Phoenicia: Difference between revisions

{{Other uses}}

{{Infobox former country

| p3 = Egyptian Empire

| s1 = Roman Syria{{!}}Syria (Roman province)

| image_map = Phoenicia map-en.svg

| image_map_caption = Map of the Phoenicia region in green.

 

==History==

Since little has survived of Phoenician records or [[Phoenician-Punic literature|literature]], most of what is known about their origins and history comes from the accounts of other civilizations and inferences from their material culture excavated throughout the Mediterranean. The scholarly consensus is that the Phoenicians' period of greatest prominence was 1200 BC to the end of the Persian period (332 BC).<ref>{{Harvnb|Jigoulov|2021|p=13}}</ref>

 

 

===Origins===

The Canaanite culture that gave rise to the Phoenicians apparently developed ''in situ'' from the earlier [[Ghassulian]] [[chalcolithic]] culture. Ghassulian itself developed from the [[nomadic pastoralism|Circum-Arabian Nomadic Pastoral Complex]], which in turn developed from a fusion of their ancestral [[Natufian culture|Natufian]] and [[Harifian]] cultures with [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic B]] (PPNB) farming cultures, practicing the [[domestication of animals]] during the [[8.2 kiloyear event]], which led to the [[Neolithic Revolution]] in the [[Levant]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Zarins |first=Juris |year=1992 |chapter=Pastoral Nomadism in Arabia: Ethnoarchaeology and the Archaeological Record—A Case Study |editor-first=O. |editor-last=Bar-Yosef |editor2-first=A. |editor2-last=Khazanov |title=Pastoralism in the Levant |location=Madison |publisher=Prehistory Press |isbn=0-9629110-8-9 }}</ref> The Late Bronze Age state of [[Ugarit]] is considered quintessentially Canaanite archaeologically,<ref name="tubb">Tubb, Jonathan N. (1998), "Canaanites" (British Museum People of the Past)</ref> even though the [[Ugaritic|Ugaritic language]] does not belong to the [[Canaanite languages]] proper.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Roger |last=Woodard |year=2008 |title=The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia |location=New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-68498-9 }}</ref><ref name="NavehJ1987">

{{Cite book |first=Joseph |last=Naveh |year=1987 |chapter=Proto-Canaanite, Archaic Greek, and the Script of the Aramaic Text on the Tell Fakhariyah Statue |editor1-last=Miller |title=Ancient Israelite Religion |publisher=Fortress Press |display-editors=etal |isbn=0-8006-0831-3 |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/ancientisraelite00unse }}. {{harvp|Coulmas|1996}}.</ref>

 

===Foundation of Carthage===

Carthage was founded by Phoenicians coming from Tyre, probably initially as a station in the metal trade with the southern [[Iberian Peninsula]].{{sfnp|Warmington|1964}}{{page needed|date=October 2020}} The city's name in [[Punic language|Punic]], {{lang|phn-Latn|Qart-Ḥadašt}} {{nowrap|({{script|Phnx|𐤒𐤓𐤕 𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕}})}}, means 'New City'.{{sfn|Charles-Picard|Picard|1968|pages=28–35}} There is a tradition in some ancient sources, such as [[Philistus|Philistos of Syracuse]], for an "early" foundation date of around 1215 BC—before the [[Trojan War|fall of Troy]] in 1180 BC. However, [[Timaeus (historian)|Timaeus]], a Greek historian from Sicily c. 300 BC, places the foundation of Carthage in 814 BC, which is the date generally accepted by modern historians.{{sfn|Lancel|1995|pages=20–23}} Legend, including [[Virgil]]'s [[Aeneid]], assigns the founding of the city to Queen [[Dido]]. Carthage would grow into a multi-ethnic empire spanning North Africa, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, the Balearic Islands, and southern Iberia, but would ultimately be destroyed by Rome in the [[Punic Wars]] (264–146 BC) before being rebuilt as a Roman city.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

 

===Vassalage under the Assyrians and Babylonians (858–538 BC)===

[[File: Assyrian - Fragments of Bands from a Gate - Walters 542335 - View A.jpg|thumb|Two bronze fragments from an [[Assyria]]n palace gate depicting the collection of tribute from the Phoenician cities of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] and [[Sidon]] (859–824 BC). British Museum.]]

 

 

The Phoenician area was later divided into four vassal kingdoms—Sidon, Tyre, Arwad, and Byblos—which were allowed considerable autonomy. Unlike in other empire areas, there is no record of Persian administrators governing the Phoenician city-states. Local Phoenician kings were allowed to remain in power and given the same rights as Persian satraps (governors), such as hereditary offices and minting their coins.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://brewminate.com/a-history-of-phoenician-civilization/|title=A History of Phoenician Civilization|last=MAMcIntosh|date=2018-08-29|website=Brewminate|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-20}}</ref>

 

The Phoenicians remained a core asset to the Achaemenid Empire, particularly for their prowess in maritime technology and navigation;<ref name=":7" /> they furnished the bulk of the Persian fleet during the [[Greco-Persian Wars]] of the late fifth century BC.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Histories, Book V|last=Herodotus|pages=§109}}</ref> Phoenicians under [[Xerxes I]] built the [[Xerxes Canal]] and the pontoon bridges that allowed his forces to cross into mainland Greece.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Histories, Book VII|last=Herodotus|pages=§23}}</ref> Nevertheless, they were harshly punished by the Persian King following his defeat at the [[Battle of Salamis]], which he blamed on Phoenician cowardice and incompetence.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Histories, Book VIII|last=Herodotus|pages=§90}}</ref>

 

 

===Genetic studies===

A 2008 study led by [[Pierre Zalloua]] found that six subclades of [[Haplogroup J-M172]] (J2)—thought to have originated between the [[Caucasus Mountains]], [[Mesopotamia]] and the [[Levant]]—were of a "Phoenician signature" and present amongst the male populations of coastal Lebanon as well as the wider Levant (the "Phoenician Periphery"), followed by other areas of historic Phoenician settlement, spanning Cyprus through to Morocco. This deliberate sequential sampling was an attempt to develop a methodology to link the documented historical expansion of a population with a particular geographic genetic pattern or patterns. The researchers suggested that the proposed genetic signature stemmed from "a common source of related lineages rooted in [[Lebanon]]".<ref name="Zalloua 2008">{{cite journal |last=Zalloua |first=Pierre A.|author-link=Pierre Zalloua |title=Identifying Genetic Traces of Historical Expansions: Phoenician Footprints in the Mediterranean |journal=[[American Journal of Human Genetics]] |year=2008 |volume=83 |issue=5 |pages=633–642 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.10.012 |pmid=18976729 |pmc=2668035|display-authors=et al.}}</ref> Another study in 2006 found evidence for the genetic persistence of Phoenicians in the Spanish island of [[Ibiza]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tomàs |first1=Carme|title=Differential maternal and paternal contributions to the genetic pool of Ibiza Island, Balearic Archipelago |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |date=2006 |volume=129 |issue=2 |pages=268–278 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.20273 |pmid=16323196 }}</ref>

 

 

==Economy==

===Trade===

{{See also|Phoenicians and wine}}

The Phoenicians served as intermediaries between the disparate civilizations that spanned the Mediterranean and Near East, facilitating the exchange of goods and knowledge, culture, and religious traditions. Their expansive and enduring trade network is credited with laying the foundations of an economically and culturally cohesive Mediterranean, which would be continued by the Greeks and especially the Romans.<ref name="Jerry H. Bentley 1999" />

 

[[File:0675 - Phoenician glass necklace - Museo Archeologico, Cagliari - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, November 11 2016.jpg|thumb|Phoenician faces. Glass from Olbia, 4th century BC. The bold pools of color and detailed hair give a Greek impression.]]

Phoenician ties with the Greeks ran deep. The earliest verified relationship appears to have begun with the [[Minoan civilization]] on Crete (1950–1450 BC), which together with the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean civilization]] (1600–1100 BC) is considered the progenitor of classical Greece.<ref>{{cite book|first=Fernand|last=Braudel|title=Memory and Mediterranean|translator-first=Sian|translator-last=Reynolds|location=New York|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|year=2001|pages=112–113}}</ref> Archaeological research suggests that the Minoans gradually imported Near Eastern goods, artistic styles, and customs from other cultures via the Phoenicians.

 

 

From elsewhere, they obtained other materials, perhaps the most crucial being [[silver]], mostly from [[Sardinia]] and the [[Iberian Peninsula]]. Tin for making [[bronze]] "may have been acquired from [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] by way of the Atlantic coast of southern Spain; alternatively, it may have come from northern Europe ([[Cornwall]] or [[Brittany]]) via the [[Rhone valley]] and coastal [[Marseille|Massalia]]." {{sfnp|Markoe|2000|p=103}} [[Strabo]] states that there was a highly lucrative Phoenician trade with Britain for tin via the [[Cassiterides]], whose location is unknown but may have been off the northwest coast of the Iberian Peninsula.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hawkes|first=Christopher|title=Britain and Julius Caesar|journal=Proceedings of the British Academy|issue=63|year=1977|pages=124–192}}</ref>

 

===Industry===

[[File: Phoenician - Bowl with Hunting Scene - Walters 57705.jpg|thumb|[[Phoenician metal bowls|Phoenician metal bowl]] with hunting scene (8th century BC). The clothing and hairstyle of the figures are Egyptian. At the same time, the subject matter of the central scene conforms with the [[Mesopotamia]]n theme of combat between man and beast. Phoenician artisans frequently adapted the styles of neighboring cultures.]]

Phoenicia lacked considerable natural resources other than its [[cedrus|cedar]] wood. Timber was probably the earliest and most lucrative source of wealth; neither Egypt nor Mesopotamia had adequate wood sources. Unable to rely solely on this limited resource, the Phoenicians developed an industrial base manufacturing a variety of goods for both everyday and luxury use.<ref name=" John C. Scott CCR" /> The Phoenicians developed or mastered techniques such as [[Glass production|glass-making]], engraved and [[Repoussé and chasing|chased]] metalwork (including bronze, iron, and gold), ivory carving, and woodwork.<ref name=":42" />

 

 

====Tyrian purple====

The most prized Phoenician goods were fabrics dyed with [[Tyrian purple]], which formed a major part of Phoenician wealth. The violet-purple dye derived from the [[hypobranchial gland]] of the ''[[Murex]]'' marine snail, once profusely available in coastal waters of the eastern Mediterranean Sea but exploited to local extinction. Phoenicians may have discovered the dye as early as 1750 BC.<ref>{{cite book|last=St. Clair|first=Kassia|year=2016|title=The Secret Lives of Colour|location=London|publisher=John Murray|pages=162–164}}</ref> The Phoenicians established a second production center for the dye in [[Mogador]], in present-day [[Morocco]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Phoenicians: A Captivating Guide to the History of Phoenicia and the Impact Made by One of the Greatest Trading Civilizations of the Ancient World|year=2019|isbn=978-1647482053|page=60|last1= History|first1= Captivating|publisher=Captivating History }}</ref>

 

 

==Important cities and colonies==

The Phoenicians were not a nation in the political sense. However, they were organized into independent city-states that shared a common language and culture. The leading city-states were Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos. Rivalries were expected, but armed conflict was rare.

 

===Politics and government===

[[File: King Hiram Of Tyre.jpg|thumb|Tomb of [[Hiram I|King Hiram I of Tyre]], located in the village of [[Hanaouay]] in southern Lebanon]]

The Phoenician city-states were highly independent, competing with each other.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/phoenicia/|title=Phoenicia|first=Joshua J.|last=Mark|website=World History Encyclopedia}}</ref> Formal alliances between city-states were rare. The relative power and influence of city-states varied over time. [[Sidon]] was dominant between the 12th and 11th centuries BC and influenced its neighbors. However, by the tenth century BC, [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] rose to become the most powerful city.

 

===Law and administration===

After the King and council, the two most important political positions in virtually every Phoenician city-state were governor and commander of the army. Details regarding the duties of these offices are sparse. However, it is known that the governor was responsible for collecting taxes, implementing decrees, supervising judges, and ensuring the administration of law and justice.<ref name=":02"/> As warfare was rare among the most mercantile Phoenicians, the army's commander was generally responsible for ensuring the defense and security of the city-state and its hinterlands.

 

The Phoenicians had a system of courts and judges that resolved disputes and punished crimes based on a semi-codified body of laws and traditions. Laws were implemented by the state and were the responsibility of the ruler and certain designated officials. Like other Levantine societies, laws were harsh and biased, reflecting the social stratification of society. The murder of a commoner was treated as less severe than that of a nobleman, and the upper classes had the most rights; the wealthy often escaped punishment by paying a fine. Free men of any class could represent themselves in court and had more rights than women and children, while slaves had no rights. Men could often deflect punishment to their wives, children, or slaves, even having them serve their sentence in their place. Lawyers eventually emerged as a profession for those who could not plead their case.

 

{{Main|Phoenician alphabet}}

[[File:Ahiram_sarcophag_from_Biblos_XIII-XBC.jpg|right|thumb|Sarcophagus of [[Ahiram]], which bears the oldest inscription of the Phoenician alphabet. [[National Museum of Beirut]].]]

Around 1050 BC,<ref name="NavehJ1987" /> the Phoenicians developed a script for writing [[Phoenician language|their own language]]. The Canaanite-Phoenician alphabet consists of 22 letters, all [[consonant]]s (and is thus strictly an [[abjad]]).<ref name="Fischer 2004 90" /> It is believed to be a continuation of the [[Proto-Sinaitic script|Proto-Sinaitic (or Proto-Canaanite) script]] attested in the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] and in Canaan in the [[Late Bronze Age]].<ref name=Cross1980>{{cite journal |first= Frank Moore |last= Cross |title= Newly Found Inscriptions in Old Canaanite and Early Phoenician Scripts |journal= Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |year= 1980 |volume= 238 |issue= 238 (Spring, 1980) |publisher= The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The American Schools of Oriental Research |pages= 1–20 |doi= 10.2307/1356511 |jstor= 1356511 |s2cid= 222445150 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Millard |first=A. R. |year=1986 |title=The Infancy of the Alphabet |journal=World Archaeology |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=390–398 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1986.9979978 }}</ref> Through their maritime trade, the Phoenicians spread the use of the alphabet to [[Anatolia]], North Africa, and Europe.<ref name="John C. Scott CCR" /><ref>{{cite book | last1 = Beck | first1 = Roger B. | last2 = Black| first2 =Linda |first3=Larry S. |last3=Krieger|first4= Phillip C.|last4= Naylor|first5= Dahia Ibo|last5= Shabaka | title = World History: Patterns of Interaction | publisher = McDougal Littell | year = 1999 | location = Evanston, IL | url =https://archive.org/details/mcdougallittellw00beck| url-access = registration | isbn = 978-0-395-87274-1 }}</ref> The name ''Phoenician'' is by convention given to inscriptions beginning around 1050 BC, because [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]], [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], and other [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite dialects]] were largely indistinguishable before that time.<ref name="NavehJ1987" />{{sfnp|Markoe|2000|page=111}} Phoenician inscriptions are found in Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Cyprus and other locations, as late as the early centuries of the Christian era.

 

 

===Art===

Phoenician art was largely centered on ornamental objects, particularly jewelry, pottery, glassware, and reliefs.<ref name="Phoenician Art">{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Phoenician_Art/|title=Phoenician Art|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2020-04-19}}</ref> Large sculptures were rare; figurines were more common. Phoenician goods have been found from Spain and Morocco to Russia and Iraq; much of what is known about Phoenician art is based on excavations outside Phoenicia proper. Phoenician art was highly influenced by many cultures, primarily Egypt, Greece, and Assyria. Greek inspiration was particularly pronounced in pottery, while Egyptian styles were most reflected in ivory work.<ref name="Phoenician Art" />

 

 

===Women===

Women in Phoenicia took part in public events and religious processions, with depictions of banquets showing them casually sitting or reclining with men, dancing, and playing music.{{sfnp|Holst|2011|page=31}} In most contexts, women were expected to dress and behave more modestly than men; female figures are almost always portrayed as clothed from head to feet, with the arms sometimes covered as well.

 

==References==

===Citations===

 

===Sources===