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Phoenicia
From 1200 BC to 539 BC, the ancient Semitic civilization of Phoenicia was situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent in what is now Lebanon and Tartus Governorate, Syria. They are known for almost all modern day alphabets being derived from their alphabet.
714 Questions
What were the three dangers the Phoenician traders may have encountered along their journeys?
Weather, pirates, hostile competitors.
What are the Phoenicians credited with?
they were the first ones to make glass using sand and they came up with the 22-letter alphabet.
Why are they called Phoenicians?
The Phoenicians were called the "carriers of civilization" because they spread Middle Eastern civilization around the Mediterranean. Their superb navigation and shipbuilding skills helped them spread their ideas around the sea.
The location of the Phoenicians helped them as well. By being located at the tip of the Fertile Crescent, travelers came through Phoenicia in search of other places, thereby sharing their ideas. The Phoenicians had the skills to get these ideas around.
The alphabet is Phoenicia's crowning achievement. Instead of words based on syllables, here were words based on symbols and the sounds each symbol makes. With this new idea, the Phoenicians (and the Arameans) can truly be called the "carriers of civilization".
What 2 things are the Phoenicians known for?
Astral navigation, seafaring and trading, an alphabet, timber and dyes.
Where is Phoenician colonist located?
The city-state of Carthage was established as a colony and became independent. It is located in today's Tunisia.
What effect did the geographic setting have on Phoenicia?
With an expanding population and limited land to sustain it, they had to choose between conquering new territory (as the Greeks did) or trade. They chose trade.
What were the beliefs of the Phoenicians?
The Phoenicians believed in many gods who were closely tied to nature. Since they thought the gods met people only on hills and under trees, they worshiped only in these places first. Later, they built temples. Each had and entrance hall, a main hall, and a holy of holies, where the image or sacred stone of the god was kept. Sacrifices of wine, perfume, animals, and humans were made on a nearby stone altar. Only priests could offer these sacrifices. It was thought that this strengthened the power of the gods and kept them friendly toward people.
The Phoenicians believed in a life after death. At first, they buried their dead in clay urns. Later, enfluenced by Egyptian customs, they embalmed the bodies, wrapped them in linen, and placed them in stone coffins in hillside cemeteries.
holy of holies: most sacred chamber
urns: ornamental vases
They were the greatest traders in ancient times. They built good ships, were good sailors and were first to establish colonies along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.
Where did the Phoenician come from?
There is some disagreement about where the Phoenicians cames from, although the most widely accepted theory is that they came from the shores of the Erythraean (Dead) Sea.
What is the Latin word for Phoenician?
The Latin word for the Phoenicians is Poeni. The adjectival form is Punicus. This is the source of our word "Punic", as in the "Punic Wars" fought between Rome and Carthage. Carthage which was originally a Phoenician colony.
The Phoenicians were a Semitic people who established an early civilization - from about 1200 BCE - on the Mediterranean coast near what is now Lebanon and western Syria where they established a series of independent city-states (eg Sidon, Tyre, Byblos, with a major city-state in Tunisia - Carthage). They were also one of the strongest of the maritime powers of their time.
They established trading colonies and posts all around the Mediteranean basin, in North Africa (Morroco, Tunisia, Lybia, Algeria, Egypt), the Italian peninsula, Sicily, Corsica, Spain, Portugal, Babylon. Phoenicia as a state and civilization lasted from 1550 BC to 300 BC when the main territory was conquered by the Persians.
The cities in the east were taken over by Persia, then the Hellenistic kingdoms in the 3rd Century BCE. The city of Carthage fought a century-long war with the rising power Rome and was demolished. By the 1st Century BCE Rome had absorbed the eastern cities as well into is empire.
As an ethnicity, the Phoenician were of Semite origin but were a mix of tribes which had moved in from the east into Lebanon and Syria.
They produced the alphabet from which Greece and Rome developed theirs. They are credited with inventing the bireme.
The Phoenicians were conquered by Cyrus the Great of Persia in 539 BC, and then were divided into four vassal kingdoms thereafter.
They traded around the Mediterranean Sea purple and showed people how to use the alphabet. They lived in colonies and were spread out by Cyrus the great.
A Sidonian (also Zidonian) is a native or inhabitant of Sidon, in ancient Phoenicia, now occupying Saida in Lebanon.
What happened to the city of Carthage?
At the end of the Third Punic War, Rome sold the people into slavery and converted the city into a resettlement colony for its retired soldiers.
It's city-states were absorbed into the Roman province of Syria after their takeover by Pompey the Great in 65 BCE.
How did the Phoenicians improve the Egyptians writing system?
We are often told that the Phoenicians invented the alphabet. Regardless of who put pen to papyrus to create it, the Phoenician contribution was none-the-less major and critical. They were the major sea-traders of the Mediterranean, and they went everywhere. When the Phoenicians began using the alphabet as a simple and easy way to keep track of their trades, it was exposed to everyone.
Who was the Phoenician founder of Thebes?
The legend is that Cadmus, in search of his abducted sister Europa, settled in Boeotia, founding the city of Cadmea, later called Thebes.
