Carthaginians and Romans Festival in Cartagena

During the ten days of September, the annual festival of Carthaginians and Romans takes place in the Spanish city of Cartagena in Murcia. A huge festival site turns into an ancient city, where both locals and tourists take part in the reconstruction of historical events that took place in the city during the Second Punic War. There are also many temporary bars, grocery stores and craft markets where participants dressed in costumes come to enjoy the festivities. The main events celebrated at the festival include the founding of the ancient city of Carthage (Karth Hadasht) by the commander Asdrubal the Beautiful around 227 BC, Hannibal's campaign against Rome and the conquest of the city by Scipio Africanus in 209 BC.

The Phoenicians were a seafaring civilization based mainly along the coasts of modern Lebanon, Israel, Syria and southwestern Turkey between 1500 and 300 BC. Their influence also spread to the Western Mediterranean, where they founded colonies, including Carthage, an ancient city on the territory of modern Tunisia. Carthage was founded as the capital of the Carthaginian people, who became the main threat to the Roman Empire during the three Punic Wars that took place between Rome and Carthage from 264 to 146 BC.

The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) is the basis for this festival. The war began after Hannibal's Carthaginian army attacked the Roman-backed mountain town of Saguntum (modern Sagunto, near Valencia) in 219 BC. After fierce battles, the inhabitants of Saguntum turned to Rome for help, but no one came. This led to an eight-month siege, which ended with the entire population being massacred due to the fact that they did not accept the terms of Hannibal's surrender.

After the siege of Saguntum, Hannibal established a base in New Carthage (Carthago Nova), which was modern-day Cartagena. From here he began planning his march north through the Pyrenees, the Alps, and finally to Rome itself.

The festival is growing every year. More and more people want to become a legionnaire for a few days. In Spain, there is even an Association of Historical Festivals that monitors and advertises the process. Of course, tourist interest directly leads to the improvement of the city's infrastructure, the development of local businesses and cultural exchange.