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.