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.