The Phoenician Civilization

Phoenicia was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BCE to 300 BCE.

1. The Phoenician Civilization
(c. 1200-146 BC)
BoutkhilGuemide
University Mohammed Boudiaf, M’sila
Algeria

2. INTRODUCTION
•ThePhoenicians:Greatmarinersoftheancientworld,andtheirmaritimerealmwas
organizedintocity-statesakintotheGreeks.
•Therewasneveracountryorempirecalled“Phoenicia”:Apossibleoriginofthe
historicalnameforthisSemitic/Canaaniteculturemighthavecomefromtheancient
GreekΦοινίκη(Phoiníkē)meaning“PurpleLand.”
•ThatisbecausethePhoenicianswerefamousintheirowntimefortheirdarkpurple
dye—arareandprizedcommodity.
•InhabitantsofthePhoeniciancity-statesalongtheEasternMediterraneancoast(like
SidonandTyre)mighthavecalledthemselvesKenaani(Canaanites);orwith
appellationsrelatingtotheirparticularcity-states(e.g.“Sidonians”or“Tyrians”).
•ThePhoeniciancultureoriginatedintheEasternMediterraneanregionoftheLevant
(SouthernSyria,LebanonandNorthernIsrael)inthe2ndmillenniumBC.
•ThePhoeniciansfoundedthecoastalcity-statesofByblos,SidonandTyre(ancient
Canaan).
•Overthecenturiesmerchantsandexplorersfromthesecity-statesspreadacrossthe
Mediterranean;andperhapsevennavigatedasfarastheBritishIslestobringback
tin—ascarcityintheMediterraneanbutacrucialingredient,alongwithcopper(from
theislandofCypruswherethePhoeniciansalsohadafoothold),forthemakingof
bronze.
•ThepeakofPhoeniciancolonizationtookplaceinthecenturiesaftertheLateBronze
Agecollapseof1200BC(causedbythemysterious“SeaPeoples”)whenthe
Levantinecity-statestookadvantageofthepowervacuumcreatedbythesuddenfall
ofseveralmajorcivilizations

3. LOCATION
•C.1200BC:,AsmallgroupofPhoeniciantradersfromtheLevant
prosperedandgraduallyexpandedtheirinfluenceacrossthe
Mediterranean.
•Insteadofacquiringaphysicalempireofcontiguouslands,they
graduallybuiltalargetradingandcolonialnetworkfromtheirhomebase
ofafewindependentcity-statesalongthecoastofwhatisnowLebanon,
SouthernSyriaandNorthernIsrael.
•Spreadingwestward,thePhoeniciansfoundedcoloniesonCyprusand
intheregionoftheAegeanSea(includingthecoastofTurkey);onthe
islandsofMalta,Sardinia,SicilyandtheBalearicarchipelago;andin
NorthAfrica,SpainandPortugal.
•ThePhoenicianculturewascomprisedofindependentcity-states
sharingaSemiticlanguageandabeliefsystemoriginatingintheEastern
Mediterranean.
•ThemostimportantoftheseearliestPhoeniciancity-stateswerein
Canaan:Ṣūr(Tyre),Ṣīdūn(Sidon)andGebal—called“Byblos”bythe
ancientGreeks—fromwhichtheGreekwordbiblos(book)wasderived
(eventuallyevolvingintotheEnglishword“Bible”).
•ThesecoastalcitieswerehemmedinontheinlandsidebytheLebanon
Mountains.

4. The Phoenicians
•The Phoenician
empire was found in
present day Lebanon
•Greatest sailors and
traders in the world
•The two biggest cities
in Phoenicia were
Tyre and Sidon

5. •Sidon was the capitol of Phoenicia
•Tyre was the world’s greatest port and
biggest trading city
•Phoenicians also colonize N. Africa
–The city of Carthage becomes the greatest
city in North Africa

6. RISE TO POWER
•C.1200BC:CanaanitetradershadbeenrestrictedtotheLevantinecoast
(modern-dayLebanon,NorthernIsraelandSouthernSyria),Egypt,andthe
southerncoastofAnatolia.
•TheCanaanitecoastaltownswereusuallygovernedbyEgypt,andoneoftheir
principalbusinesseswasprovidingwood(thefamedcedarsofLebanon)and
provisionslikewinetotheNileregion.
•ThePhoenicianswerethemostaggressiveofthoseattemptingtofillthevoid:
Theircitieswerewellpositionedforthisenterprise,beinglocatedliterallyinthe
centeroftheknownworld.
•Foranyofthethreeregionstotradewithanother,theeasiestroutewasthrough
thePhoeniciancity-states.
•ThePhoeniciansweregrowingrichastraders,andthisattractedenemies,
principallytheAssyriansandBabylonians.Inthefaceofrepeatedassaultsor
heavytributepayments,theTyriansadoptedthestrategyofestablishing
coloniestothewest.
•ThemostimportantPhoeniciancolonywasatCarthage,establishedinthe9th
centuryBC:OtherimportantcolonieswereinSicily,Corsica,Malta,Sardinia,
andSpain.
•Overthenext500years,Carthagegrewrapidlyinsizeandpower:Muchofits
wealthcamefromhighlyproductiveoreminesofSpain.
•CarthagefoughtforcontroloftheWesternMediterraneanfirstwiththeGreeks
andthenwiththeRomans.

8. What did the Phoenicians
Make?

10. What The Phoenicians Made
•The Phoenicians created the color purple
–They become known as the “Purple People”
•The only place you could buy purple goods was
Tyre (Tyrian Purple)
•Purple is very expensive to make
–So expensive to make and buy that it
becomes known as the “Imperial Color”(The
color of emperors)
•Emperors were said to “wear the purple”when
they became emperor

11. ECONOMY
•TheearlyPhoenicianeconomywasbuiltontimbersales,woodworking,glass
manufacturing,theshippingofgoods,andthemakingofdye.
•Phoeniciandyesweremadefromthesecretionsofthecarnivorousmurexsea
snail.
•InRome,thishighlycoveteddyewascalledTyrianPurple.
•GraduallythePhoeniciancity-statesbecamecentersofmaritimetradeand
manufacturing.
•Havinglimitednaturalresources,theyimportedrawmaterialsandfashioned
themintomorevaluableobjectsthatcouldbeshippedprofitably,suchas
jewelry,ivorycarvingsmetalwork,furniture,housewares,andspecialtyitems
likepaintedostricheggs.
•Theyborrowedtechniquesandstylesfromallcornersoftheworldthatthey
touchedastraders.
•TheancientRomanPliny:They“inventedtrade.”
•ByfortifyingstrongholdsinSicilyandNorthAfrica,thePhoenicianseffectively
deniedothertradersaccesstotherichesofSpain(silverandotherores),the
WestAfricancoast(gold,exoticwoods,andslaves),andBritain(tin,acrucial
strategicresourcerequiredtomakebronze).
•ThePhoenicianstaughttheGreeksthewritingsystemthatwouldeventually
becometheGreekalphabet.HealsonotedthatPhoeniciantradersbrought
frankincensetotheAegean;andtaughttheGreeksthewordforanexoticspice:
cinnamon.

13. How to Make Purple
•The Phoenicians
would crush shells
and make the shells
into a purple dye

14. Other Phoenician
Accomplishments
•The Phoenicians invented the alphabet

15. RELIGION AND CULTURE
•ThePhoenicianreligionwaspolytheistic:Their
godsrequiredsacrificestoforestalldisaster,
especiallyBaal,theGodofStorms,andhis
consortTanit.
•TheBible,Roman,andGreekaccountstellofchild
sacrificespracticedregularlybythePhoenicians.

16. GOVERNMENT
•Phoeniciangovernment:Theirsystemcanbestbe
classifiedasasortofoligarchicalrepublic:Twochief
magistratescalledsuffeteswerechosenbythenoble
familiestopresideforoneyearoveraSenatemadeupof
theCarthaginianaristocracy.
•TheSenate,abodythatwasbeholdentothefundamental
dictatesoftheconstitution,wasresponsiblefordrafting
newlaws,handlingforeignaffairsandfinance;and
instructingappointedmilitaryleaderslikethepowerful
HannibalBarca(whowasdramaticallyrecalledfromhis
campaigninItalybytheCarthaginianSenateafterthe
RomansinvadedAfrica).
•WhileGreekandRomanwriterssometimescharacterized
Phoeniciansaswilyorcunning,manyagreedthatthe
Carthaginianconstitutionalsystemwasexcellentandeven
(accordingtoAristotle)“superior”toothernations.

17. ARCHITECTURE
•Thereislittlearchaeologicalevidencerevealingthe
architectureofthePhoenicians:Manyoftheircitieswere
destroyedinancienttimesandnowlieburiedunder
modernstructures.
•MostPhoeniciancitadelsweresituatedoncoastal
promontoriesnearsaltflatsorlagoons.
•Anartificialprotectedinnerharbor(calledacothon)was
auniquefeatureofmanyPhoeniciancity-states;andthe
mostfamousoftheseman-madeharborswasbuiltin
Carthage.
•Phoeniciancitieswereusuallysurroundedbycurtain
wallsprotectingurbanareas,sanctuaries,public
buildingsandworkshops.
•Thecity’snecropolis(cemetery)waslocatedoutsidethe
bastions.

18. Built the Temple of Solomon

20. MILITARY
•WhenthePhoeniciansbegancompetingwiththeGreeksfortradeandcolonies,the
contestledtowhatmighthavebeentheconstructionofthefirstshipsbuiltexpresslyfor
war.
•Thesewererowedgalleysarmedwithalargemetalspikeorbeak-shapedramatthefront
andcarryingmarinesforboardingparties.
•SeawarfaregrewinimportanceduringthefifthcenturyBC,whenPersiafoughttheGreek
city-statesforcontroloftheAegean,WesternAnatolia,andtheEasternMediterranean.
•Duringthisera,thePhoeniciancitieswereundercontrolofPersia,butweregrantedmuch
morefreedomthantheyhadpreviouslyheldundertheAssyriansorBabylonians.
•PhoenicianshipsmadeupthebulkofthePersianfleetthatwasdefeatedbytheGreeks
atthemassiveseabattleofSalamisin480BC.
•TheCarthaginiannavydominatedtheearlyPunicWarswithRome,buttheRomans
capturedaCarthaginianshipthatwentagroundandbuiltduplicates:TheRomans
eventuallyclearedtheMediterraneanofCarthaginianshipsandcarriedthewarstoa
successfulconclusioninNorthAfrica.
•ThePhoenician’sgreatestgeneralwasHannibalBarcawhoinvadedItalyaftercrossing
theAlpsinthewinterwithhisarmy.
•SomeofHannibal’stroopswereCeltsenlistedfromSpainandGaul:Amajorstrengthof
hisarmywashisNumidiancavalryfromNorthAfrica.
•TheRomansdefeatedHannibaleventually,notbyfightinghimonItaliansoil,butrather
bytakingthefighttoCarthaginiancoloniesinSpain;andfinally,ontheplainsofAfrica
nearCarthageattheBattleofZama.

21. DECLINE AND FALL
•ThePhoenicianhomecity-stateswereperiodicallyunderthe
thumbofoneEasternconquerorafteranotherfromroughly900to
332BC.
•Theywereneverstrongenoughtoholdoffthepowerfularmies
fromAssyria,Babylon,andPersia.
•334BC:ThesiegeofTyrewhereAlexandertheGreattookthe
Phoeniciancity-statesintheEasternMediterraneanonebyone,
endingtheiron-again,off-againindependence.
•TheCarthaginians,however,remainedindependentfornearly200
moreyears.
•HavingsuccessfullyheldoffGreekexpansionpastSicilyformany
centuries,theyeventuallymettheirmatchinthemorepopulous
andbetter-organizedRomans.
•AttheendofthePunicWars,thepeopleofCarthagewereeither
slaughteredorcarriedoffasslavesandtheircitywasrazed(146
BC).
•TheRomanarmysewedthegroundwithsaltandploweditinto
theearthsothatnothingcouldevergrowinCarthageeveragain.