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By the third century BCE, the Western Mediterranean was dominated by two great republics, Carthage and Rome. From its matchless position on the coast of present-day Tunisia, Carthage dominated commerce in the Western Mediterranean basin. Its navy ruled the waves from the straits of Sicily to the Pillars of Hercules. It also ruled a considerable land empire that included much of North Africa, Sicily, and Sardinia. Rome was a fast-rising star—dynamic, vigorous, and aggressively expansionist. It had just recently imposed its dominion over most of Italy. Traditionally, Carthage and Rome have been portrayed as diametric opposites. In reality, they had much in common.