Around 480 B.C. this North African city-state controlled most of the western Mediterranean
It developed into a significant trading empire throughout the 
Mediterranean, ... By the end of the 6th century BC, Carthage had conquered 
most of the old ... Greek cities contested with Carthage for the Western 
Mediterranean... [DOC] [TLE] Carthage - The Roman Empire [PAR] So too was the port of Utica along the North African coastline.