Carthage had extended its hegemony across much…

Carthage had extended its hegemony across much of North Africa by the fifth century BCE, having developed commercial relations with the Berber tribes of the interior and paying them an annual tribute to ensure their cooperation in the exploitation of raw materials.

The modern Tanjah (Anglicised as Tangier, its present name), on the northern coast of Morocco at the western end of the Strait of Gibraltar, about nineteen miles (thirty kilometers) south of Spain, is founded by Carthaginian colonists in the early fifth century BCE.

Its name is possibly derived from the Berber goddess Tinjis (or Tinga), and it remains an important city for the Berbers.

Ancient coins call it Tenga, Tinga, and Titga, Greek and Latin authors giving numerous variations of the name.

According to Berber mythology, the town was built by Sufax, son of Tinjis, the wife of the Berber hero Antaios.

The Greeks ascribed its foundation to the giant Antaeus, whose tomb and skeleton are pointed out in the vicinity, calling Sufax the son of Hercules by the widow of Antaeus.

The cave of Hercules, a few miles from the city, is a major tourist attraction.

It is believed that Hercules slept there before attempting one of his twelve labors.