Utica was an ancient city on the coast of what is now northern Tunisia, founded by Phoenician settlers from Tyre. By tradition it predates Carthage, and for a long time it was Carthage's close neighbor and ally. After Rome destroyed Carthage in the Third Punic War, Utica was made the capital of the new Roman province of Africa, thanks to its support for Rome. It was where Cato the Younger took his own life rather than submit to Julius Caesar. Over the centuries the river Medjerda deposited silt and left the city far from the sea, and it declined and was abandoned after the Arab conquest. Its ruins include Roman houses with fine mosaics, and Punic tombs.
Before and after
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 800 BCEUrnfield culture
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 150 BCEPhoenician script
- from c. 1,200 BCE to 546 BCELydia
- from c. 1,189 BCE to 1,077 BCETwentieth Dynasty of Egypt
- from 12th century BCE to 7th centuryOrigins of Utica
- from c. 1,077 BCE to 943 BCETwenty-first Dynasty of Egypt
- c. 1,051 BCESiege of Jebus
- c. 1,051 BCEThe Phoenician alphabet spreads
- from c. 1,050 BCE to 930 BCEUnited Kingdom of Israel
More in Civilizations & archaeology
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- 11 May 330 CEConstantine dedicates Constantinople
- from 476 CE to 1492Middle Ages
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires.