Knowra Mediterranean trade Mediterranean trade Mediterranean trade is the exchange of goods and services among societies bordering the Mediterranean Sea, linking ports and inland markets across three continents.
Mediterranean Sea : A sea connected to the Atlantic by the Strait of Gibraltar and bordered by Europe, Africa, and Asia. Its coastlines and islands define the maritime network through which Mediterranean trade moved.
Phoenician trade : The maritime commerce conducted by Phoenician city-states across the Mediterranean during the first millennium BCE. Phoenician merchants built far-reaching networks linking Levantine cities with western Mediterranean markets.
Amphora : A two-handled ceramic vessel used in antiquity to store and transport liquids and other commodities. Amphorae carried wine, olive oil, and other goods and often preserve evidence of ancient commerce.
Cultural diffusion : The spread of cultural practices, ideas, and material forms between communities. Trade carried languages, artistic forms, technologies, and religious ideas alongside merchandise.
Alexandria : A major Egyptian port city founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE. Its harbor and position near the Nile Delta made Alexandria a major Mediterranean trading hub.
Mediterranean shipping : The transport of people and cargo by vessels across the Mediterranean Sea. Ships connected distant ports and carried bulk goods more cheaply than overland transport.
Greek colonization : The establishment of Greek settlements around the Mediterranean and Black Seas, especially from the eighth to sixth centuries BCE. New settlements expanded commercial links between Greek cities and distant coastal regions.
Coinage : The production and use of standardized metal money for exchange and payment. Coins facilitated transactions and provide evidence for the circulation of money across the region.
Urbanization : The growth of towns and cities and the increasing concentration of populations in them. Commercial ports and market centers attracted people, labor, and investment.
Carthage : An ancient city in present-day Tunisia that became a major Phoenician and later Punic power. Carthage used its strategic position to build commercial networks across the western Mediterranean.
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