The Third Punic War was the third and last of the Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome, and lasted from 149 to 146 BC. The war was fought in what is now northern Tunisia. In 149 BC anti-Carthaginian factions in Rome manufactured a pretext for war. The Carthaginians surrendered all of their weapons, but the Romans pressed on to besiege the city of Carthage (siege engine depicted). The Romans suffered repeated setbacks. A new Roman commander took over in 148 BC, and fared equally badly. Scipio Aemilianus was appointed commander in Africa for 147 BC; he tightened the siege and prevented supplies from entering. He then destroyed Carthage's field army and forced the remaining pro- Carthaginian towns to surrender. In spring 146 BC the Romans launched their final assault, systematically destroying the city and killing its inhabitants; 50,000 survivors were sold into slavery. The formerly Carthaginian territories became the Roman province of Africa. (This article is part of a featured topic: Punic Wars.).

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Punic_Wars

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1909:

Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition, planted the British flag 97.5 nautical miles (180.6 km; 112.2 mi) from the South Pole, the farthest south explorers had reached at the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farthest_South

1970:

The Presidential Council for Minority Rights, an appointed body to review legislation and prevent discrimination against minorities, was created in Singapore. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Council_for_Minority_Rights

1978:

Iranian Revolution: Protests took place in Qom after an article insulting Ruhollah Khomeini was published. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_Qom_protest

1991:

Representatives from the United States and Iraq met at the Geneva Peace Conference to find a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Peace_Conference_%281991%29

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

backwardation: 1. In full normal backwardation: the situation in a futures market where the price for future delivery of a commodity (the forward price) is lower than the price for immediate delivery (the spot price) or nearer delivery, generally arising from a near-term shortage of the commodity. 2. The situation in a stock market where the offer price for stock is lower than the bid price. 3. (obsolete) In the London Stock Exchange: a fee paid by a seller on settlement day either to the buyer or to a third party who lends stock, when the seller wishes to defer settlement until the next settlement day. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/backwardation

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

We have the chance today to do more than ever before in our history to make life better in America — to ensure better education, better health, better housing, better transportation, a cleaner environment — to restore respect for law, to make our communities more livable — and to insure the God-given right of every American to full and equal opportunity. Because the range of our needs is so great — because the reach of our opportunities is so great — let us be bold in our determination to meet those needs in new ways.   --Richard Nixon https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon