notes

Notes:

(Click on picures for sources) **Phoenicia:** -Middle East, modern day Lebanon and parts of Israel and Syria. (Chirstie, page 3) -mountainous, many rivers and streams ( Christie, page 24) -Mediterranean climate long, hot, and dry summers, cool and rainy winters. ( Christie, page 24) -Coastal, right on the Mediterranean Sea. ( Christie, page 3) -Important location, crossroads of the world. ( Christie, page 26)
 * Geography**

**Colonies:** __**North Africa**__ -only lived on coast ( Christie, page 4) -fertile land ( Christie, page 17) -abundant fish ( Christie, page 15) -hot and humid ( Christie, page 17) -important geographical location (middle of Mediterranean) ( Casson, page 67)


 * __Spanish__**

-Dry and arid climate, similar to Phoenician homeland. ([|wikipedia]) -Strategic location on opposite side of Mediterranean. (Casson, page 102) -Abundant space for colonization and livestock. (Lancel, 35) -Some fertility for agriculture. ([|wikipedia]) -Good “Checkpoint” for around the Mediterranean trading. (Casson, page 102)

__**Sicily/Cyprus**__ -Fertile for both farming and livestock. (Casson, page 135) -Important location as ‘pit-stop’ for Mediterranean trade due to location in the middle of the Sea. (Casson, page 131) -Good fishing. ([|wikipedia])

**Famous Events and People** **People:** -Hanno, first person to circumnavigate Africa. (Casson, 95) -Ahiram, king of the city-state of Byblos, unified Phoenicians (to an extent) (Tubb, page 15) -Hiram I, king of the city-state of Tyre from 980 BC to 947 BC, mentioned in the Bible (Tubb, page 18) -Pygmalion, King of Tyre from 831 BC to 785 BC, shifted Phoenician trading empire from local trade (the Middle East) to the entire Mediterranean with the colonization of large portions North Africa and expansion of Cyprus colonies. (Tubb, page 18)

**Events:** 1750 BC -Founding of Tyre, the first Phoenician city-state (Holst, page 6)  1590 BC -The Phoenicians battle the Egyptians.  (Holst, page 18) 1500 BC -The Phoenicians settle Cyprus. (Casson, page 8)  1300 BC -The Phoenicians make trading agreements with the Egyptians. ( Holst, page 22)  1252 BC –Phoenicians engage in the war of Sidon against the Philistines.  ( Holst, page 23) 1200 BC-Tyre becomes the most powerful Phoenician city-state.  ( Holst, page 26) 1100 BC-The Phoenicians set up colonies on the Atlantic coast in both Spain and Africa. (Casson, page 8)  876 BC-The Phoenicia cities begin to pay tribute to the Assyrian empire. ( Holst, page 36)  854 BC-The Phoenicians go to war with Assyrians and are defeated.  ( Holst, page 38) 813 BC-The colony of Carthage is founded in Northern Africa (future rival of Rome).  (Casson, page 8) 727 BC-The city-state of Tyre attempts to claim independence from the Assyrians. (Holst, page 43) 725 BC-Tyre defeats the Assyrians in history’s first naval battle and then withstands a 5 year siege. (Casson, page 28) 701 BC-Tyre is sacked by the Assyrians ( Holst, page 46)  695 BC-Spain becomes an independent Phoenician kingdom. (Moscati, page 90) 678 BC-The city-state of Sidon besieged for three years and then captured by the Assyrian empire. ( Holst, page 46)  636 BC-The Phoenician city-states become independent in the midst of the weakening Assyrian empire. ( Holst, page 67)  587 BC-The Babylonian empire begins a 13 year siege of Tyre, Tyre eventually capitulates.  ( Holst, page 105) 538 BC-Phoenicia becomes a Persian province; Carthage asserts its independence. ( Lancel, page 6)  536 BC-The Carthaginians capture Corsica from the Greeks.  ( Lancel, page 15) 509 BC-Carthage is recognized by Rome as controller of the western seas. ( Lancel, page 31) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> 500 BC-Hanno, with Phoenicians ships, circumnavigates Africa. (Casson, page 8)

-Traded and travelled around Mediterranean (Casson, page 2) -Used galleys powered by both oar and sail (Casson, page 23) -Transportation routes limited by sea winds and currents (Casson, page 2) Examples: Travelled clockwise around Mediterranean due to current from the Atlantic Ocean flowing around the Iberian peninsula and out around Western Africa. (Casson, page 26) -Invented the biggest oar powered ships of the age. (Casson, page 23) Examples: The Bireme, with two levels of oars. ( Oppenheim, page 56) The Trireme, with three levels of oars. ( Oppenheim, page 57) The Quadreme, with four levels of oars. ( Oppenheim, page 57) -Transported people, goods, and more using these ships. ( Oppenheim, page 52) -Provided rest of Mediterranean with transportation (transported Persians to Greece, twice) (Casson, page 5) -Transportation methods replicated by the vast majority of Mediterranean states. ( Oppenheim, page 54) -Hire by the Egyptian Pharaohs to circumnavigate Africa and did so successfully. (Casson, page 43)
 * Transportation and Military **
 * Transportation**

**Military** -Used galleys and later triremes and biremes (for greater capacity) ( Oppenheim) -War galleys, biremes, and triremes were equipped with metal (usually bronze) spikes on end for ramming purposes. ( Oppenheim) -Later copied by the rest of the Mediterranean. ( Oppenheim) -Experimented with boarding ramps that swung down from the mast and dug into the enemy’s ship via metal spikes. ( Oppenheim) -Used grappling hooks to board ships. ( Oppenheim) -Sometimes added damp animal hides to hull/mast to protect against flaming projectiles. ( Casson) -In later years, ships would add thin, but strong, metal plating to hull to protect against enemy ramming actions. ( Casson) -Technology similar to rest of Mesopotamia. (Oppenheim) -Little armor, not much development. (Oppenheim) -Highly developed Bow (and arrow) (Oppenheim) -Strong swords, one of the first to use iron instead of bronze. (Oppenheim) -Advanced chariots (scythes on sides and good turning mechanisms). (Oppenheim) -Small amounts of Greek-style soldiery. (Oppenheim) Examples: Large, round, heavy shields. (Oppenheim) Long Spears. (Oppenheim) -Limited Cavalry until colonization of Northern Africa. (Lancel) -Relied heavily on Mercenaries. (Christie) Examples: Numidian Cavalry (Christie) Spanish swordsmen (Christie)
 * Navy**
 * Army**


 * Economy and Agriculture**

-Maritime empire ([|History-World)] -Large amounts of fishing ([|History-World]) -Small scale farming, due to small geographical size and mountainous terrain.([|History-World]) -Farming techniques similar to Greeks ([|E-museum]) -Harvested both grapes and olives, and produced wine and oil. ([|E-museum]) -Used Livestock for labor, milking, and eating. ([|History-World]) Examples: Oxen, for labor ([|History-World]) Goats, for milking ([|History-World]) Pigs, for eating ([|History-World]) Cows, for milking and eating ([|History-World])
 * Agriculture**

-Cedar tree production and distribution (Moscati, page 142) -Purple dye production and distribution, made the Phoenicians famous because it was rarely produced anywhere else. (Moscati, page 144) -Large salt works, produce salt, sold it, and salted items en masse for other states. (Moscati, page 152) -Ship construction for most of the eastern Mediterranean, famous for quality. (Casson, page 16)
 * Industry**

**Trade** -Traded with all of Mediterranean. (Moscati) -Especially with the Egyptians, Greeks, North Africans, Italians, Persians, Assyrians, Babylonians. (Moscati) -Traded own goods such as cedar, salt, and purple dye. (Moscati) -Also Traded foreign goods from one place to another. (Moscati) Examples: Metal goods (weapons and tools) from Greece to Egypt. (Moscati) -Traded using bartering system. (Moscati) -Made set values for items for weight with most large trading partners, which would stay in place for roughly a year, when the value would be reassessed and sometimes changed. (Moscati) -Introduce currency in -From then on spread currency throughout most of the Mediterranean. (Lancel)

**Art, Literature, Culture** -Invented alphabet still used today, minus vowels. (Moscati, page 22) -Spread alphabet across the Mediterranean and the Middle East. ([|Brittanica]) -Language called Abjad. (Brittanica) -All art was heavily influence by the Egyptians, Greeks, and/or Assyrians. (Moscati, page 11) -Art served religious purposes, such as rituals or offerings. (Moscati, page 13) -Artists and craftsmen seemed more concerned with shape and effectiveness than with style. (Moscati, page 13)

**Religious Culture** -Polytheistic (Rawlinson, page 36) -Took many gods from Egyptians (Osiris and Isis). (Rawlinson, page 37) -Had original gods, spread to the Middle East and North Africa. (Rawlinson, page 39) -Toys, Monuments, and other items decorated with Gods. (Rawlinson, page 42)
 * Socio-Political System**

-City-states, similar to classical Greek style. ([|E-museum]) -City-states formed alliances. ([|Phoenician.org]) -Occasionally fought each other, although not too often. ([|Phoenician.org]) -One city usually dominated all others for periods of time. ([|Phoenician.org]) Examples: Tyre (1000 BC – 333 BC) ([|wikipedia]) Byblos (1200 BC - 1000 BC) ([|wikipedia]) -Religion didn’t play large role in politics. (Eugenia) -Role usually reduced to the building of small temples and monuments. (Eugenia) -Each city had its own patron deity, like in Greece at the time. (Eugenia) Examples: Baalat Gebal (Byblos) ([|wikipedia]) Eshmen (Sidon) ([|wikipedia]) -Women were regarded as below men like many other civilizations of the time. (Eugenia) -It is unsure whether Phoenicians thought of themselves as a single ethnicity, strong evidence to suggest they were. (Eugenia) -City-states would always unite in the face of foreign enemies such as the Assyrians and Babylonians. (Eugenia) -Phoenicians were occupied by foreign powers for most of its existence. (Tubb) -Were under overall control of Assyrians for long periods of time. (Tubb) -Had control of internal affairs, trade, and colonies. (Tubb) -Buy they were forced to assist overlords in wars and pay tribute. (Tubb) -City-states divided in political systems like Greeks. ([|E-museum]) -Some “democratic” (Eugenia) -Some dictatorships (Eugenia) -Some city-states had slavery, but not all. (Eugenia)

__**Work Cited**__

Christie, Neil. __The Phoenicians__. Basil Blackwell inc., 1995.

Casson, Lionel. __The Ancient Mariners__. Mcksey/Bachelor, 1978. Christie, Neil. __The Carthaginians__. Basil Blackwell inc., 1995. "Phoenicia.” __Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia__. 8 May 2009 []  Tubb, Jonathon N. __Phoenicia: History of a Civilization__. Watson-Guptill, 2001.

Eugenia, Maria. __The Phoenicians and the West__. HarperCollins inc., 1998

Holst, Sanford. __Phoenicia: Lebanon’s Epic Heritage__. Cord Communications Corporation, 1997.

Lancel, Serge. __Carthage: A History__. Dorling Kindersley, 2002. Rawlinson, George. __Religions of the Ancient World__. New York: Knopf, 1999.<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Moscati, Sabatino. __The Phoenicians__. The John C. Winston Company, 1962.

“Phoenicians.” __History World__. 12 February 2009 [] “Phoenician History.” The Phoenician Experience. 23 April 2009 []

Oppenheim, A. Leo. __Ancient Mesopotamian Civilizations__. Henry Holt and Co., 1994.

“Phoenician Language.” Encyclopedia Brittanica. []

“Ancient Greek Civilizations.” E-Museum. May 2 2009 []

Chedid, Antonio. __The Phoenicians in History and Legend__. AuthorHouse, 2002.