PHOENICIA
![](640px-Phoenician_Language.png)
Map
of Phoenicia and colonies prior to Roman conquest
Phoenicia
/ Put (Phoenician) / Phoiníke (Greek) : 2500 BC
– 64 BC
Capital
: None; dominant cities were Byblos (2500–1000 BC)
and Tyre (900–550 BC)
Common languages
: Phoenician, Punic
Religion
: Canaanite religion
Demonym(s)
: Phoenician
Government
: City-states ruled by kings, with varying degrees of oligarchic
or plutocratic elements; oligarchic republic in Carthage after c.
480 BC
Well-known
kings of Phoenician cities :
•
1800 BC (oldest attested king of Lebanon proper) : Abishemu
I
•
969 – 936 BC : Darius III
•
820 – 774 BC : Pygmalion
of Tyre
Historical
era : Classical antiquity
•
Established : 2500 BC
•
Tyre becomes dominant city-state under the reign of Hiram I :
969 BC
•
Carthage founded (in Roman accounts by Dido) : 814 BC
•
Greco-Persian Wars : 499 - 449 BC
•
Pompey conquers Phoenicia and rest of Seleucid Empire :
64 BC
Area
1000 BC : 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi)
Preceded
by : Canaanites, Hittite Empire and Egyptian Empire
Succeeded
by : Achaemenid Phoenicia and Ancient
Carthage
Phoenicia
was an ancient Semitic-speaking thalassocratic civilization that
originated in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily
located in modern Lebanon. It was concentrated along the coast of
Lebanon and included some coastal areas of modern Syria and Galilee,
reaching as far north as Arwad, and as far south as Acre and possibly
Gaza. At its height between 1100 and 200 BC, Phoenician civilization
spread across the Mediterranean, from the Levant to the Iberian
Peninsula.
The
term Phoenicia is an exonym from ancient Greek that most likely
described a dye also known as Tyrian purple, which was a major export
of Canaanite port towns. The term did not correspond precisely to
Phoenician culture or society as it would have been understood natively;
it is debated whether Phoenicians were actually a distinct civilization
from the Canaanites and other residents of the Levant. Historian
Robert Drews believes the term "Canaanites" corresponds
to the ethnic group referred to as "Phoenicians" by the
ancient Greeks.
The
Phoenicians came to prominence in the mid 12th century BC following
the decline of most major cultures in the Late Bronze Age collapse.
They developed an expansive maritime trade network that lasted over
a millennium, becoming the dominant commercial power for much of
classical antiquity. Phoenician trade also helped facilitate the
exchange of cultures, ideas, and knowledge between major cradles
of civilization such as Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. After its
zenith in the ninth century BC, Phoenician civilization in the eastern
Mediterranean slowly declined in the face of foreign influence and
conquest; its presence would remain in the central and western Mediterranean
until the mid second century BC.
The
Phoenicians were organized in city-states, similar to those of ancient
Greece, of which the most notable were Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos.
Each city-state was politically independent, and there is no evidence
the Phoenicians viewed themselves as a single nationality. Carthage,
a Phoenician settlement in northwest Africa, became a major civilization
in its own right in the seventh century BC.
Though
the Phoenicians were long considered a lost civilization due to
the lack of indigenous written records, academic and archaeological
developments since the mid-20th century have revealed a complex
and influential civilization. Their best known legacy is the world's
oldest verified alphabet, which they transmitted across the Mediterranean
world. The Phoenicians are also credited with innovations in shipbuilding,
navigation, industry, agriculture, and government. Their international
trade network is believed to have fostered the economic, political,
and cultural foundations of Classical Western civilization.
Etymology
:
The name Phoenicians, like Latin Poeni (adj. poenicus, later punicus),
comes from Greek Phoiníke. The word phoînix meant variably
"Phoenician person", "Tyrian purple, crimson"
or "date palm." Homer used it with each of these meanings.
(The mythical bird phoenix also carries the same name, but this
meaning is not attested until centuries later.) It is difficult
to ascertain which meaning came first, but it is understandable
how Greeks may have associated the crimson or purple color of dates
and dye with the merchants who traded both products. A derivative,
po-ni-ki-jo, is already attested in Mycenean Greek Linear B from
the 2nd Millennium BC. In these records, it means "crimson"
or "palm tree" and does not denote a group of people.
The Greek word may derive directly from the Phoenicians' endonym;
the land was natively known as Put and its people as the Ponnim.
History
:
Since little has survived of Phoenician records or literature, most
of what is known about their origins and history comes from the
accounts of other civilizations and inferences from their material
culture excavated throughout the Mediterranean.
Origins
:
The Canaanite culture that gave rise to the Phoenicians apparently
developed in situ from the earlier Ghassulian chalcolithic culture.
Ghassulian itself developed from the Circum-Arabian Nomadic Pastoral
Complex, which in turn developed from a fusion of their ancestral
Natufian and Harifian cultures with Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB)
farming cultures, practicing the domestication of animals during
the 6200 BC climate crisis, which led to the Neolithic Revolution
in the Levant. Byblos is attested as an archaeological site from
the Early Bronze Age. The Late Bronze Age state of Ugarit is considered
quintessentially Canaanite archaeologically, even though the Ugaritic
language does not belong to the Canaanite languages proper.
Some
scholars suggest there is evidence for a Semitic dispersal to the
fertile crescent circa 2500 BC; others believe the Phoenicians originated
from an admixture of previous non-Semitic inhabitants with the Semitic
arrivals. Herodotus believed that the Phoenicians originated from
Bahrain, a view shared centuries later by the historian Strabo.
The people of modern Tyre in Lebanon, have particularly long maintained
Persian Gulf origins. The Dilmun civilization thrived in Bahrain
during the period 2200–1600 BC, as shown by excavations of
settlements and the Dilmun burial mounds. However, recent genetic
researches have shown that present-day Lebanese derive most of their
ancestry from a Canaanite-related population.
Emergence
during the Late Bronze Age (1550 - 1200 BC) :
The first known account of the Phoenicians relates to the conquests
of Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479–1425 BC). The Egyptians targeted
coastal cities such as Byblos, Arwad, and Ullasa for their crucial
geographic and commercial links with the interior (via the Nahr
al-Kabir and the Orontes rivers). The cities provided Egypt with
access to Mesopotamian trade as well as abundant stocks of the region's
native cedar wood, of which there was no equivalent in the Egyptian
homeland.
By
the mid 14th century, the Phoenician city states were considered
"favored cities" to the Egyptians. Tyre, Sidon, Beirut,
and Byblos were regarded as the most important. The Phoenicians
had considerable autonomy and their cities were fairly well developed
and prosperous. Byblos was evidently the leading city outside Egypt
proper; it was a major center of bronze-making, and the primary
terminus of precious goods such as tin and lapis lazuli from as
far east as Afghanistan. Sidon and Tyre also commanded interest
among Egyptian officials, beginning a pattern of rivalry that would
span the next millennium.
The
Amarna letters report that from 1350 to 1300 BC, neighboring Amorites
and Hittites were capturing Phoenician cities, especially in the
north. Egypt subsequently lost its coastal holdings from Ugarit
in northern Syria to Byblos near central Lebanon.
Ascendance
and high point (1200 - 800 BC) :
Some time between 1200 and 1150 BC, the Late Bronze Age collapse
severely weakened or destroyed most civilizations in the region,
including the Egyptians and Hittites. The Phoenicians appear to
have weathered the crisis relatively well, emerging as a distinct
and organized civilization in 1230 BC. The period is sometimes described
as a "Phoenician renaissance." They filled the power vacuum
caused by the Late Bronze Age collapse by becoming the sole mercantile
and maritime power in the region, a status they would maintain for
the next several centuries.
The
recovery of the Mediterranean economy can be credited to Phoenician
mariners and merchants, who re-established long distance trade between
Egypt and Mesopotamia in the 10th century BC.
Early
into the Iron Age, the Phoenicians established ports, warehouses,
markets, and settlement all across the Mediterranean and up to the
southern Black Sea. Colonies were established on Cyprus, Sardinia,
the Balearic Islands, Sicily, and Malta, as well as the coasts of
North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. Phoenician hacksilver dated
to this period bears lead isotope ratios matching ores in Sardinia
and Spain, indicating the extent of Phoenician trade networks.
By
the tenth century BC, Tyre rose to become the richest and most powerful
Phoenician city state, particularly during the reign of Hiram I
(c. 969–936 BC). During the rule of the priest Ithobaal (887–856
BC), Tyre expanded its territory as far north as Beirut (incorporating
its former rival Sidon) and into part of Cyprus; this unusual act
of aggression was the closest the Phoenicians ever came to forming
a unitary territorial state. Once his realm reached its greatest
territorial extent, Ithobaal declared himself "King of the
Sidonians", a title that would be used by his successors and
mentioned in both Greek and Jewish accounts.
The
Late Iron Age saw the height of Phoenician shipping, mercantile,
and cultural activity, particularly between 750 and 650 BC. Phoenician
influence was visible in the "Orientalization" of Greek
cultural and artistic conventions. Among their most popular goods
were fine textiles, typically dyed with Tyrian purple. Homer's Iliad,
which was composed during this period, references the quality of
Phoenician clothing and metal goods.
Foundation
of Carthage :
Carthage was founded by Phoenicians coming from Tyre, probably initially
as a station in the metal trade with the southern Iberian Peninsula.
[page needed] The city's name in Punic, Qart-Hadašt, means
"New City". There is a tradition in some ancient sources,
such as Philistos of Syracuse, for an "early" foundation
date of around 1215 BC—before the fall of Troy in 1180 BC.
However, Timaeus, a Greek historian from Sicily c. 300 BC, places
the foundation of Carthage in 814 BC, which is the date generally
accepted by modern historians. Legend, including Virgil's Aeneid,
assigns the founding of the city to Queen Dido. Carthage would grow
into a multi-ethnic empire spanning North Africa, Sardinia, Sicily,
Malta, the Balearic Islands, and southern Iberia, but would ultimately
be destroyed by Rome in the Punic Wars (264–146 BC) before
being rebuilt as a Roman city.[citation needed]
Vassalage
under the Assyrians & Babylonians (858 - 538 BC) :
![](640px-Assyrian_-_Fragments_of_Bands_from_a_Gate_-_Walters_542335_-_View_A.jpg)
Two bronze fragments from an Assyrian palace gate depicting
the collection of tribute from the Phoenician cities of Tyre and
Sidon (859–824 BC). British Museum
As a mercantile power concentrated along a narrow coastal strip
of land, the Phoenicians lacked the size and population to support
a large military. Thus, as neighboring empires began to rise, the
Phoenicians increasingly fell under the sway of foreign rulers,
who to varying degrees circumscribed their autonomy.
The
Assyrian conquest of Phoenicia began with King Shalmaneser III,
who rose to power in 858 BC and began a series of campaigns against
neighboring states. The Phoenician city-states fell under his rule,
forced to pay heavy tribute in money, goods, and natural resources.
Initially they were not annexed outright—they remained in
a state of vassalage, subordinate to the Assyrians but allowed a
certain degree of freedom. This changed in 744 BC with the ascension
of Tiglath-Pileser III. By 738 BC, most of the Levant, including
northern Phoenicia, were annexed; only Tyre and Byblos, the most
powerful of the city states, remained as tributary states outside
of direct Assyrian control.
Tyre,
Byblos, and Sidon all rebelled against Assyrian rule. In 721 BC,
Sargon II besieged Tyre and crushed the rebellion. His successor
Sennacherib suppressed further rebellions across the region. During
the seventh century BC, Sidon rebelled and was completely destroyed
by Esarhaddon, who enslaved its inhabitants and built a new city
on its ruins. By the end of the century, the Assyrians had been
weakened by successive revolts, which led to their destruction by
the Median Empire.
The
Babylonians, formerly vassals of the Assyrians, took advantage of
the empire's collapse and rebelled, quickly establishing the Neo-Babylonian
Empire in its place. Phoenician cities revolted several times throughout
the reigns of the first Babylonian king, Nabopolassar (626–605
BC), and his son Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 605–c. 562 BC). In
587 BC Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre, which resisted for thirteen
years, but ultimately capitulated under "favorable terms".
Persian
period (539 - 332 BC) :
![](Construction_of_Xerxes_Bridge_of_boats_by_Phoenician_sailors.jpg)
Phoenicians constructing pontoon bridges for Xerxes I of
Persia during the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC. (1915
drawing by A. C. Weatherstone)
In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great, king and founder of the Persian Achaemenid
Empire, took Babylon. As Cyrus began consolidating territories across
the Near East, the Phoenicians apparently made the pragmatic calculation
of "[yielding] themselves to the Persians." Most of the
Levant was consolidated by Cyrus into a single satrapy (province)
and forced to pay a yearly tribute of 350 talents, which was roughly
half the tribute that was required of Egypt and Libya.
The
Phoenician area was later divided into four vassal kingdoms—Sidon,
Tyre, Arwad and Byblos—which were allowed considerable autonomy.
Unlike in other areas of the empire, there is no record of Persian
administrators governing the Phoenician city-states. Local Phoenician
kings were allowed to remain in power and even given the same rights
as Persian satraps (governors), such as hereditary offices and minting
their own coins.
![](Coin_of_Abdashtart_I,_Achaemenid_Phoenicia_(2).jpg)
Coin
of Abdashtart I of Sidon during the Achaemenid period. He is depicted
behind the Persian king on the chariot
The Phoenicians remained a core asset to the Achaemenid Empire,
particularly for their prowess in maritime technology and navigation;
they furnished the bulk of the Persian fleet during the Greco-Persian
Wars of the late fifth century BC. Phoenicians under Xerxes I built
the Xerxes Canal and the pontoon bridges that allowed his forces
to cross into mainland Greece. Nevertheless, they were harshly punished
by the Persian king following his defeat at the Battle of Salamis,
which he blamed on Phoenician cowardice and incompetence.
In
the mid fourth century BC, King Tennes of Sidon led a failed rebellion
against Artaxerxes III, enlisting the help of the Egyptians, who
were subsequently drawn into a war with the Persians. The resulting
destruction of Sidon led to the resurgence of Tyre, which remained
the principal Phoenician city for two decades until the arrival
of Alexander the Great.
Hellenistic
period (332 - 152 BC) :
Phoenicia was one of the first areas to be conquered by Alexander
the Great during his military campaigns across western Asia. Alexander's
main target in the Persian Levant was Tyre, now the region's largest
and most important city. It capitulated after a roughly seven month
siege, during which many of its citizens fled to Carthage. Tyre's
refusal to allow Alexander to visit its temple to Melqart, culminating
in the killing of his envoys, led to a brutal reprisal: 2,000 of
its leading citizens were crucified and a puppet ruler was installed.
The rest of Phoenicia easily came under his control, with Sidon
surrendering peacefully.
![](414px-A_naval_action_during_the_siege_of_Tyre_by_Andre_Castaigne_(1898-1899).jpg)
A
naval action during Alexander the Great's Siege of Tyre (332 BC).
Drawing by André Castaigne, 1888 – 89
Alexander's empire had a policy of Hellenization, whereby Hellenic
culture, religion, and sometimes language were spread or imposed
across conquered peoples, but most of the time Hellenisation was
not enforced and was just a language of administration until his
death. This was typically implemented through the founding of new
cities, the settlement of a Macedonian or Greek urban elite, and
the alteration of native place names to Greek. However, there was
evidently no organized Hellenization in Phoenicia, and with one
or two minor exceptions, all Phoenician city states retained their
native names, while Greek settlement and administration appears
to have been very limited.
The
Phoenicians maintained cultural and commercial links with their
western counterparts. Polybius recounts how the Seleucid king Demetrius
I escaped from Rome by boarding a Carthaginian ship that was delivering
goods to Tyre. The adaptation to Macedonian rule was likely aided
by the Phoenicians' historical ties with the Greeks, with whom they
shared some mythological stories and figures; the two peoples were
even sometimes considered "relatives".
When
Alexander's empire collapsed after his death in 323 BC, the Phoenicians
came under the control of the largest of its successors, the Seleucids.
The Phoenician homeland was repeatedly contested by the Ptolemaic
Kingdom of Egypt during the forty year Syrian Wars, coming under
Ptolemaic rule in the third century BC. The Seleucids reclaimed
the area the following century, holding it until the mid-first 2nd
century BC. Under their rule, the Phoenicians were evidently allowed
a considerable degree of autonomy and self governance.
During
the Seleucid Dynastic Wars (157–63 BC), the Phoenician cities
were mostly self governed and many of them were fought for or over
by the warring factions of the Seleucid royal family. Some Phoenician
regions were under the control and influence of the Jews who revolted
and succeeded in defeating Seleucids in 164 BC.
The
Seleucid Kingdom, including Phoenicia, was seized by Tigranes the
Great of Armenia in 82 BC thus ending once and for all the Hellenistic
influence on the region.
With
their strategically valuable buffer state absorbed into a rival
power, the Romans were moved to intervene and conquer the territory
in 62 BC. Shortly thereafter, the territory was incorporated into
the Roman province of Syria. Phoenicia became a separate province
in the third century AD. With the Roman invasion whatever political
autonomy Phoenicians had was dissolved and the region was romanised.
Roman Empire ruled the province up to 640s when the Muslim Arabs
invaded successfully the region and a process of Islamisation and
Arabisation started.[citation needed]
Demographics
:
The Phoenicians, like the neighboring Israelites, Moabites, Edomites,
Hyksos, Ammonites and Suteans, were an offshoot of the Canaanites,
a broad group of ancient Semitic-speaking peoples that emerged at
least in the third millennium BC. They spoke one of the Canaanite
languages, a branch of the Northwest Semitic languages, and included
both settled and semi-nomadic peoples across the Levant. Though
the Phoenicians were often known to outsiders as Canaanites, and
continued to self-identify as such, they became a distinct people
some time in the Late Bronze Age, between the 14th and 13th centuries.
One
2018 study of mitochondrial lineages in Sardinia concluded that
the Phoenicians were "inclusive, multicultural and featured
significant female mobility", with evidence of indigenous Sardinians
integrating "peacefully and permanently" with Semitic
Phoenician settlers. The study also found evidence suggesting that
south Europeans may have settled in the area of modern Lebanon.
Genetic
studies :
A 2008 study led by Pierre Zalloua found that six subclades of Haplogroup
J-M172 (J2)—thought to have originated between the Caucasus
Mountains, Mesopotamia and the Levant—were of a "Phoenician
signature" and present amongst the male populations of the
"coastal Lebanese Phoenician Heartland" and wider Levant
(the "Phoenician Periphery"), followed by other areas
of historic Phoenician settlement, spanning Cyprus through to Morocco.
This deliberate sequential sampling was an attempt to develop a
methodology to link the documented historical expansion of a population
with a particular geographic genetic pattern or patterns. The researchers
suggested that the proposed genetic signature stemmed from "a
common source of related lineages rooted in Lebanon". Another
study in 2006 found evidence for the genetic persistence of Phoenicians
in the Spanish island of Ibiza.
In
2016, the skeleton of 2,500 year old Carthaginian man excavated
from a Punic tomb in Tunisia was found bearing the rare U5b2c1 maternal
haplogroup. The lineage of this "Young Man of Byrsa" is
believed to represent early gene flow from Iberia to the Maghreb.
According
to a 2017 study published by the American Journal of Human Genetics,
present-day Lebanese derive most of their ancestry from a Canaanite-related
population, which therefore implies substantial genetic continuity
in the Levant since at least the Bronze Age. More specifically,
according to geneticist Chris Tyler-Smith and his team at the Sanger
Institute in Britain, who compared "sampled ancient DNA from
five Canaanite people who lived 3,750 and 3,650 years ago"
to modern people, revealed that 93 percent of the genetic ancestry
of people in Lebanon came from the Canaanites (the other 7 percent
was of a Eurasian steppe population).
In
a 2020 study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics,
researchers have shown that there is substantial genetic continuity
in Lebanon since the Bronze Age interrupted by three significant
admixture events during the Iron Age, Hellenistic, and Ottoman period,
each contributing 3–11 percent of non-local ancestry to the
admixed population.
Economy
:
Trade :
![](640px-Phoenician_trade_routes_(eng).svg.png)
Major
Phoenician trade networks (c. 1200 – 800 BC)
The Phoenicians served as intermediaries between the disparate civilizations
that spanned the Mediterranean and Near East, facilitating the exchange
of not only goods, but knowledge, culture, and religious traditions.
Their expansive and enduring trade network is credited with laying
the foundations of an economically and culturally cohesive Mediterranean,
which would be continued by the Greeks and especially the Romans.
Phoenician
ties with the Greeks ran deep. The earliest verified relationship
appears to have begun with the Minoan civilization on Crete (1950–1450
BC), which together with the Mycenaean civilization (1600–1100
BC) is considered the progenitor of classical Greece. Archaeological
research suggests that the Minoans gradually imported Near Eastern
goods, artistic styles, and customs from other cultures via the
Phoenicians.
To
Egypt the Phoenicians sold logs of cedar for significant sums, and
wine beginning in the eighth century. The wine trade with Egypt
is vividly documented by shipwrecks discovered in 1997 in the open
sea 50 kilometres (30 mi) west of Ascalon, Palestine. Pottery kilns
at Tyre and Sarepta produced the large terracotta jars used for
transporting wine. From Egypt, the Phoenicians bought Nubian gold.
![](640px-MuseoArqueologicoCadiz-P1050192.jpg)
Phoenician
sarcophagi found in Cádiz, Spain, thought to have been imported
from the Phoenician homeland around Sidon. Archaeological Museum
of Cádiz
From elsewhere, they obtained other materials, perhaps the most
important being silver, mostly from Sardinia and the Iberian Peninsula.
Tin for making bronze "may have been acquired from Galicia
by way of the Atlantic coast or southern Spain; alternatively, it
may have come from northern Europe (Cornwall or Brittany) via the
Rhone valley and coastal Massalia". Strabo states that there
was a highly lucrative Phoenician trade with Britain for tin via
the Cassiterides, whose location is unknown but may have been off
the northwest coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
Industry
:
![](592px-Phoenician_-_Bowl_with_Hunting_Scene_-_Walters_57705.jpg)
Phoenician
bowl with hunting scene (eighth century BC). The clothing and hairstyle
of the figures is Egyptian, while the subject matter of the central
scene conforms with the Mesopotamian theme of combat between man
and beast. Phoenician artisans frequently adapted the styles of
neighboring cultures.
Phoenicia lacked notable natural resources other than its cedar
wood. Timber was probably the earliest and most lucrative source
of wealth; neither Egypt nor Mesopotamia had adequate sources of
wood. Unable to rely solely on this limited resource, the Phoenicians
developed an industrial base manufacturing a variety of goods for
both common and luxury use. The Phoenicians developed or mastered
techniques such as glass-making, engraved and chased metalwork (including
bronze, iron, and gold), ivory carving, and woodwork.
The
Phoenicians were early pioneers in mass production, and sold a variety
of items in bulk. They became the leading source of glassware in
antiquity, shipping thousands of flasks, beads, and other glass
objects across the Mediterranean. Excavations of colonies in Spain
suggest they also utilized the potter's wheel. Their exposure to
a wide variety of cultures allowed them to manufacture goods for
specific markets. The Iliad suggests Phoenician clothing and metal
goods were highly prized by the Greeks. Specialized goods were designed
specifically for wealthier clientele, including ivory reliefs and
plaques, carved clam shells, sculpted amber, and finely detailed
and painted ostrich eggs.
Tyrian
purple :
![](Contemporary_portrayal_of_a_toga_picta.jpg)
An
Etruscan tomb (c. 350 BC) depicting a man wearing in an all-purple
toga picta
The most prized Phoenician goods were fabrics dyed with Tyrian purple,
which formed a major part of Phoenician wealth. The violet-purple
dye derived from the hypobranchial gland of the Murex marine snail,
once profusely available in coastal waters of the eastern Mediterranean
Sea but exploited to local extinction. Phoenicians may have discovered
the dye as early as 1750 BC. The Phoenicians established a second
production center for the dye in Mogador, in present-day Morocco.
The
Phoenicians' exclusive command over the production and trade of
the dye, combined with the labor-intensive extraction process, made
it very expensive. Tyrian purple subsequently became associated
with the upper classes and soon became a status symbol in several
civilizations, most notably among the Romans. Assyrian records of
tribute from the Phoenicians include "garments of brightly
colored stuff" that most likely included Tyrian purple. While
the designs, ornamentation, and embroidery used in Phoenician textiles
were apparently well-regarded, the techniques and specific descriptions
are unknown.
Mining
:
Mining operations in the Phoenician homeland were limited; iron
was the only metal of any worth. The first large-scale mining operations
probably occurred in Cyprus, principally for copper. Sardinia may
have been colonized almost exclusively for its mineral resources;
Phoenician settlements were concentrated in the southern parts of
the island, close to sources of copper and lead. Piles of scoria
and copper ingots, which appear to predate Roman occupation, suggest
the Phoenicians mined and processed metals on the island. The Iberian
Peninsula was known for being the richest source of numerous metals
in antiquity, including gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and lead.
[page needed] The significant output of these metals during the
Phoenician and Carthaginian occupation strongly implied large scale
mining operations. [page needed] The Carthaginians are documented
to have relied on slave labor for mining, though it is unknown if
the Phoenicians as a whole did so.[page needed]
Viticulture
:
The most notable agricultural product was wine, which the Phoenicians
helped propagate across the Mediterranean. The common grape vine
may have been domesticated by the Phoenicians or Canaanites, although
it most likely arrived from Transcaucasia via trade routes across
Mesopotamia or the Black Sea. Vines grew readily in the coastal
Levant, and wine was exported to Egypt as early as the Old Kingdom
period (2686–2134 BC). Wine played an important part in Phoenician
religion, serving as the principal beverage for offerings and sacrifice.
An excavation of a small Phoenician town south of Sidon uncovered
a wine factory used from at least the seventh century BC, which
is believed to have been aimed for an overseas market. To prevent
oxidation, vessels were sealed with a layer of olive oil, pinewood,
and resin.[citation needed]
The
Phoenicians established vineyards and wineries in their colonies
in North Africa, Sicily, France, and Spain, and may have taught
winemaking to some of their trading partners. The ancient Iberians
began producing wine from local grape varieties following their
encounter with the Phoenicians, and Iberian cultivars subsequently
formed the basis of most western European wine.
Shipbuilding
:
As early as 1200 BC, the Phoenicians built large merchant ships.
[citation needed] During the Bronze Age, they developed the keel.
[citation needed] Pegged mortise-and-tenon joints proved effective
enough to serve as a standard until late into the Roman Empire.[citation
needed]
The
Phoenicians were possibly the first to introduce the bireme, around
700 BC. An Assyrian account describes Phoenicians evading capture
with these ships. [citation needed] The Phoenicians are also credited
with inventing the trireme, which was regarded as the most advanced
and powerful vessel in the ancient Mediterranean world, and were
eventually adopted by the Greeks.
Two
Assyrian representations of ships, which could represent Phoenician
vessels
![](640px-AssyrianWarship.jpg)
Warship
with two rows of oars, in a relief from Nineveh (c. 700 BC)
![](640px-Eastern_Antiquities_in_the_Louvre_-_Room_4,_05.jpg)
The
Timber Transportation relief at the Louvre
The Phoenicians developed several other maritime inventions. The
amphora, a type of container used for both dry and liquid goods,
was an ancient Phoenician invention that became a standardized measurement
of volume for close to two thousand years. The remnants of self-cleaning
artificial harbors have been discovered in Sidon, Tyre, Atlit, and
Acre. The first example of admiralty law also appears in the Levant.
The Phoenicians continued to contribute to cartography into the
Iron Age.
In
2014, a roughly 50-foot Phoenician trading ship was found near Gozo
island in Malta. Dated 700 BC, it is one of the oldest wrecks found
in the Mediterranean. Fifty amphorae, used to contain wine and oil,
were scattered nearby.
Important
cities and colonies :
![](640px-Griechischen_und_ph%F6nizischen_Kolonien.jpg)
Map
of Phoenician (in yellow) and Greek colonies around 8th to 6th century
BC (with German legend)
The Phoenicians were not a nation in the political sense, but were
organized into independent city states that shared a common language
and culture. The leading city states were Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos.
Rivalries were common, but armed conflict rare.
Numerous
other cities existed in the Levant alone, many probably unknown,
including Berut (modern Beirut) Ampi, Amia, Arqa, Baalbek, Botrys,
Sarepta and Tripoli. From the late tenth century BC, the Phoenicians
established commercial outposts throughout the Mediterranean, with
Tyre founding colonies in Cyprus, Sardinia, Iberia, the Balearic
Islands, Sicily, Malta, and North Africa. Later colonies were established
beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, particularly on the Atlantic coast
of Iberia, and the Phoenicians may have explored the Canary Islands
and the British Isles. Phoenician settlement was especially concentrated
in Cyprus, Sicily, Sardinia, Malta, northwest Africa, the Balearic
Islands, and southern Iberia.
Phoenician
colonization :
To facilitate their commercial ventures, the Phoenicians established
numerous colonies and trading posts along the coasts of the Mediterranean.
Phoenician city states generally lacked the numbers or even the
desire to expand their territory overseas. Few colonies had more
than 1,000 inhabitants; only Carthage and some nearby settlements
in the western Mediterranean would grow larger. A major motivating
factor was competition with the Greeks, who began expanding across
the Mediterranean during the same period. Though a largely peaceful
rivalry, their respective settlements in Crete and Sicily did clash
intermittently.
The
earliest Phoenician settlements outside the Levant were on Cyprus
and Crete, gradually moving westward towards Corsica, the Balearic
Islands, Sardinia, and Sicily, as well as on the European mainland
in Genoa and Marseilles. The first Phoenician colonies in the western
Mediterranean were along the northwest African coast and on Sicily,
Sardinia and the Balearic Islands. Tyre led the way in settling
or controlling coastal areas.
Phoenician
colonies were fairly autonomous. At most, they were expected to
send annual tribute to their mother city, usually in the context
of a religious offering. However, in the seventh century BC the
western colonies came under the control of Carthage, which was exercised
directly through appointed magistrates. Carthage continued to send
annual tribute to Tyre for some time after its independence.
Society
and culture :
Since very little of the Phoenicians' own writings have survived,
much of what is known about their culture and society comes from
accounts by contemporary civilizations or inferences from archaeological
discoveries. The Phoenicians had much in common with other Canaanites,
including language, religion, social customs, and a monarchical
political system centered around city-states. However, by the early
Iron Age (roughly 1300 BC) they had emerged as a distinct people,
with their culture, economy, and daily life being heavily centered
on commerce and maritime trade. Their propensity for seafaring brought
them into contact with numerous other civilizations.
Politics
and government :
![](640px-King_Hiram_Of_Tyre.jpg)
Tomb
of King Hiram I of Tyre, located in the village of Hanawai (Hanawiya
or Hanawey) in southern Lebanon
The Phoenician city-states were fiercely independent in both domestic
and foreign affairs. [citation needed] Formal alliances between
city states were rare. The relative power and influence of city-states
varied over time. Sidon was dominant between the 12th and 11th centuries
BC, and exercised some influence over its neighbors, but by the
tenth century BC, Tyre rose to become the most powerful city.
Phoenician
society was highly stratified and predominantly monarchical, at
least in its earlier stages. Hereditary kings usually governed with
absolute power over civic, commercial, and religious affairs. They
often relied upon senior officials from the noble and merchant classes;
the priesthood was a distinct class, usually of royal lineage or
from leading merchant families. The king was considered a representative
of the gods and carried many obligations and duties with respect
to religious processions and rituals. Priests were thus highly influential
and often became intertwined with the royal family.
Phoenician kings did not commemorate their reign through sculptures
or monuments. Their wealth, power, and accomplishments were usually
conveyed through ornate sarcophagi, like that of Ahiram of Byblos.
The Phoenicians kept records of their rulers in the form of tomb
inscriptions, which are among the few primary sources still available.
Historians have been able to determine a clear line of succession
over centuries for some city-states, notably Byblos and Tyre.
Starting
as early as 15th century BC, Phoenician leaders were "advised
by councils or assemblies which gradually took greater power".
In the sixth century BC, during the period of Babylonian rule, Tyre
briefly adopted a system of government consisting of a pair of judges
with authority roughly equivalent to the Roman consul, known as
sufetes (shophets), who were chosen from the most powerful noble
families and served short terms.
![](Phoenician_Merchants_and_Traders.jpg)
Nineteenth century depiction of Phoenician sailors and merchants.
The importance of trade to the Phoenician economy evidently led
to a gradual sharing of power between the king and assemblies of
merchant families.
In the fourth century BC, when the armies of Alexander the Great
approached Tyre, they were met not by its king but by representatives
of the commonwealth of the city. Similarly, historians at the time
describe the "inhabitants" or "the people" of
Sidon making peace with Alexander. When the Macedonians sought to
appoint a new king over Sidon, the citizens nominated their own
candidate.
Law
and administration :
After the king and council, the two most important political positions
in virtually every Phoenician city state were that of governor and
commander of the army. Details regarding the duties of these offices
are sparse, but it is known that the governor was responsible for
collecting taxes, implementing decrees, supervising judges, and
ensuring the administration of law and justice. As warfare was rare
among the mostly mercantile Phoenicians, the commander of the army
was generally responsible for ensuring the defense and security
of the city-state and its hinterlands.
![](640px-PhoenicianStela-4cBC-Tyre-NationalMuseumOfBeirut_03102019RomanDeckert.jpg)
Stela
from Tyre with Phoenician inscriptions (c. fourth century BC). National
Museum of Beirut
The Phoenicians had a system of courts and judges that resolved
disputes and punished crimes based on a semi-codified body of laws
and traditions. Laws were implemented by the state and were the
responsibility of the ruler and certain designated officials. Like
other Levantine societies, laws were harsh and biased, reflecting
the social stratification of society. The murder of a commoner was
treated as less serious than of a nobleman, and the upper classes
had the most rights; the wealthy often escaped punishment by paying
a fine. Free men of any class could represent themselves in court
and had more rights than women and children, while slaves had no
rights at all. Men could often deflect punishment to their wives,
children, or slaves, even having them serve his sentence in his
place. Lawyers eventually emerged as a profession for those who
could not plead their own case.
As
in neighboring societies at the time, penalties for crimes were
often severe, usually reflecting the principle of reciprocity; for
example, the killing of a slave would be punished by having the
offender's slave killed. Imprisonment was rare, with fines, exile,
punishment, and execution the main remedies.
Military
:
As with most aspects of Phoenician civilization, there are few records
of their military or approach to warfare. Compared to most of their
neighbors, the Phoenicians generally had little interest in conquest
and were a relatively peaceful people. The wealth and prosperity
of all their city states rested on foreign trade, which required
good relations and a certain degree of mutual trust. They also lacked
the territory and agricultural base to support a population large
enough to raise an army of conquest. Instead, each city had an army
commander in charge of a defensive garrison, but the specifics of
the role, or of city defense, are unknown.
Language
:
The Phoenician language was a member of the Canaanite branch of
the Semitic languages. Its descendant language spoken in the Carthaginian
Empire is termed Punic. Punic was still spoken in the fifth century
AD, and known to St. Augustine of Hippo.
Alphabet
:
![](640px-Ahiram_sarcophag_from_Biblos_XIII-XBC.jpg)
Sarcophagus of Ahiram, which bears the oldest inscription
of the Phoenician alphabet. National Museum of Beirut
Around 1050 BC, the Phoenicians developed a script for writing their
own language. The Canaanite-Phoenician alphabet consists of 22 letters,
all consonants (and is thus strictly an abjad). It is believed to
be a continuation of the Proto-Sinaitic (or Proto-Canaanite) script
attested in the Sinai and in Canaan in the Late Bronze Age. Through
their maritime trade, the Phoenicians spread the use of the alphabet
to Anatolia, North Africa, and Europe. The name Phoenician is by
convention given to inscriptions beginning around 1050 BC, because
Phoenician, Hebrew, and other Canaanite dialects were largely indistinguishable
before that time. Phoenician inscriptions are found in Lebanon,
Syria, Palestine, Cyprus and other locations, as late as the early
centuries of the Christian era.
The
alphabet was adopted and modified by the Greeks probably in the
eighth century BC. This most likely did not occur in a single instance
but in a process of commercial exchange. The legendary Phoenician
hero Cadmus is credited with bringing the alphabet to Greece, but
it is more plausible that it was brought by Phoenician immigrants
to Crete, whence it gradually diffused northwards.
Art
:
Phoenician art was largely centered on ornamental objects, particularly
jewelry, pottery, glassware, and reliefs. Large sculptures were
rare; figurines were more common. Phoenician goods have been found
from Spain and Morocco to Russia and Iraq; much of what is known
about Phoenician art is based from excavations outside of Phoenicia
proper. Phoenician art was highly influenced by the many cultures
the Phoenicians traded and interacted with, primarily Egypt, Greece,
and Assyria. Greek inspiration was particularly pronounced in pottery,
while Egyptian styles were most reflected in ivory work.
Phoenician
art also differed from its contemporaries in its continuance of
Bronze Age conventions well into the Iron Age, such as terracotta
masks. Phoenician artisans were known for their skill with wood,
ivory, bronze, and textiles. In the Old Testament, a craftsman from
Tyre is commissioned to build and decorate the legendary Solomon's
Temple in Jerusalem, which "presupposes a well-developed and
highly respected craft industry in Phoenicia by the mid-tenth century
BC". The Iliad mentions the embroidered robes of Priam’s
wife, Hecabe, as "the work of Sidonian women" and describes
a mixing bowl of chased silver as "a masterpiece of Sidonian
craftsmanship." [citation needed] The Assyrians appeared to
have valued Phoenician ivory work in particular, collecting vast
quantities in their palaces.
Phoenician
art appears to have been indelibly tied to Phoenician commercial
interests. They appear to have crafted goods to appeal to particular
trading partners, distinguishing not only different cultures but
even socioeconomic classes.
![](lossy-page1-577px-Phoenician,_Iraq,_Nimrud,_9th-8th_Century_BC_-_Decorative_Plaque-_Man;_and_Griffin_in_Combat_-_1968.45_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif.jpg)
Decorative
plaque which depicts a fighting of man and griffin; 900–800
BC; Nimrud ivories; Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio, US)
![](395px-Oinochoe_MET_DP279075.jpg)
Oinochoe;
800–700 BC; terracotta; height: 24.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum
of Art (New York City)
![](Glass_face_bead_MET_DP121044.jpg)
Face
bead; mid-4th–3rd century BC; glass; height: 2.7 cm; Metropolitan
Museum of Art
![](Pair_of_gold_earrings_with_four_relief_faces_MET_sf19992896ab2.jpg)
Earring
from a pair, each with four relief faces; late 4th–3rd century
BC; gold; overall: 3.5 x 0.6 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Women
:
![](640px-FemaleFigurines-Tyre-IronAge-II_NationalMuseumOfBeirut_06102019.jpg)
Female
figurines from Tyre (c.1000–550 BC). National Museum of Beirut
Women in Phoenicia took part in public events and religious processions,
with depictions of banquets showing them casually sitting or reclining
with men, dancing, and playing music. In most contexts, however,
women were expected to dress and behave more modestly than men;
female figures are almost always portrayed as draped from head to
feet, with the arms sometimes covered as well.
Although
they rarely had political power, women took part in community affairs
and had some voice in the popular assembles that began to emerge
in some city states. At least one woman, Unmiashtart, is recorded
to have ruled Sidon in the fifth century BC. The two most famous
Phoenician women are political figures: Jezebel, portrayed in the
Bible as the assertive princess of Sidon, and Dido, the semi-legendary
founder and first queen of Carthage. In Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid,
Dido is described as having been the co-ruler of Tyre, using cleverness
to escape the tyranny of her brother Pygmalion and to secure an
ideal site for Carthage.
Religion
:
The religious practices and beliefs of Phoenicia were generally
common to those of their neighbours in Canaan, which in turn shared
characteristics common throughout the ancient Semitic world. Religious
rites were primarily for city-state purposes; payment of taxes by
citizens was considered in the category of religious sacrifices.
Unfortunately, many of the Phoenician sacred writings known to the
ancients have been lost.
![](325px-Baal_Ugarit_Louvre_AO17330.jpg)
Figure
of Ba'al with raised arm, 14th – 12th century BC, found at
ancient Ugarit (Ras Shamra site), a city at the far north of the
Phoenician coast. Musée du Louvre
Several Canaanite practices are attested in ancient sources and
mentioned by scholars, such as temple prostitution and child sacrifice.
Special sites known as "Tophets" were allegedly used by
the Phoenicians "to burn their sons and their daughters in
the fire", and are condemned by Yahweh in the Hebrew bible,
particularly in Jeremiah 7:30–32, and in 2nd Kings 23:10 and
17:17. Notwithstanding these and other important differences, cultural
and religious similarities between the ancient Hebrews and the Phoenicians
persisted.
Canaanite
religious mythology does not appear as elaborate as their Semitic
cousins in Mesopotamia. In Canaan the supreme god was called El
("god"). The son of El was Baal ("master", "lord"),
a powerful dying-and-rising storm god. Other gods were called by
royal titles, such as Melqart, meaning "king of the city",
or Adonis for "lord". Such epithets may often have been
merely local titles for the same deities.
The
Semitic pantheon was well-populated; which god became primary evidently
depended on the exigencies of a particular city-state. Melqart was
prominent throughout Phoenicia and overseas, as was Astarte, a fertility
goddess with regal and matronly aspects.
Religious
institutions in Tyre, called marzeh ("place of reunion"),
did much to foster social bonding and "kin" loyalty. Marzeh
held banquets for their membership on festival days, and many developed
into elite fraternities. Each marzeh nurtured congeniality and community
through a series of ritual meals, shared together among trusted
kin in honor of deified ancestors. In Carthage, which had developed
a complex republican system of government, the marzeh may have played
a role in forging social and political ties among citizens; Carthaginians
were divided into different institutions that were solidified through
communal feasts and banquets. Such festival groups may also have
composed the voting cohort for selecting members of the city-state's
Assembly.
The
Phoenicians made votive offerings to their gods, namely in the form
of figurines and pottery vessels. Hundreds of figurines and fragments
have been recovered from the Mediterranean, often spanning centuries
between them, suggesting they were cast into the sea to ensure safe
travels. Since the Phoenicians were a predominately seafaring people,
it is speculated that many of their rituals were performed at sea
or aboard ships, though the specific nature of these practices is
unknown.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Phoenicia