We should discuss how big the Empire was and how it affect the area it was in.
Carthage experienced what I would call a 'pressurised' growth/expansion after the first punic war; the loss of Siciliy and Sardinia nescesitated Carthaginian expansion into the Iberian peninsular. However we must also remember that the Carthaginians weren't 'conquerors' in the Roman sense of the world. Their expansion was primarily for commercial benefit. So when we look at pictures of the 'Carthaginian empire' at its greatest extent, we are not looking at maps of territories completely dominiated and adminastrated by the Carthaginians, but rather there sphere of influence. Hope that wasn't too much of a rant.
Now if the Magonid Dynasty (I think that's the right one) had lasted longer, Sicily could have been completely Punic, as per the threat of Syracuse and the Greeks.
Respecting what ClothedBarbarian said, they were kind of like greek colonies but that affected their environment a bit more (by conquest, diplomacy, etc...)? Carthage FTW!
