Dear marketex,
The brief answer is: No. The leading class of ancient Carthage was of
Phoenician descent, this means they were basically offsprings of
Semitic Middle Easterners. Carthage had been founded in the 9th or 8th
century BC by Phoenicians from what are today the Mediterranean
coastal regions of Lebanon and Syria. Of course there have certainly
been marriages between the Carthaginian Phoenicians and the original
Numidian population of the North African territories owned by
Carthage; but the Numidians, although Africans, were not Negroids
either: They were what we today would call Berbers. In the relevant
time frame, no black African people is traceable as being resident in
North Africa.
Concerning Hannibal Barca this means that his physical appearance and
skin color were most likely dark of a Mediterranean kind, not unlike
modern Syrians, Arabs, Libyans or Algerians. So he wasn't "white"
either. This is the implication based upon common historical
knowledge.
Besides that, the facial features of Hannibal on Carthaginian coins do
not indicate that he was of Negroid descent. See these two examples:
Mosaic: Hannibal, Rome's Greatest Foe
http://college.hmco.com/history/west/mosaic/chapter3/image139.html
Bible History: Hannibal Coin
http://www.bible-history.com/rome/Romerome00000128.htm
Best regards,
Scriptor |
