After completing the famous Mme Bovary , Flaubert put all his efforts into researching the Punic Wars and completed the lesser known Salammbô . In this volume, Flaubert describes in detail the Mercenary Revolt and the fight of the Mercenaries against the all-powerful Carthage, the theft of the magical Zaimph and the love and hate between the Carthaginian princess Salammbô and the fiercest leader of the Mercenaries, Matho. (Summary by Carolin)