Lucius Cornelius Balbus (proconsul)
Lucius Cornelius Balbus, often referred to as Lucius Cornelius Balbus Minor, was a Roman politician and General. Similarly to his uncle Balbus the Elder, Balbus Minor was also born in Gades with Punic origins, and became a distinguished member of the gens Cornelia through adoption. Despite his Phoenician ancestry, Balbus rendered valuable services to the early Roman Empire, most notably by serving as the proconsul of Africa in 21 BC and leading an expedition to sub-Saharan Africa. He was also known to be a close friend and trusted associate of Julius Caesar.
Statue of Balbus in Cadiz, Spain
Cádiz is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated from neighbouring San Fernando by a narrow isthmus.
Aerial view
Satellite view of the Bay of Cádiz
Phoenician anthropoid sarcophagi (400–470 BC) found in Cádiz, thought to have been imported from the Phoenician homeland around Sidon (now in the Museum of Cádiz)
Votive statues of Melqart-Hercules from the Islote de Sancti Petri