Sardinia was the location of the ancient Nuraghic Civilization between the mid-Second to First Millennium BC. Sardinia is believed to have been the original homeland of the Sherdana, a tribe identified as part of a maritme coalition known to history as the Sea People. During the early First Millennium BC, Phoenicians established enclaves on the island, such as the coastal towns of Sulcis, Nora, Caralis and Tharros. After the Carthaginian defeat of the First Punic War, the indemnity set by the Romans caused the Carthaginian government to delay the payment of their large mercenary army, leading to the Mercenary War in Punic North Africa which occurred from 240-238 BC. The Romans cynically took advantage of the war by annexing Sardinia and Corsica. Though the Sardinian Nuraghs in the island's interior and the coastal-dwelling Phoenicians maintained their distinctive cultures for a number of years afterward.
Notable Persons[]