Most literary sources of the fourth and third centuries BC have been lost, many of them only surviving in fragments in the works of later historians. Sadly, many of these lost works likely contained much information about southern Iberia, which may have revealed much about what Tartessos actually was, be it a region, culture, or state. Many of these writers were active within the Carthaginian Empire or its sphere of influence. For example, the historian Timaeus of Tauromenium, active in the early third century BC, wrote about the Carthaginians' expansion in the Iberian Peninsula. Polybius, working from these earlier sources, makes no mention of Tartessos. Recording a fourth-century-BC treaty between Carthage and Rome, he does mention a place called Tarseium (3.24), which may refer to Tartessos, based upon the root…
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Ancient History (Digital) - 1 Issue, AH 53