History of the Mediterranean (“circle of lands”) between 218 and 129. BC e., if you look at it from a respectful distance, it appears to be a three-act tragedy on the theme “the birth of an empire.” The participants in this tragedy were well-known commanders, politicians, and kings. But its true hero is still worth identifying as the one who preserved information about this time and interpreted it as the greatest historical drama - the Greek historian Polybius (200-129 BC). A novel by the famous writer, scientist, historian Alexander Iosifovich Nemirovsky “Carthage must be destroyed” (“Polybius”) is dedicated to the main act of the historical tragedy - the fall of Ancient Carthage, on the ruins of which a new empire - Great Rome - rose and flourished.