Ancient Carthage (KAR-thij; Punic: 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕, lit. 'New City') was an ancient Semitic civilization based in North Africa. It grew from small settlement in present-day Tunisia into the Carthaginian Empire, a major power that dominated the western half of the Mediterranean Sea. Carthage was settled around 814 BC by merchants from Tyre, a leading Phoenician city-state located in present-day Lebanon.