There are still significant artifacts from Carthage and the city rose back very quickly. My guess is that the same-same of war happened: The elite were killed but the rest of the population was spared. Rome probably spread this rhetoric to embolden its image. Let's just say this was a different time.
No it’s not. It’s a bit more documented than some previous examples but we have written evidence for this occurring in the middle east and archeological evidence that would suggest it in many other places..
