Modern Carthage is an upscale suburb of Tunis, Tunisia, with a population of about 22,000. Ancient Carthage is believed to have been founded in the 8th century BC then destroyed by warfare with Rome in the 3rd Puni war (149 BC to 146 BC). It was rebuilt by Rome in the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD to become one of the great cities of the empire. After the fall of the Romans the Byzantines and Vandals ruled the city, eventually followed by the Arabs. The city has existed for nearly 3,000 years. The former magnificence of the city is hard to overstate.