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Yahoo
13 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Forget Rome – this was the ancient empire that made the modern world
Napoleon is relatively unusual in western history for aligning himself with the brutal Hannibal – not Hannibal's Roman enemy, Scipio Africanus. The Frenchman's interest in the Carthaginian bordered on obsessional. He read every book about him he could find, including the Latin histories of Livy, and made copious notes. He could work examples from Hannibal's life into conversation with ease, and when he crossed the Alps in 1800, he knew precisely whose footsteps he was following in. Hannibal was more than a man: he was, like Napoleon, a god. Hannibal was no stranger himself to self-mythologising. His name meant 'he who is favoured by Ba'al': Ba'al Hamon being the chief god of the Carthaginians, who reached the apex of their global powers from their city near Tunis (in modern Tunisia) in the third and second centuries BC. Hannibal had the air of an immortal, but also believed that he enjoyed the protection of Melqart, the Phoenician equivalent of Hercules. Melqart was often equated with the sun itself. Such confidence in one's divine credentials can only breed an appetite for risk-taking. Hannibal was clever, charismatic and fair. His success as a commander, argues Eve MacDonald in her comprehensive new book, Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire, 'rested in his soldiers and their loyalty to him'. The general was known for distributing bounties to his soldiers – a professional army drawn from many territories, including North Africa, Iberia, Greece and Italy – and following with further payments. The Romans, of course, despised him as the apparently unbeatable foe. The phrase Hannibal ad portas ('Hannibal is at the gates') gained currency during the Punic Wars between the two ancient superpowers, epitomising the fear as well as the awe he inspired in his adversaries. But has Hannibal's fame eclipsed that of his civilisation? This is one of the questions MacDonald, a senior lecturer in Ancient History at Cardiff, poses in Carthage. The fact that Greek and Roman sources dating from soon after Hannibal's time focus so heavily upon him, she suggests, 'tends to skew our evidence about Carthage around the life of one man and his great deeds and adventures.' As a result, wider-ranging historical interest in the region 'gets lost in the appetite for daring deeds of great soldiers'. Napoleon's fascination is a prime example. MacDonald's history, then, is not so much revisionist as expansionist. Its subtitle might have been: 'Who Were the Carthaginians?' Inhabitants of the ancient city were committed to comfortable living. Men – we know far more about them than we do the women – wore long tunics and earrings for pierced ears. On the evidence of Aristophanes, the Greek comedian, we can conjecture that they were mainly circumcised. From as early as the third century BC, the wealthier members of society had bathrooms with cisterns in their homes. They dined well on fish and a porridge consisting of grain with eggs, curd and honey. Meat was consumed mainly after religious sacrifices. One very early banquet, the remains of which were recently uncovered in the former Carthaginian city of Utica (near modern Bizerte), featured goat, oxen, pig, horse, and even turtle and dog. The ruins of Carthage's Antonine baths in modern-day Tunisia - Getty The architects of Carthaginian cities gave some consideration to the breeding and keeping of animals. MacDonald, who draws effectively upon her background in archaeology, describes stabling for horses and spaces inside the double 'casemate' walls of Carthage for raising elephants. Before Hannibal famously led 37 of the beasts across the Alps, Pyrrhus, King of the region of Epirus, introduced 20 to Italy, prior to his expedition to expel Carthaginians from Sicily. Having seen elephants in action, the Carthaginians were smitten, and went on to use them during their conquests of the Iberian Peninsula. The animals provided unparalleled cover for their retreat during a river-crossing beset by an hostile Celtic tribe. There's no consensus over which species the Carthaginians used, but a combination of African and Asian elephants is likely. The Carthaginians would not have been nearly so famous had they not fought with Rome. And the Romans might never have created their enduring empire had it not been for Carthage, which they mercilessly destroyed in 146 BC following a lengthy siege. The difficulty for the modern historian is that, in putting Carthage on the map, the Romans cast shadow on its virtues. It's a typical story of history being written by the conquerors. MacDonald's ambition to retell the history of Carthage from a Carthaginian perspective, then, is hampered by the limitations of the written material. This is unavoidable and only to be expected. No historian of the ancient world should be taken to task over the gaps in the sources; it's how they navigate those gaps that matters. MacDonald pieces the material together admirably and succeeds in creating a thickly-layered portrait of a culture that has often struck readers as peculiar and violent. She takes a particularly sensitive approach to the interpretation of phenomena such as child-sacrifice. An open-air sanctuary in Carthage has been found to contain thousands of urns filled with the cremated bodies of babies, young children and animals. It is known as a tophet – from the Hebrew name of a valley in Jerusalem where the Philistines were said to 'sacrifice their children through fire'. Greek and Roman writers wrote with abhorrence of Carthaginian children being rolled into flame-filled pits. Dido Building Carthage by J.M.W. Turner, 1815 - Getty Were children sacrificed in prayer for the wellbeing of the city? Or are these the dedicated remains of infants who died from natural causes? Most were very young when they died and we know that the rate of infant mortality was high. MacDonald draws attention to the inscriptions upon the stelae erected next to the urns, and particularly to the words, 'because he / she heard our voice'. This looks very much like a divine offering in fulfilment of a vow or an answered prayer. While it remains unclear exactly what was happening here, it is interesting to observe, as MacDonald does, that similar sanctuaries have been discovered in Malta, Sardinia, Sicily and elsewhere in north Africa. MacDonald is more vehemently myth-busting in her examination of the foundation of Carthage. According to the legend elaborated in Virgil's Aeneid, the city was established by Dido (known to the Carthaginians as Elissa), who fled her home in the Phoenician city of Tyre (in modern Lebanon) to escape her tyrannical brother Pygmalion. Having made landfall on the coast near Tunisia, the beleaguered Dido requested a piece of land only as large as an ox-hide. Her wish was granted, and she proceeded to chop up a hide into skinny strips, which she laid end to end to encompass a sizeable area for her new city. The citadel at Carthage was known thereafter as Byrsa, from the Greek for 'ox-hide'. It's a brilliant story, and according to MacDonald, calls on the well-known concept of 'using an ox to plough an area of land to mark out boundaries'. That sounds plausible. One thing the ancient writers did get absolutely right was that Carthage was founded in the 9th century BC and had Phoenician origins. The earliest inscription found at Carthage – on a gold pendant placed in a tomb – dates to then and even refers to a 'Pygmalion'. Radiocarbon dating further supports a foundation date in the 9th century BC. MacDonald writes clearly and frankly, and has produced an enjoyable and readily digestible introduction to Carthage. Hers is not a book of stylish prose or vivid description. The closest we come to the latter is in the opening pages, which recount the final destruction of Carthage, and in a survey of the aftermath of the Battle of Cannae, when 'steam rose in the morning off the still warm bodies of the dead and injured'. Some readers will favour such an information-over-atmosphere approach, and there is much to be said for giving it to us straight. But there were moments in which I felt that MacDonald could have let go a little. If Hannibal has one lesson for writers, it is surely that triumph is dependent upon risk. ★★★★☆ Daisy Dunn is the author of books including The Missing Thread: A New History of the Ancient World Through the Women Who Shaped It. Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire is published by Ebury at £22. To order your copy, call 0330 173 0523 or visit Telegraph Books Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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See - Sada Elbalad
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Get to Know NJPW G1 Climax 35 Night 3 Results
Rana Atef On Tuesday, New Japan Pro Wreslting organzied the third night of the G1 Climax 35, which is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the pro wrestling scene. The night witnessed competitions for Block A, and it took place at Sun Plaza Hall in Sendai and drew 1714 people. The main event was a rematch from last year's tournament involving Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura. The results of Night 3 are as follows: Tag Team Action: Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori defeated YOSHI-HASHI & Shoma Kato Tag Team Match: Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated El Phantasmo & Jado Tag Team Contest: Konosuke Takeshita & Rocky Romero defeated Great O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young Tag Team Fight: Zack Sabre Jr. & Harley Jackson defeated Shota Umino & Katsuya Murashima G1 Climax 2025 A Block match: Ryohei Oiwa defeated Callum Newman G1 Climax 2025 A Block match: Oleg Boltin over Hiroshi Tanahashi G1 Climax 2025 A Block match: SANADA over EVIL G1 Climax 2025 A Block match: Taichi over David Finlay G1 Climax 2025 A Block match: Yota Tsuji over Yuya Uemura read more Japan Stun Spain 2-1 to Qualify for World Cup Last 16 World Cup 2022: Get to Know Confirmed Line-ups of Japan and Spain Group E Decider Saudi Arabia Bid Farewell to World Cup after 2-1 Loss to Mexico Tunisia Achieve Historic Win over France but Fail to Qualify Tunisia to Clash against France in World Cup Sports Get to Know Squad of Group D Teams in World Cup Sports Al Ahly Gift EGP 70,000 to Players After Claiming Egyptian Super Cup Title Sports Bencharki Hits First 2 Goals with Al Jazira Since Leaving Zamalek Sports Arsenal Possible Line-up for Nottingham Forest News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks
The National
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
'I had to make this film': Kaouther Ben Hania brings Hind Rajab's story to Venice Film Festival
Twice Oscar-nominated Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania 's next film, The Voice of Hind Rajab, will debut in competition at the Venice Film Festival, scheduled to run from August 27 until September 9. The film dramatises the final hours of six-year-old Palestinian child Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli fire in January 2024 after being stranded in a car with her dead relatives in Gaza. Her recorded cries for help, made during a 70-minute call with emergency responders, were widely circulated online and became a haunting symbol of the war's toll on civilians. The Voice of Hind Rajab has been nominated for the Golden Lion, the festival's top prize. It will compete against several high-profile films, including Frankenstein by Guillermo Del Toro, No Other Choice by Park Chan-wook, and A House of Dynamite by Kathryn Bigelow. Ben Hania, whose last film Four Daughters was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2024 Academy Awards, says she was compelled to change course entirely after hearing Hind's voice for the first time. 'There was something electric in the energy around this project – so immediate, so alive,' she said in a statement. 'In all my years as a filmmaker, I never imagined it would be possible to go from start to finish in just 12 months.' She explained that the idea came to her during a layover in Los Angeles, while she was in the middle of her Oscar campaign for Four Daughters. 'Then, everything shifted. I heard an audio recording of Hind Rajab begging for help. By then, her voice had already spread across the internet. 'I immediately felt a mix of helplessness, and an overwhelming sadness. A physical reaction, like the ground shifted under me. I couldn't carry on as planned.' Ben Hania obtained the full audio through the Red Crescent. 'It was about 70 minutes long, and harrowing,' she said. 'After listening to it, I knew, without a doubt, that I had to drop everything else. I had to make this film.' The film uses the real audio recording as a central narrative thread. Shot in a single location, the movie avoids visual depictions of violence, opting instead to focus on tension, silence, and the growing fear of a child left without rescue. 'What I wanted was to focus on the invisible: the waiting, the fear, the unbearable sound of silence when help doesn't come,' said Ben Hania. 'Sometimes, what you don't see is more devastating than what you do.' 'At the heart of this film is something very simple, and very hard to live with. I cannot accept a world where a child calls for help and no one comes. That pain, that failure, belongs to all of us.' Hind's mother, Wissam Hamadah, said she was contacted by Ben Hania about the project a year ago. 'Despite the pain and the weight of grief, I felt that Hind's voice needed to be heard loud and clear,' she said. 'One year later, we are moved that this film will be shown at the Venice Film Festival. As a mother, nothing will ever heal the wound of losing my daughter. But knowing that her voice will now echo across the world gives me strength.' 'Thank you Kaouther and all the team for making this movie.' Ben Hania added that while The Voice of Hind Rajab is a deeply personal story of loss, it also carries a wider resonance. 'This story is not just about Gaza. It speaks to a universal grief,' she said. 'Cinema can preserve a memory. Cinema can resist amnesia. May Hind Rajab's voice be heard.'
BBC News
16 hours ago
- BBC News
Warning after tortoise 'smuggled into UK in cigarette packet'
A woman who allegedly bought a baby tortoise for £10 at a Tunisian market then smuggled it into the UK in a cigarette packet has sparked a police 29-year-old woman from Boston is being investigated by Lincolnshire Police on suspicion of bringing the reptile into the country without a is believed to be a Testudo graeca - also known as a Greek tortoise - which is an endangered species protected under international law."We are using this report to warn and educate the public about the dangers and legal consequences of buying exotic animals abroad," a Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said. The incident has also been criticised by Wild Things Rescue UK, where the tortoise - named Gulliver - is now being cared Steele, from the charity, said the animal was "not in the best condition" when he arrived."It was a surprise to be asked to care for an animal from Tunisia, especially under such distressing circumstances," she said."He is a wild animal, not an accessory and should never have been treated this way." The suspected offences came under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 2018 and the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 and can result in a fine or up to seven years in Con Aaron Flint, from the force, urged anyone thinking about bringing animals into the UK to check laws."What may seem like an innocent souvenir - even if purchased for a small amount -can result in serious criminal charges," he said."Don't take the risk – the consequences can be severe."Anyone with information about the potential illegal trade or importation of endangered species should contact the force. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
Times
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Times
EU wants UN backing for Rwanda-style migrant ‘return hubs'
The European Union is seeking United Nations support for plans to forcibly deport failed asylum seekers or illegal migrants to 'return hubs' outside Europe, to avoid the legal challenges that sank Britain's Rwanda scheme. European interior ministers will hear presentations from the UN on the conditions for its refugee agency to take part in, and approve, deportation or 'place of safety' centres in countries such as Tunisia, Mauritania, Jordan, Egypt or Uganda. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, last year called for an exploration of return hubs in a letter to the EU's national leaders, citing a deal between Italy and Albania as a possible model. Kaare Dybvad, the Danish immigration minister, who is chairing the talks in Copenhagen, stressed that the plans were urgently needed to 'get control of migration flow back into the democratic sphere', as European elections show increasing gains for nationalist and populist parties. 'The European asylum system is broken and we need innovative solutions,' he said before the talks. 'We are under pressure. We need to return people faster, we need to make innovative solutions and agreements outside of the EU.' Up to 80 per cent of failed asylum seekers — half of those who apply — who were ordered to leave countries across Europe have not done so, including dangerous criminals and terror suspects who have gone on to carry out attacks. While the EU is moving towards plans similar to the British Rwanda model — of setting up centres outside Europe to deter asylum seekers — governments want to ensure that plans are legally watertight, especially after judicial challenges to the Italian scheme in Albania. Crucially, under these plans, migrants housed in the 'return hubs' would already have been refused asylum — unlike those covered in Britain's Rwanda plan or Italy's Albanian asylum centres. 'It is part of the legislative work that we have to do now and to make sure it is possible,' said Dybvad. 'Return hubs are about returning people who are already rejected as asylum seekers. Reception centres as in Albania … as in Rwanda, that is about processing asylum claims. We need to make our own European model for these solutions.' On top of deportations, the EU is additionally looking at 'places of safety' centres for temporary reception and screening of refugees. UN involvement is seen as vital to making these proposals legally watertight and preventing judges from striking down plans. A 2023 ruling in the British Supreme Court against the Rwanda scheme followed a warning from the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, that it potentially breached the international conventions that set rules for asylum. A diplomat said: 'It is about showing that this is not a taboo with the UN and that we can work with them to make it more legally viable.' The UNHCR has not ruled out supporting the EU deportation centres but has asked for many legal safeguards that would water down and restrict the powers that national governments would have to detain and deport failed asylum seekers. Under a new EU return directive, tabled in March, deportations will be carried out either to the migrant's country of origin, or a country they transited through as well as a new option of a 'return hub' — an idea that was previously ruled out as illegal. The UN is opposed to EU proposals that failed asylum seekers or foreign criminals will no longer be able to have their deportations suspended while their appeal is heard, a loophole that often allows people to disappear upon their release. Bruno Retailleau, the French interior minister, warned that the status quo was not an option. He said: 'Today our states are totally disarmed, especially for forced removals. Throughout Europe, whether governments are conservative or social democrat, all the peoples have the same demand: control of mass immigration that has completely escaped us.'
