I.

Introduction

Phoenicia, ancient name for a narrow strip of territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, now largely in modern Lebanon. The territory, about 320 km (200 mi) long and from 8 to 25 km (5 to 15 mi) wide, was bounded to the east by the Lebanon Mountains. The southern boundary was Mount Carmel; the northern boundary was probabaly the Eleutherus River, now called the Kebir, which forms the northern boundary of Lebanon.

II.

Ancient Origins

Although its inhabitants had a homogeneous civilization and considered themselves a single nation, Phoenicia was not a unified state but a group of city-kingdoms, one of which usually dominated the others. The most important cities were Simyra, Zarephath (Sarafand), Byblos, Jubeil, Arwad (Rouad), Acco (Akko), Sidon (Şaydā), Tripolis (Tripoli), Tyre (Şūr), and Berytus (Beirut). Tyre and Şaydā alternated as the site of the ruling power.

The Phoenicians, called Sidonians in the Old Testament and Phoenicians by the Greek poet Homer, were a Semitic-speaking people, related to the Canaanites of ancient Palestine. Historical research indicates that they founded their first settlements on the Mediterranean coast about 2500 bc. Early in their history, they developed under the influence of the Sumerian and Akkadian cultures of nearby Babylon. About 1800 bc Egypt, which was then beginning to acquire an empire in the Middle East, invaded and took control of Phoenicia, holding it until about 1400 bc. The raids of the Hittites against Egypt gave the Phoenician cities an opportunity to revolt, and by 1100 bc they were independent of Egypt.

III.

A Nation of Traders

Under their own rule, the Phoenicians became the greatest traders and sailors of the ancient world. The fleets of the coastal cities travelled throughout the Mediterranean and penetrated as far as the Atlantic Ocean, while other nations competed to employ Phoenician ships and crews in their fleets. The city-kingdoms founded many trading colonies, notably Utica and Carthage in north Africa, on the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea, and Tarshish in southern Spain. In the 8th century bc the Phoenician cities were conquered by Assyria. When Assyria fell in the late 7th century bc, Phoenicia, except for Tyre, which succeeded in maintaining its independence until about 538 bc, was incorporated into the Chaldean Empire of Nebuchadnezzar II and, in 539 bc, became part of the Persian Empire. Under Persian rule Sidon became the leading city of Phoenicia.

When Alexander the Great invaded Asia Minor and defeated Persia in 333 bc, Sidon, Arwad, and Byblos capitulated to his forces. Tyre, however, refused to submit, and Alexander besieged the city for seven months before it fell in 332 bc. After this defeat the Phoenicians gradually lost their separate identity as they were absorbed into the kingdom of the Seleucids. The cities were gradually Hellenized, and, in 64 bc, even the name of Phoenicia disappeared, when the territory became part of the Roman province of Syria.

IV.

Contributions

The Phoenician's most important contribution to civilization was the alphabet. Purple dye, called Tyrian purple, and the invention of glass, are also ascribed to them. Their industries, particularly the manufacture of textiles and dyes, metalworking, and glassmaking, were renowned in the ancient world, and the Phoenician cities were famous for their pantheistic religion. Each city had its special deity, usually known as its Baal, or lord, and in all cities the temple was the centre of civic life. The most important Phoenician deity was Astarte.