Drac II
Banned
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Phoenicians and their Carthaginian successors controlled a fair bit of eastern Spain for a long time, and would presumably have left a considerable genetic footprint. We can argue about what that genetic footprint would have been and the extent to which subsequent historical events would have modified their genetic imprint, but most of eastern Iberia was partially populated by them at one point. It was much more than the occasional trading post. And recognizing the historical accounts of the Carthaginian use of allies and mercenaries in its wars with Rome doesn't mean we should ignore the fact that those same histories mention Hannibal leading his elephants and Carthaginian heavy infantry into Italy. If you have a fear that Carthaginian blood might run in your veins, you should keep those fears to yourself until we have a better idea of what Carthaginian DNA consisted of.
There was no important Phoenician presence in Iberia except in some coastal areas of the south. The Phoenicians were very dependent on the sea for their business. We are not talking about a military power here, but people whose "empire" was based on international trade. As for the Carthaginians, their empire was rather short lived, and the fact that they had to rely heavily on conscripts and mercenaries from other nations to keep their armies well stocked with manpower pretty much tells us that they must not have been very interested in heavily colonizing other lands with their own people. Like most military conquerors throughout history, they were interested in controlling other lands, not in repopulating them with their own folk. As for the comment about "fears" of Carthaginian/Phoenician DNA, it would be best directed at the users who brought these people up in the first place, specially one who got really angry and in denial when it was shown that they were around his country as well.