of life. According to some scholars, an attack of Greece was planned but was not ever launched. Any war with Greece would have been a long drawn out war and a difficult war to fight.
Rome ruled in the Mediterranean after the destruction of Carthage but the country was faced with many civil wars. Virgil, a Roman poet, began writing poetry in Latin and wrote of farmers and then finally his imperial epic ‘Aeneid’. ‘Aeneid’ is an irony and it is the telling the story of Dido the founder of Carthage. It talks about how Jupiter subdues the temper of Carthage. It tells of how Carthage was to be destroyed by using centuries of hate between Rome and Carthage while linking them with Troy.
Ben Kiernan wrote of the feelings that Cato held towards Carthage while l through out the article he gave illustrations and examples of Cato’s feelings that correlated with his feelings of Carthage. We got a chance to delve into the feelings that Cato had toward different members of the population of Rome; such as, farmers, merchants and women. We learned of his feelings of public affection and the ways in which his feelings about these different peoples or acts. We even got a chance to learn a little about the Roman literature regarding the Carthaginians and the Punic wars. Cato was a hard man that wanted what he wanted and most of all he wanted to see the annihilation of Carthage and he was able to see that. Cato thought that the spread of Greek culture was a bad thing for Rome and that it must be stopped.
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posted by Bobby | 9:20 PM
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