Phoenicians: history of this ancient Mediterranean civilization

To understand the history of the ancient world it is necessary to pay special attention to the civilization of the Phoenicians.

Next we will review the most important events lived throughout the entire existence of this town, its relations with the rest of Mediterranean cultures, and the main characteristics that gave identity to the inhabitants of Phenicia.

• Related article: "History of writing: its development in Antiquity"

Who were the Phoenicians?

Talking about the history of the Phoenicians presents a small inconvenience, and that is that barely their own records are kept, so most of the data has been extracted from the accounts that other civilizations They have done about them, added to the information obtained through archaeological excavations and the studies carried out on the remains found. In any case, there is enough information to make a reasonably reliable reconstruction of the history of the Phoenicians.

It must be borne in mind that, in this period, the reigning civilization in the territories near the Mediterranean was that of Egypt

, which in its expansion found a utility in the commercial capacities of Phenicia and therefore favored this culture to develop, since it was beneficial for them, being a fast access route to all kinds of elements that the Phoenicians obtained in their commercial transactions, carried out with all the peoples that participated in the themselves.

Origin of the Phoenicians

The Phoenician civilization It arose on the Mediterranean coast of the territory that today would belong to Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Palestine, sometime between the III and II millennium BC. C., although there are discrepancies as to the exact date of the emergence of this culture.

The name of Phenicia would have given it the Greeks, and would refer to the color of a typical dye with which they traded. They considered themselves in origin as Canaanite Semites, and it seems that they made no distinction, at least in principle, with respect to that civilization.

Expansion and golden period

The growth of the Phoenicians was given by the debacle of Egypt and the Hittites, happened in the twilight of the Age of Bronze (1200 a. C.). This favored the expansion of Phenicia, and if something characterized this civilization was its ability for maritime trade and exploration. For this reason, they did not take long to establish trade routes through all the ports bathed by the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. This strategy allowed them to dominate the commerce of the entire area and generate sufficient resources to consolidate and expand.

For the year 1230 a. C., Phenicia was already the greatest power both at the level of commercial domain and maritime power. The system of city-states such as Sidon and Byblos was an effective management method, and they extrapolated it to other populations such as Berytus, Arwad, Simyra or Tire.. Of all of them, Byblos was considered the nucleus of all those trade routes that connected the known world. Thanks to this method the Phoenicians were able to expand throughout the Mediterranean coast, establishing settlements.

In this way, they founded cities on island territories such as those that today belong to Cyprus, Balearic Islands, Malta, Sicily and Sardinia, and also in areas such as the Iberian Peninsula itself and the north of the continent African. Among all of them, the foundation of Carthage stands out, located where Tunis is today, since it would be the seed of the civilization that would inherit the Phoenician power and that would continue its expansion in the future, coming to face the almighty Rome.

What made the Phoenician culture different from the others was their way of growing expanding, not through war and conquest, but through trade routes and diplomatic relations with neighboring cultures. That way of relating through exchange and mutual interest was really fruitful. In contrast to this peaceful policy we would find the example of cultures such as Babylon or Assyria, which sought to expand through warlike policies.

Therefore, it was this methodology of seeking economic benefit through good relationships that allowed the Phoenicians reached their highest point as a civilization, throughout the first half of the Iron Age (around 1200 to. C. and 800 a. C.). The city of Tire was the one that grew the most, thanks to the management of the monarch Hiram I, in the middle of the 10th century BC. C., times in which David first and Solomon reigned later in Israel.

In fact, both Tire and many other Phoenician cities are repeatedly named in the Old Testament of the Bible, denoting the importance of all these Phoenician city-states in the historical period studied. Later, the city of Tire would expand and absorb that of Sidon, which was an attack on the citizens of that population, and made the city-state system tremble, as King Ithobaal, responsible for this movement, was tempted to found a territory own self.

• You may be interested in: "The 10 most important Roman legends"

Start of decline

The Phoenician expansion across the Mediterranean had served to disseminate part of their oriental culture in western towns. This influence was especially noticeable in Greece. All this hodgepodge was an enrichment for everyone, by sharing knowledge that led to scientific and technological advances and also for philosophy. In addition, the Phoenicians were not only mere intermediaries, but they had a powerful industry, standing out in costume jewelery, for which they used glass, wood, ivory and various metals.

They also mastered different techniques of textile creation, and were especially good at dyeing fabrics.. In fact, as we already anticipated, one of their dyes, the purple of Tire, is the one that is believed to have given them the name of Phoenicians, at the hands of the Greeks. Other Phoenician cities, such as those located in the Iberian Peninsula, produced pottery objects. And the incipient Carthage was a whole shipyard, manufacturing boats with a system that made them cheaper than those known until then, by making them in series.

But this commercial hegemony had a counterpart, and that is that the Phoenicians they did not have a sufficient army to defend themselves against the constant expansion attempts of neighboring powers. This is what happened with the Assyrian empire, which little by little took over several of the Phoenician city-states, maintaining its identity and their independence in exchange for a series of tributes, for which they remained Phoenicians, but subordinate to Assyria.

The Assyrians decided to maintain that independence from the Phoenician cities and resort to a status of vassalage due, in part, to the previous good commercial relations that both peoples had, but also for the interest that the industrial and commercial force that the cities of the Phoenicians had did not decline, since it brought them an economic benefit that they did not want to stop obtaining. This situation persisted for a time and after regained their independence after the death of Shalmanasar III of Assyria.

Fall of Phenicia

Some time later other monarchs arrived who decided to conquer almost all the territory of the Phoenicians in the Levant area. The Assyrian troops managed to seize almost all the land, except for the two most powerful city-states, Byblos and Tire, who maintained, as before, an independence in exchange for tributes, more and more demanding. Then began a time of revolts that were constantly put down, but the situation was unsustainable..

But the Assyrian empire was weakening, and its place was occupied by the Babylonian, who took control of the area and dominated the former Phoenician cities, between 605 BC. C. and 538 a. C. But it did not end here, since after the Babylonians, it was the Persian Empire that brought the battle back to these lands. In the case of the cities of the Phoenicians, they preferred to pay tribute again in exchange for not having to fight and maintain their activity. Despite constant conquests, city-states maintained their important role in industry and commerce.

The territory of Phenicia was under Persian control throughout 3 centuries, between 539 BC. C. and 332 a. C. As for the territory of the Levant, after the Persian occupation it was conquered by Alexander the Great. Although this empire advocated the "Hellenization" of the conquered territories, like the predecessors, they allowed to maintain the identity of the Phoenicians. Another period of instability and constant wars began between various civilizations.

Finally, and after a continuous weakening, what remains of Phenicia in its original territory is absorbed by the nascent Roman Empire, in his province of Syria. During the entire stage of repeated conquests, slowly but progressively, many of the inhabitants of Levantine Phenicia decided to move to other settlements that had He was founding around the Mediterranean, and that was how the majority chose Carthage, a city that was gaining more and more strength and that time later would be the natural heir to the ancient Phenicia.

Bibliographic references:

• Blázquez, J.M., Alvar, J., Wagner, C.G. (1999). Phoenicians and Carthaginians in the Mediterranean. Madrid: Chair.
• Pardo, F.L. (nineteen ninety six). The Phoenician Enclaves in North-West Africa: From the Nautical Scale Model to the Colonization Model with Productive Implications. Geryon. Magazine of Ancient History.
• Prados, F. (2007). The Phoenicians: from Mount Lebanon to the Pillars of Hercules. Marcial Pons Editions of History.