Mediterranean in 264: Punic Wars

Major lingua francas and heritage languages appear together; minority tongues are named where they structure identity. Through staples, techniques and social meals — not tourist clichés alone — with note of regional variation. State borders and conflicts appear when they shaped culture; the page is not a news wire.

Can diaspora count as Mediterranean? Yes. Overseas communities often conserve and reinvent tradition; they appear in the Today section. Wikipedia article titles resolve to Commons files with reusable licences; attribution lives on the credits page. City-states ring the Black Sea and western Med.

Rome defeats Carthage for western dominance. The Mediterranean becomes an imperial highway. New powers control southern and eastern shores. Latin footholds on the Levantine coast. Eastern basin under Ottoman naval power. European empires seize North African coasts. Mass travel remakes coastal economies.