ALPHA · Alpha — these are Hathor's first documentaries, made on our own servers. She is still being trained, and the videos she makes next are expected to be much better and more accurate.

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Kings, queens and courts: the Phoenicians and Carthage

A rapid tour of Phoenician monarchic origins, Carthaginian royal institutions, their power and warfare, and the myths that survived their fall.

Chapters

0:07 Phoenician monarchic origins
1:52 Carthage’s royal institutions
2:43 Power, navy and warfare
4:02 Myth, memory and the end

On-screen text

0:07 Phoenician monarchic origins
0:14 Phoenician monarchic origins
0:31 Baal‑Eser II, king of Tyre Historical record · Baal‑Eser II inscription, Sidon Museum
0:49 Ahiram's sarcophagus, early alphabet Historical record · Ahiram sarcophagus, Byblos Museum
1:07 Byblos palace, 9th‑8th c. BCE Historical record · Excavations of the Byblos palace, 1920s, Charles Chipiez
1:25 Phoenician glass, 9th c. BCE Historical record · Phoenician glassware, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 9th c. BCE
1:43 Dido's legendary foundation Tradition / scripture · Virgil, Aeneid 1.1‑2
1:52 Carthage’s royal institutions
1:59 Carthage’s royal institutions
2:16 Carthage Tophet, stelae with inscriptions Historical record · Tophet of Carthage, UNESCO site, stelae inscriptions
2:43 Power, navy and warfare
2:59 241 BCE Carthage‑Rome treaty Historical record · Polybius, Histories 1.45
3:17 Carthaginian quinquereme design Historical record · Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 5.23
3:35 Inferred royal regalia The Institute's interpretation · John Boardman, “The Carthaginian Elite” (1999)
3:53 149 BCE Roman siege Historical record · Livy, History of Rome 21.30‑31
4:02 Myth, memory and the end
4:09 Carthage, North Africa, c. 146 BCE
4:57 Virgil's Aeneid says Dido founded Carthage Tradition / scripture · Virgil, Aeneid 1.1‑2
5:29 Appian records Romans sowed salt after 146 BCE Historical record · Appian, Punic Wars 23
6:25 Carthage: myth, memory, ruin

Sources

Historical record: Baal‑Eser II inscription, Sidon Museum · Ahiram sarcophagus, Byblos Museum · Excavations of the Byblos palace, 1920s, Charles Chipiez · Phoenician glassware, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 9th c. BCE · Tophet of Carthage, UNESCO site, stelae inscriptions · Silver shekel of Hanno the Great, Carthage Museum · Excavations of the Tophet palace, 1970s, Jean Ferron · Carthaginian tribute inscription, Carthage Museum, 4th c. BCE · Epitaph of Mago, Carthage, 4th c. BCE, Louvre AO 1975 · Polybius, Histories 1.45 · Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 5.23 · Livy, History of Rome 21.30‑31 · Appian, Punic Wars 23

Tradition / scripture: Virgil, Aeneid 1.1‑2

The Institute's interpretation: John Boardman, “The Carthaginian Elite” (1999)

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 212 s of CPU.

Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (13) — the next things to make

A hand turning the polished silver shekel on a wooden table, the inscription glinting.
A hand turning the polished silver shekel on a wooden table, the inscription glinting.
Reconstruction of the marble‑columned hall, a raised throne bathed in sunlight.
A weathered stone slab with engraved numbers and place names, a scribe tracing the lines with a stylus.
A weathered stone slab with engraved numbers and place names, a scribe tracing the lines with a stylus.
A stone slab being lifted from a burial chamber, the Phoenician letters illuminated by torchlight.
Power, navy and warfare: Illustrate Carthage’s diplomatic treaties, naval supremacy and the symbols of royal authority.
A lone woman in a flowing veil stands on a creaking ship's deck, gazing at a distant, smoky silhouette of a fallen city.
The woman steps onto a sandy shore, placing a smooth stone into the ground while a few followers watch reverently.
Roman legionaries in disciplined rows march through a twilight countryside, torches held high, dust kicking up beneath their boots.
Roman soldiers fan out, scattering salt across the charred foundations, the grains catching the sun as ruins loom behind.
Empty streets echo with wind; shutters clatter, dust drifts through abandoned doorways under a pale sky.
Modern archaeologists in field jackets brush soil from ancient shards, tents flapping, bright daylight illuminating the dig site.