Constitution of Carthage

The constitution of Carthage is the political regime of the city in Punic times.

Carthage's political system has been the subject of much debate, as Aristotle's Politics^[1] discusses it at length, alongside the institutions of Sparta and Crete.^[2] This text, the only example of its time to refer in extenso to non-Greek political institutions, has given rise to much controversy among historians, which has subsided to the present day.

Carthage's political organization was praised by many ancient authors, who highlighted its "reputation for excellence".^[3] Although few details are known about the government of the great city, we do have Aristotle's invaluable text: he depicts it as a model of a "mixed" constitution, balanced and displaying the best characteristics of the various types of political regimes, i.e. blending elements of the monarchical (kings or suffetes), aristocratic (Senate) and democratic (assembly of the people) systems.

The sources are very limited and mostly biased, as they are sometimes taken from Roman or Greek authors, making it difficult to conclude the debate. In addition, the cultural context^[4] and the terminology used do not conform to the Eastern political context.^[5] Aristotle's text seems to describe static political institutions, taking no account of developments linked to conflicts in Carthage's history, including the Sicilian Wars, which predate the text; nor is there any information on changes linked to the period of the Punic Wars and the Mercenary War, among others. Aristotle's text has therefore fuelled a lively debate, with some historians, including Stéphane Gsellle, regarding it as a late description.^[6][7] Researchers now prefer to focus on the evolution of institutions over the history.^[8]

Despite the shortcomings of the information available on Carthage, the data is much more extensive than for the other Punic cities.