Very interested in this empire. Was curious if you guys had any sources or could point me toward finding more about them. Sad that their books and scrolls were destroyed as well as their temples.

They were a colony of Tyre, IIRC. There were some ancient engravings (that have long since disappeared) that stated that Carthage was founded by Phoenicians escaping the Israelites as they conquered Canaan in roughly 1400-1200 BC. I can provide citations to articles about that, if you're interested. Naturally, that is not a widely accepted view of the reasons for Carthage's founding.

The Carthaginians were reviled for practicing widespread infant sacrifice, which has been verified by archaeology.

There is also some speculation, with a bit of support, that they may have traded with North America. Whether they did or not, they almost certainly traveled as far or further than any other ancient sea-going peoples.

I don't have any book recommendations, however.

If you do find one, please do not take the author's conclusions as authoritative. Many archaeologists are apt to state their personal speculations as proven facts.

The Phoenicians were alleged by Harvard marine biologist Barry Fell to have visited North America because of what he believes are Punic epigraphic carvings. I don't know about that but they were definitely maritime explorers.

I was gonna post something about Barry...

There are also some interesting videos out there;





There's even debate about whether their alphabet really is what the greeks/romans adopted, or if it came through via the Israelites. I dunno. I think most consider them still 'west semitic' people.