Marcus Porcius Cato was (as you may certainly know)a Roman statesman, orator, writer, and defender of conservative Roman Republican ideas.
Cato fought in the Second Punic War in Spain where the Carthaginians were driven out by Publius Scipio Africanus in 206 BC, and subsequently Hannibal’s army was destroyed in 202 BC.
Before the Second Punic War, Cato was sent on a diplomatic mission to Africa to negotiate peace terms between the Carthaginians and Numidian tribesmen. While visiting Carthage he became disgusted at the wasteful indulgence and luxury, the wealth and power of the merchants and their thriving international trade, and he believed that Carthage posed a threat to Rome.
Cato concluded every speech that he gave with the abovementioned phrase, ‘...Carthaginem esse delendam’ meaning ‘...Carthage must be destroyed’. Cato was instrumental in leading to Rome’s attack on Carthage, that led to the beginning of the Third Punic War that began in 149 BC, the year of Cato’s death, and ended in 146 BC with Carthage being burnt to the ground and salt being plowed into its soil.
HTH
Regards,
~Sigurd Helge
