Phoenician history

Phoenician history is the history of the ancient Semitic-speaking communities centered on Mediterranean coastal cities such as Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos. Their seafaring trade, settlements, and alphabet shaped connections across the ancient Mediterranean.

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Byblos: An ancient port city on the coast of present-day Lebanon, occupied since the Neolithic period. Its long history and early trade with Egypt illuminate the region before Phoenician expansion.
Phoenician trade: The exchange of goods by Phoenician merchants across the Mediterranean and adjoining regions. Trade linked the coastal cities to distant markets and sustained their maritime influence.
Hiram I: A king of Tyre traditionally dated to the tenth century BCE, associated with the city’s prosperity and building projects. His reported alliance with Solomon illustrates Tyre’s regional diplomacy and wealth.
Tyre: An ancient Phoenician port city on the coast of present-day Lebanon. Tyre became a leading maritime power and founded settlements including Carthage.
Greek alphabet: The writing system adapted from the Phoenician consonantal script, with letters added for vowel sounds. Greek adoption transformed the Phoenician script and transmitted it into later alphabetic traditions.
Canaan: An ancient region of the southern Levant, home to related Semitic-speaking peoples and cultures. Phoenician communities emerged within the wider cultural world of Canaan.
Phoenician colonization: The establishment of Phoenician settlements and trading posts beyond the Levantine coast. Settlements extended Phoenician networks while remaining connected to their eastern homeland.
Pygmalion of Tyre: A king of Tyre traditionally dated to the ninth century BCE and associated in legend with Dido’s departure. His story connects Tyre’s royal politics to traditions about Carthage’s foundation.
Sidon: An ancient Phoenician coastal city north of Tyre, known for trade and crafts. Its fortunes show that Phoenician history involved several competing city-states, not one kingdom.
Latin alphabet: The alphabet used to write Latin and many modern languages, derived through the Greek and Etruscan alphabets. Its distant ancestry demonstrates the lasting reach of Phoenician script transmission.