The Complex and Colorful History of Son Catlar and Menorca The Romans were one of many foreign empires and kingdoms that occupied the Balearic island nations, including Menorca, between the first millennium BC and the first millennium AD. The Phoenicians were the first ancient empire to set its sights on these tranquil and beautiful islands. They arrived as occupiers sometime in the early first millennium BC, asserting their authority over the indigenous inhabitants, who are now known as the Talaiotic people. In approximately the sixth century BC, the Carthaginians supplanted the Phoenicians, and the islands remained a possession of this north African empire until the mid-first century BC. The Carthaginians withdrew from the region following their ultimate defeat at the hands of the Roman Empire during the Punic Wars , which lasted from 264 BC to 146 BC.