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Mastia Tarseion Revisited. The Geographical Limits of Polybius' Second Romano-Carthaginian Treaty

Number of pages201
PublisherBasel : Schwabe
Collection
  • Schweizerische Beiträge zur Altertumswissenschaft; 63
Publication date2025-12
First online date2025-12-23
Abstract

Polybius reports that the second Romano-Carthaginian treaty included a clause forbidding the Romans to pillage, trade, or found cities beyond the Fair Promontory (modern Cape Bon) and a mysterious place called Mastia Tarseion. On the assumption that Mastia Tarseion was located in southern Iberia, modern scholars have used the treaty as evidence for a proactive and enduring Carthaginian presence in the Iberian Peninsula as early as 348 BCE. A close examination of the treaty’s contents, Polybius’ comments on it, and the other evidence available – including two problematic entries in Stephanus of Byzantium’s Ethnika – reveals that Mastia Tarseion was in fact a promontory on the North African coast, west of but not very far from the city of Carthage. The treaty thus emerges as a key document for understanding the nature and evolution of Carthaginian imperialism in the western Mediterranean.

Keywords
  • Carthage
  • Romano-Carthaginian Treaties
  • Polybius
  • Stephanus of Byzantium
Citation (ISO format)
SILVA RENESES, Luis Rémigio. Mastia Tarseion Revisited. The Geographical Limits of Polybius” Second Romano-Carthaginian Treaty. Basel : Schwabe, 2025. (Schweizerische Beiträge zur Altertumswissenschaft) doi: 10.24894/978-3-7965-5417-9
Main files (1)
Book (Published version)
Identifiers
ISBN9783796554179
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81downloads

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Creation23/12/2025 12:07:33
First validation02/01/2026 15:47:09
Update02/01/2026 15:47:09
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