Phoenicia is one of the oldest countries, which was located on the Mediterranean coast, on the territory of modern Syria, Israel and Lebanon. The population of the country managed to build a powerful civilization, the basis of which was maritime trade and craft.

Culture of Ancient Phoenicia

The culture and science of the ancient Phoenicians were also developed at a very high level: they had their own alphabet, which was eventually adopted by the Greeks. The peak of the heyday of the Phoenician civilization dates back to about 1 thousand BC. AD

In ancient Phoenicia, there were no good fertile lands, the constant rains, due to the climate of the Mediterranean, also did not allow the Phoenicians to engage in agriculture. The only way out for the inhabitants of the country was the occupation of navigation, which significantly expanded trade relations with other peoples, and the abundance of forests allowed them to build ships on their own.

Navigation and trade relations

The Phoenicians built very durable ships that were not afraid of either storms or storms. It was the Phoenicians who first modeled and built ships with a keel, equipped with sheathing on the sides of the vessel - this significantly increased their speed.

Also, their ships were equipped with special compartments for the transport of cargo, which were located above the deck. Due to the strength of their ships, the Phoenicians had the opportunity to go to the Atlantic Ocean, which at that time was not available to many sailors in the Mediterranean.

The maritime strategy of the Phoenicians was striking in its thoughtfulness: they built special bays along the coast so that in the event of a storm, ships could remain safe. With the help of navigation, the ancient Phoenicians were able to establish their colonies in places where their ships could reach.

One of the most famous cities colonized by Phoenician navigators was Carthage, which eventually became the center to which all Phoenician colonial cities obeyed. Naturally, the title of the best navigators at that time was identical to the title of the best merchants.

What did the Phoenicians trade?

The Phoenicians sold in other countries what their country was rich in: first of all, red fabrics (the Phoenicians learned to extract red paint from shellfish thrown ashore by a storm), transparent glass produced by Phoenician artisans, Lebanese cedar wood, grape wine and olive oil. oil.

The Phoenician navigators did not return home empty-handed either: in Egypt they bought grain and papyrus sheets, in Spain - silver and copper.

Also, the main goods of the Phoenicians were slaves, which they bought in other countries and sold at home in order for them to build new ships. Also, shackled slaves were used by Phoenician sailors for rowing.

Sometimes the seafarers of Phoenicia did not hesitate to rob: as soon as an opportunity was provided, they captured other people's ships and robbed small port cities.

Forced out of the sea by the Greeks

However, as a result of internal strife and a significant shortage of material for the construction of new ships, the Phoenicians were forced out of the trade and maritime business by the Greeks, who also learned how to build durable and more advanced ships.

full interesting questions and even mysteries. Most likely, we will never know for sure how many great civilizations could not be born, being crushed by their neighbors, stronger and more successful militarily and economically. But some of the peoples managed to "break out into the people." Sometimes this was facilitated by the collapse or weakening of powerful neighbors.

Such were the Kassites, who once left the ordinary mountain tribes, such were the Phoenicians, who vegetated under the fairly strict control of the Egyptians. But everything ends someday, and Egypt began to weaken. Soon after, both the cities of the Phoenicians and all their people began to develop rapidly and prosper.

Who were they?

Contemporaries described this people as follows: “They were amazing people, equally easily managed with both peaceful and military affairs. They invented their own written language, achieved unprecedented success in politics, government and navigation. The Phoenicians were and are merchants from God.

Given the information provided by modern anthropologists, we can even imagine appearance these people. Like many peoples of that era, they did not differ in a heroic article. Men were rarely taller than 1.63 meters, women - 1.57 meters. Judging by the remaining images, people had narrow, slightly elongated faces, curly hair and a short, straight nose.

The clothes of the Phoenicians were bright and colorful. So, the Egyptians wrote that in the crowd of citizens of the pharaoh, these aliens stood out like "butterflies on a sheep's fleece." Men and women in Phoenicia equally loved fine jewelry made of precious metals and stones.

Major Phoenician policies

As soon as Egypt began to lose ground politically and militarily, Tire, Sidon, Byblos, Arvad and some other policies immediately declared their independence. And there was absolutely nothing surprising in this. The fact is that not only the cities of the Phoenicians, but also all other large settlements at that time were actually autonomous states.

Often there was a "personal" king, their own faith and their own clergy, their own army, armed with their own artisans. Not to mention farmers! They were much more impressed by the idea of ​​paying taxes only in one pocket, and not in several. Tyr came to this idea faster than others. The city quickly became completely independent, although for some time it was formally subordinate to Sidon.

Rise of Tyr

At that time, this city was the first among equals, but its time quickly came to an end. The terrible raid of the “peoples of the sea” did not leave stone upon stone from the once majestic settlement, after which the cities of the Phoenicians began to listen to the opinion of Tyre. The latter at that time had just reached its peak of development. King Hiram I was then on the throne.

In many sources there is evidence that he was a contemporary of the great Solomon, king of the Jews (about 950 BC). Hiram began his accomplishments by making a massive artificial embankment around the city, almost doubling its territory. The king was lucky: soon his prospectors dug a good spring with fresh water in these places, so that Tire turned into an almost impregnable stronghold. The achievements of the Phoenicians of that time in the irrigation business are also known.

Thanks to thoughtful irrigation systems and the makings of breeding, they could fully provide themselves with food. In those days, this was an incredible progress in the development of the state.

The emergence of Carthage

It is not surprising that the city very soon established strong trade relations with all its neighbors. Most likely, it was Hiram who began the colonization of modern Tunisia. This assumption is based on the fact that his heirs founded Carthage there, and the area itself was perfectly familiar to them, since the builders immediately chose the optimal place for the new policy. Some small information about which has not reached our time was founded.

Tradition says that its laying took place in 814 BC. e. Soon the Phoenicians were actively trading with Mesopotamia and the peoples who settled in the Nile Valley. In addition, they gradually settled firmly in those areas from which it was possible to control the approaches to the Mediterranean Sea. All this led to the fact that of all the cities of this state, it was Carthage that retained its importance for a long time. History has brought us information about the majestic Hannibal and his struggle with Rome.

On what was the wealth of the policies based?

To attract new people (the military, in particular), the kings of the cities complained for the faithful service of the land. Within the rural community there also existed a certain land property, which was distributed among its members depending on the merits and influence of a particular person. However, by that time, their own agricultural production only fed Phenicia, but had little effect on trade profits.

Where more money Phoenician cities had, developing deposits of valuable metals in the mountains of Lebanon. In addition, many of the most valuable species of trees grew there, the wood of which quickly became the most important export item. Foreign merchants loved Phoenician wool, dyed purple, the secret of which was known only to the scientists of Tyre. Starting from the VIII - VII centuries. BC e. the manufacture of refined and refined glass products, which were also in great demand among foreign merchants, was becoming increasingly important.

Expansion of maritime trade

After Egypt finally disintegrated, Tire and other cities began to grow rich at an amazing rate. Almost all the colonies of the Phoenicians grew rapidly, many of them later became independent states. They quickly took over all the trading channels of the Egyptians, and the process of enrichment went even faster.

What did the Phoenicians trade?

It should be understood that Phenicia in ancient times grew rich not so much because of the sale of goods produced on its territory. First of all, her well-being grew due to the resale of luxury goods and rare items (jewellery, in particular). In addition, the inhabitants of this country were not only excellent sailors, but also desperate pirates. All the loot was often quite officially surrendered in the Phoenician cities, for which the ancient "privateers" received a decent jackpot.

Remembering that the Phoenicians were seafarers from birth, neighboring countries did not dare to bully them, since the state's navy could cause many problems to offenders. At the same time, the “glory” of this people was such that even the worst enemies could forget their feuds for a while in order to sink a couple of their ships together. The Phoenicians knew about this, and therefore did not disdain to make daring sea raids on coastal settlements, without exception taking the people who inhabited them into captivity.

It is not surprising that slaves were one of the main sources of income for the maritime trade of the same Tire. There is evidence that Phoenicia in ancient times was one of those unique states in which the kings of policies could lend considerable sums to ordinary citizens. This was done not for the sake of altruism, but for the purpose of developing “entrepreneurship”: a person received money from the state, with which he could only purchase a ship and stocks of goods for the first time. The family of the "giftee" became the key to loyalty. Simply put, cheating with money was not in the interests of citizens.

The Phoenicians mastered the land routes not so quickly. But everything changed around the first millennium BC. er, when people were able to tame camels. The people of hardened merchants could not miss such a unique opportunity, and therefore the development of the same Syria began instantly.

Some clarifications

You might think that Phoenicia in ancient times was just a branch of paradise on earth, where free citizens of the country could freely trade and earn. Everything was not so simple. Yes, constantly developing trade brought huge profits to the state, and almost any free person could open his own business.

But a significant number of slaves, without which the Phoenician trade could not function, an ever-increasing number of destitute debtors and representatives of bankrupt families gradually turned into real bomb, on which ancient Phoenicia subsequently "exploded".

Slave trade and class struggle

In the ancient world, this country had a bad reputation, which arose precisely because of the predilection of its people for the slave trade. A huge amount of “living goods” was sold to other countries, but ancient Phoenicia itself was in dire need of these people: workshops and stocks of shipyards, quarries and vineyards, road construction and sheep rearing ... In a word, without slave labor, the entire state economy would immediately have come end.

All the achievements of the Phoenicians, especially in the field of building high-quality roads and grandiose temples, were based precisely on the work of slaves. However, this phenomenon also had a downside, which was often extremely unpleasant and even deadly for the “rulers of the world” themselves.

Almost all contemporaries testify that a tense and constantly escalating class struggle was going on in the country. Thus, the Greeks repeatedly wrote about a grandiose slave uprising in Tyre, which was joined by thousands of poor citizens. The leadership of the uprising is attributed to a certain Abdastrat (Staraton). Oddly enough, but the grandiose massacre that occurred around the 9th century BC ended in a complete and unconditional victory for the slaves.

Greek historians testify that all the men of the "privileged" classes were mercilessly slaughtered, and their women distributed among the representatives of the rebels who inhabited Tyre. The city was completely depopulated for a long time.

The paradoxes of domestic politics and the gradual fading

In general, in the Greek texts of historical subjects, almost everywhere, some mysterious “Phoenician misfortunes” are reported. It may very well be that all this is the echo of a grandiose uprising of slaves that swept all the cities, including the great Carthage. History, however, has taught the ruling class nothing. No mitigation in relation to the slaves was foreseen, and the state did not even think of somehow "diversifying" its dependence on their labor.

All this subsequently led to the fact that the history of the Phoenicians ended sadly, and the once great state, weakened by constant strife and internal turmoil, was simply taken away by strong neighbors.

Despite this, all contemporaries spoke of them with the deepest amazement. The Greeks and Romans were surprised how the Phoenicians, whose world map was the most detailed at that time, having managed to conquer many peoples, could not organize at least some semblance of a state. "Ruling over the world, they cannot command at home," - so they said about this people. Merchants, desperate and enterprising travelers, they became perhaps the first people in the entire history of mankind who created their Empire not with fire and sword, but with persuasion, cunning, intelligence and gold.

New rise of Sidon

So, due to political squabbles, intrigues and uprisings of slaves, Tire eventually loses its significance. "The reins of government" immediately intercepts (at the end of the 9th century BC) completely restored by that time Sidon (the current city of Saida in Lebanon). In those years, this policy regained its lost importance, acquired a powerful fleet and army, and therefore could dictate its terms to its neighbors.

Historians believe that the ancient Phoenicians erected it around the 4th century BC. Already in the second millennium, Sidon was strong enough for a fierce struggle with Tyre in the region. At the beginning of the first millennium, the citizens of this particular city-polis took an active part in the Phoenician colonization, which swept like a wave throughout the Western Mediterranean. However, he soon fell into a strong dependence on Tyre, which had intensified by that time.

In 677 BC, the city was captured by Assyrian troops, who completely destroyed it. However, a decade later it was completely restored. Around the beginning of the 6th century BC, Sidon was absorbed into which the Achaemenid dynasty reigned.

End of an era

Soon, other cities of the Phoenicians completely lose their independence. Already in the middle of the VI century BC, restless Assyrians increasingly began to appear under their walls. Despite the remaining economic power, all the policies, with the exception of the proud Tire, quickly submit to the authorities of Assyria.

Do not forget that at the end of the 7th century BC, Egypt began to recapture its former power, and therefore a considerable number of cities of the former Phenicia are part of it. Finally, in those centuries, the Persian Empire quickly began to mature and develop, which put an end to the history of the state of sailors, human traders and pioneers.

However, the Phoenicians themselves had nothing to do with this: their cities retained their self-government, and trade became even more profitable due to the protection and patronage of the Persians. The Phoenician fleet became part of the Persian flotilla as the most powerful and respected unit of the latter.

Afterword

This people reminded of itself for a long time. Thus, the language and traditions of the Phoenicians were preserved in many regions of the Mediterranean almost until the end of the Middle Ages. Only the brutal Arab conquests finally put an end to the developed ancient culture.

Over the past few decades, we have made significant progress in the study of writing and people. Many new inscriptions are discovered every year... Archaeologists suggest that a deep study of the Phoenician heritage can reveal many

The Phoenicians are one of the most influential and least understood ancient civilizations. Between 1550 - 300 BC they dominated the Mediterranean. They invented the alphabet that people still use today and founded the first cities in Western Europe. But at the same time, they never had a single state, but only independent city-states connected by a common culture. Initially emerging from present-day Lebanon and Syria, the Phoenicians established colonies throughout the Mediterranean. It was they who founded Carthage, which threatened the very existence of the Roman Empire.

1. Phoenician blood

The Phoenician civilization has long since disappeared and been forgotten, but the genetic legacy of these ancient sailors lives on today. Chris Tyler Smith of National Geographic tested the DNA of 1,330 men in former Phoenician settlement sites (Syria, Palestine, Tunisia, Cyprus and Morocco). Analysis of their Y-chromosome revealed that at least 6 percent of the genome of the modern male population of these places is Phoenician.

2. Inventors of the alphabet

The Phoenicians developed the basis for the modern alphabet in the 16th century BC. By 3000 BC, the Egyptians and Sumerians had developed complex symbolic writing systems. The Phoenician merchants were inspired by these early attempts at symbolic speech and wanted to develop a version of the script that was easier to learn and use. These traders found that words were made up of a small number of repeated sounds, and these sounds could only be represented by 22 characters arranged in various combinations.

Although the Phoenician language contains vowels, they were removed from their writing system. Today, a similar lack of vowel sounds can still be found in Hebrew and Aramaic, both of which were heavily influenced by the Phoenician alphabet. By the VIII century BC. the Greeks adopted the Phoenician system and added vowels. The Romans also used the Phoenician alphabet and developed it into an almost modern version of the Latin alphabet.

3. Child sacrifice

Much of what is known about the Phoenicians today was actually gleaned from the historical records of their enemies. One of the most enduring facts that was used in anti-Phoenician propaganda was that they practiced child sacrifice. Josephine Quinn of Oxford argues that there is indeed truth behind these dark myths. In order to win divine favor, the Phoenicians sacrificed babies, cremated them and buried them with gifts to the gods and the corresponding ritual inscriptions in special cemeteries.

Child sacrifice was not really common and was only used by the society's elite due to the high cost of cremation. Archaeologists have discovered graves of child sacrifices around Carthage in present-day Tunisia and other Phoenician colonies in Sardinia and Sicily. Urns with carefully burned tiny bodies are buried in them.

4. Phoenician purple

Purple is a dye that was extracted from the molluscs of needlefish. It first appeared in the Phoenician city of Tyre. The difficulty of making the dye, the rich hue and resistance to fading made it a desirable and expensive commodity. The Phoenicians gained worldwide fame and wealth with purple, as this dye was valued more than gold of the same weight. It became popular in Carthage, from where it in turn spread to Rome.

The Romans passed a law forbidding all but the elite of the Empire to wear purple robes. As a result, purple clothes came to be considered a sign of power. Even for senators, it was a great success to get permission to wear a purple stripe on their toga. The purple trade ended in 1204 after the sack of Constantinople.

5. Sailors

According to legend, the Phoenicians reached Britain, sailed around the southern tip of Africa and reached the New World thousands of years before Columbus. British adventurer Philip Beale, 52, set out to find out if such long voyages were possible on ancient Phoenician ships. The explorer hired archaeologists and shipbuilders to design and build a Phoenician 20-meter, 50-ton vessel based on an ancient wreck found in the western part of mediterranean sea.

Philip Beal set off on a journey from the island of Arwad off the coast of Syria. He passed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, sailed along the east coast of Africa and rounded the Cape of Good Hope. After that, he passed by ship along the western coast of Africa, entered the Strait of Gibraltar and returned to Syria. The six-month expedition, costing over £250,000 and covering 32,000 kilometers, proved that the Phoenicians could have circumnavigated Africa 2,000 years before Bartolomeu Dias did so in 1488.

6 Rare European DNA

In 2016, analysis of a 2,500-year-old Phoenician found in Carthage led to the discovery of rare European genes. Called the "Young Man from Bursa", the man belonged to the U5b2c1 haplogroup. This genetic marker is inherent in the people of the north of the Mediterranean coast, probably the Iberian Peninsula. U5b2c1 is one of the oldest known European haplogroups. Today, this rare genetic marker can be found in only 1 percent of Europeans.

7. Lebanese Treasures

In 2014, archaeologists excavating in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon made one of the most important discoveries regarding Phoenician artifacts in half a century. They unearthed a 1.2-meter statue of a priest dating from the 6th century BC. It was adorned with a bronze symbol representing the Phoenician goddess Tanit, whose shape was strikingly similar to the Egyptian ankh.

In addition to the artifact, archaeologists have found previously unknown underground chambers built in the third millennium BC, and 20 graves dating back to the second millennium BC. Along with artifacts, hidden chambers and graves, the researchers found 200 kilograms of charred wheat and 160 kilograms of beans.

8. Iberian colonization

According to legend, the Phoenicians founded spanish city Cadiz in 1100 BC. Until 2007, this was just a myth, but archaeologists suddenly discovered the remains of a wall and traces of a temple dating back to the 8th century BC. They also unearthed Phoenician pottery, vessels, bowls and plates. During excavations under the Comedy Theater of Cadiz, archaeologists discovered two skeletons that lifted a veil of mystery over the complex history of the Phoenician colonization of the Iberian Peninsula.

Spanish geneticists analyzed the DNA and found that one person was a "pure" Phoenician and died around 720 BC. Another skeleton, buried at the beginning of the 6th century BC, had DNA that is common in Western Europe. This suggests that his mother was originally from the Iberian Peninsula.

9. Phoenician pendant

In September 2015, the Canadian government returned an ancient Phoenician pendant to Lebanon. It's about about a tiny glass pendant no larger than a fingernail that the Canadian Border Patrol confiscated from smugglers on November 27, 2006. The glass bead depicts the head of a bearded man. Expert from the Montreal Museum fine arts verified its authenticity and dated the pendant to the 6th century BC. The expert also confirmed that the pendant was made in contemporary Lebanon.

10 Azores Outpost

The Azores are located one and a half thousand kilometers from the coast of Western Europe. When the Portuguese arrived in this place in the 15th century, the islands were considered untouched by mankind. However, archaeological evidence leads some scholars to believe that the Phoenicians reached the archipelago thousands of years ago.

In 2010, researchers from the Portuguese Association archaeological research in Nuno Ribeiro reported the discovery of a mysterious stone carving on the island of Terceira, which suggests that the Azores were inhabited thousands of years earlier than previously thought. They discovered several structures dating back to the 4th century BC, which they considered the remains of Carthaginian temples built in honor of the Phoenician goddess Tanit.

Phenicia is an ancient country on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It occupied the narrow coastal strip of modern Lebanon and Syria. Probably already in the 5-4th millennium BC. e. The Phoenicians founded settlements here, which gradually grew into large craft and trade centers: Sidon, Tire, Byblos, etc.

Phoenicia occupied a very convenient geographical position - the trade routes of Western Asia converged here. She actively participated in land trade with Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley and owned sea routes in the Mediterranean. Along a narrow strip between the rocks and the sea, along a road literally hanging over the water, in the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. e. on donkeys and camels, countless trade caravans arrived in the cities of the Phoenicians. They moved from north to south, to Egypt and Palestine, and in the opposite direction. There were also sea trade routes laid by the Phoenicians. Their harbors were the most convenient seaports in the eastern Mediterranean and the threads of both sea trade and sea robbery converged on them. From the port cities - Byblos, Sidon, Tyre, it was possible to sail further to Egypt, Greece and other distant countries.

In the 2nd millennium BC. e. Egypt dominated the Phoenician cities. Later, when he could no longer control them, they, having gained independence, became the largest centers of world trade.

The merchant ships of the Phoenicians were well adapted for the transport of various goods. The Phoenician shipbuilders were the first to build sailing merchant ships with a large carrying capacity (up to 250 tons of cargo) and with good stability.
Phoenicians - ancient Semitic tribes, belonged to the Canaanite branch of the West Semitic tribes. It was a people of clever merchants and brave seafarers. It was the Phoenicians who discovered that from the shell of the sea crimson (mollusk murex) a precious dye of purple (dark red with a violet tint) color was obtained, which was dyed mainly on thin woolen fabrics.

Purple-dyed fabrics were considered royal luxury. They did not fade under the scorching rays of the southern sun, did not fade with repeated washing. These expensive fabrics have always been in fashion and have always been in great demand, but only very rich people could buy them. Archaeological excavations of ancient settlements revealed mountains of empty shells left after the extraction of paint. Judging by the amount of waste, one can guess the scope of the dye mining and the wealth of the Phoenician traders. It was the purple dye that was the most valuable export item, and the Phoenicians did not reveal the secret of its production to anyone. The name Phoenicia itself comes from the Greek word "phoinike", which means purple.

Highly artistic bronze and silver products of Phoenician artisans were highly valued in antiquity, and then the famous first transparent glass from Sidon, the secrets of obtaining which passed to the Venetians in the Middle Ages.

The Phoenicians also exported cedar wood, glass, various ivory products, and transported goods of other peoples by sea. In one of their cities - Byblos - the Phoenicians traded in Egyptian papyrus, which then replaced paper.

Phoenician merchants were distinguished by a high culture of trade, crafts and writing. When trading at all times, it was necessary to quickly keep records and calculations. Merchants were the first to abandon the use of hieroglyphs and cuneiform in business records and invented a more readable and memorizable script - a simple alphabetic script; they created an alphabet of 22 characters, with each character representing a sound. Now the written words could really be read, and not deciphered as complex hieroglyphic drawings, meaning either a syllable, or a word, or a whole phrase or concept.

The alphabetic writing invented by the Phoenicians was adopted by the Greeks, and then it spread widely around the world and formed the basis of most of the world's alphabets, including ours.

The Phoenicians miraculously combined a high culture of trade with cunning, rigidity and barbaric customs. Slaves were an important item of their trade. The Phoenicians not only bought and resold "living goods" - slaves, but, without hesitation, kidnapped people in coastal villages, trading with the local population. They tricked women and children into their ships and sold them into slavery. They were also engaged in piracy, they attacked and robbed oncoming ships like robbers, but they did not enter into big battles and did not get involved in military conflicts.

Being excellent merchants and navigators, the Phoenicians already in the XII century BC. e. actively participated in the development of maritime trade, turning it into a source of prosperity and an instrument of expansion that continued throughout the Mediterranean until the 1st century BC. e.

Their merchant ships sailed into the Atlantic. One of these trips took in 945 BC. e. Phoenician ruler Hiram, returning with a huge load of expensive goods. In 596-594. BC e. A joint expedition of the Phoenicians and Egyptians around Africa was organized.

The Greeks, who competed with the Phoenicians in piracy, disliked them and considered them stingy. And, nevertheless, it was the Phoenician merchants who became the teachers of the Greeks in the difficult art of trade. The Greeks borrowed a lot from experienced partners, including the alphabetic writing, adapting it to their language, and even some terminology: the ancient Greek words “clothes”, “linen”, “cloth”, “veil”, “gold”, “wine” and others have Phoenician roots.

Having a reputation as brave seafarers, Phoenician merchants, or, as we would say today, businessmen, were good intermediaries between producers from different countries. In those parts where the Phoenicians constantly visited, they began to establish their settlements - colonies or trading posts. Trade began to develop even more intensively. Ships from Phoenicia came to a well-maintained harbor, and trade exchange was already going on with compatriots and even with relatives. In turn, the settlers themselves established trade relations, conducted trade transactions with the local population and acquired the necessary goods.

Phoenician trading posts were scattered along the entire Mediterranean coast. From here, both raw materials were transported - metal ores of Cyprus and even Spain, Egyptian flax - and finished products, for example, Greek vases, amphorae. Silver from the mines of the Iberian Peninsula was exchanged for goods of the East: oil, wax, wine, bread, wool, lead.

Phoenician settlements existed on the islands of Cyprus, Malta, Sardinia and Sicily. The sails of the Phoenician merchant ships were seen by the inhabitants of the African coast, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands and even England. They reached the Baltic Sea, established trade relations everywhere and exported fish, leather, amber, tin and so on from northern Europe. Founded by the inhabitants of the Phoenician city of Thira in 825 BC. e. on the coast of North Africa, the rich city of Carthage later turned into a powerful state, the army and fleet of which dominated the Mediterranean. This led to a clash with Rome.

For a long time, the Phoenicians were successfully engaged in trade, but when they fell under the rule of the more powerful neighbors of the Assyrians, they could not maintain their independence.

This ancient brave nation of merchants and sailors has acquired the glory of the first "globalizer" in history. The Phoenicians invented the alphabet, which formed the basis of the writing of most modern peoples, improved ships and circled Africa, linking the entire inhabited world known in that era by trade routes. There is a version that they even sailed to America. The desire for progress was combined among the Phoenicians with the most terrible barbarism: they sacrificed captives to the gods, and in especially important cases, their own children.

The Phoenicians are one of the most mysterious and influential civilizations of 11-1 millennia BC. It occupied a small (only about 200 kilometers) section of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea on the territory of modern Lebanon and Syria. Politically, Phenicia has never been a powerful empire - it was a series of city-states, each of which was headed by a ruler and a council of nobility. The largest city-states of the Phoenicians are Tire, Sidon (now Saida), Byblos, Arvad, and Carthage, founded by Phoenician settlers in the territory of modern Tunisia in Northwest Africa, is considered the most famous.

The Phoenicians called their land "Canaan", that is, "the country of purple", and called themselves the Canaanites. By this name they are often mentioned in the Bible. The fact is that near the sea coast in the region of Tire lived colonies of purple mollusks, from the shells of which the Canaanites learned to extract the precious purple dye. The Greeks called this people Phoenicians (from the word "foinikes" - swarthy, red). Apparently, this was also associated with purple or with the appearance of the Middle Eastern aliens.

The influence of Phenicia in the ancient world was due not to political, but to economic power. The most profitable items of the Phoenician economy were considered to be the extraction of purple molluscs and the manufacture of fabrics of all shades from crimson to purple. The Phoenicians mastered dyeing technologies to perfection: Tyrian fabrics did not fade when washed, did not fade in the sun, they could be worn for years and even decades. Purple silks and wool cost a fortune, so only rulers and the highest aristocracy could afford them. In Byzantium, emperors were called "porphyrogenic", that is, born in purple. The secret of dyeing fabrics with natural purple, discovered by the Phoenicians, was lost during the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and was fully restored by chemists only at the end of the 20th century.

The nature of Phoenicia did not give people a chance to relax. Narrow strips of cultivable land alternated here with sheer mountain ranges, approaching directly to the sea. The Phoenicians fished, grew fruit trees, grapes, but the land was sorely lacking for full-fledged agriculture. Grain, bread have always been imported from other regions. Geographic fragmentation led to the political disunity of individual cities. Due to the difficult terrain, it was impossible to build irrigation facilities, and yet the need to maintain a unified irrigation system for fields was often the main rallying factor for the states of the Ancient World. Normal roads between the Phoenician cities were able to be laid only during the time of Roman rule.

On the other hand, convenient protected bays made it possible to establish maritime trade, which provided the Phoenicians with enormous incomes. Canaan was located at the busiest crossroads of trade routes of the Ancient World: Crete, Mycenaean Greece brought their goods from the west, Egypt and the states of Africa from the south, Mesopotamia (between the Tigris and Euphrates) and India from the east. Due to natural barriers, it was difficult for enemies to attack the harbors by surprise from the land side, and combat-ready Phoenician ships stood from the sea. However, the conquerors - the Egyptians, the Hittites, the Assyrians, the Greeks, the Romans - were always drawn to the wealth of the Phoenicians.

Deprived of their own state ambitions, they agreed to put up with foreign domination, so long as it did not interfere with their trade operations. They conceded political rights to their meager land, but in return acquired undivided power over the mighty and indomitable element - the sea. Being engaged in fishing, the Phoenicians gradually improved the design and driving performance of their ships. For this, their territory had an excellent building material - Lebanese cedar.

The first ships of the Phoenician type date back to about 1500 BC, but the 12th century BC is considered a breakthrough in shipbuilding, when the mysterious “peoples of the sea” appeared in the Eastern Mediterranean. After getting acquainted with their technologies, the Phoenicians began to build ships with a keel, and not with a flat bottom. This significantly increased the speed of movement. The length of the Phoenician merchant ship reached 30 meters. The mast was equipped with two horizontal yards and carried a straight sail, traditionally used on Egyptian ships. The Phoenician sail was purple. The crew consisted of 20-30 people. Rowers took places along two sides, two powerful oars were attached to the stern to turn the vessel, and a huge ceramic container for fresh water was attached to the bow post. The tail of the ship swung up and curled inward like the tail of a scorpion. On the bow, above the water level, was a sharp copper-studded battering ram. On both sides of the bow stem, the Phoenicians painted blue eyes on their ships - this was the “all-seeing eye”, the first sea amulet.

On these ships, the Phoenicians boldly plowed the seas. Before them, Egyptian sailors sailed only along the coast, stopping for the night and waiting in the bays for the slightest breeze. The Egyptians were guided by the highest mountain peaks. If it happened to lose sight of the coast, they released pigeons, which were specially taken on ships so that the birds would fly in search of food, showing the way to land. The Phoenicians learned to navigate by the stars and knew the Mediterranean like the back of their hand. For trading needs, they founded colonies in Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, Corsica, and even on the Spanish coast of the Atlantic Ocean (Gades, now Cadiz).

Especially many Phoenician colonies were in North Africa. The main one, Carthage, was founded in 825 BC. a certain princess Elissa, who fled from Tire after a palace coup. In Virgil's Aeneid, she appears as the cunning Dido, beloved of the Hero Aeneas. Arriving at the Tunisian leader, she asked him for as much land as an ox-skin could cover. The leader agreed, and then Dido cut the skin into such narrow strips that they covered the whole hill. This is how Carthage arose, which the Romans considered a nest of deceit and deceit. In search of new markets, the Carthaginians made a number of geographical discoveries.

Hanno in the 6th century BC led an expedition along the western coast of Africa, where he saw hippos, "hairy people" (gorillas), "fiery chariots of the gods" (active volcanoes). Himilcon reached the "frozen sea", that is, the Arctic, and visited the Sargasso Sea, describing it as "a strange reservoir where eternal darkness reigns and algae impede the movement of ships."

The Phoenicians improved credit and banking, used ingots of silver, gold, copper, minted coins and leather "bills" as a means of payment. The main discovery of the Phoenicians I alphabet - was also associated with trading needs. The need to keep records of goods and record transactions forced these enterprising merchants to look for the simplest form of writing. Sound writing turned out to be simpler than Egyptian hieroglyphs and more convenient than cuneiform writing on clay tablets.

The Phoenician alphabet consisted of 22 characters denoting only consonants. The first sign was called "alef" (bull), the second - "bet" (house). The Phoenicians wrote from right to left. This feature, as well as the absence of vowels, was inherited from them by the Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic writing systems. The Greeks improved on the invention of the Phoenicians by adding vowels and turning the string from left to right. On the basis of the Greek alphabet, Latin, Slavic, Georgian and Armenian were created. The Phoenicians spread throughout the Mediterranean an easy and convenient writing material - papyrus. No wonder the Greek word "biblion" (book) comes from the name of the Phoenician city of Byblos.

Despite the countless discoveries and inventions with which the Phoenicians enriched mankind, the reputation of this people was more bad than good. Contemporaries considered them the most cunning and unscrupulous swindlers, maniacal businessmen and adventurers who stop at nothing in pursuit of profit.

Cicero gave the Phoenicians the epithet of "the most ingenious" people. Herodotus wrote that they kidnapped Io, the daughter of the king of Argos and the beloved of Zeus, roughly pushing her into the hold when she, along with other girls, looked at the goods. The Phoenicians were active in the slave trade. But perhaps the most negative feature was the bloodthirstiness of their gods. The Phoenicians buried babies at the base of the towers and gates of new cities, and before the decisive battles they massively sacrificed young children to the supreme god Baal. So, during the siege of Carthage by the troops of the Syracusan tyrant Agathocles, the city council chose two hundred noble families who were to sacrifice six-month-old boys to Baal.

Another three hundred children, the townspeople gave to the slaughter voluntarily. Then Carthage survived. However, the Romans considered it their duty to destroy the vicious city and did not calm down until in 146 BC. did not raze it to the ground. The place where Carthage was, the victors covered with salt as a sign of a curse so that nothing would grow on it.

Other cities of the Phoenicians also gradually withered, vast cedar forests were cut down. In 350 BC the Persian king Artaxerxes III destroyed Sidon, killing all its inhabitants, and in 332 BC. Alexander the Great did the same with Tyre. For several centuries, the descendants of the brave Phoenician merchants and sailors retained their own language and culture, but after the Arab conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean, they finally lost them.