Phoenicians
Introduction
Phoenicia was one of the wealthiest civilizations around 1000 B.C. They were located were parts Syria, Lebanon, and Israel are today. They were fisherman because they lived near the Mediterranean sea. They also traded timber.
Zia C.- Anthropologist
We know very little about the Phoenician religion, but what we do know is that they believed in gods. Their religion was passed down from the Bronze Age Canaanites. The Phoenicians were polytheistic. Polytheistic means they believed in more than one god. The gods that they believed in could change weather and continue the life of humans, or fertility. The Phoenicians made sacrifices to gods to stop disasters. Baal (which is one of their gods) was the god of storms. they also made offerings to the gods. Some of their offerings were burnt fragrant smells, animals, and food.The Phoenicians communicated using a language that is among the same group of the Akkadian, Aramaic, Arabic, and Hebrew. This is called Semitic Language.One way the Phoenicians were advanced is from their cargo, or goods. The Phoenicians used a special type of wood for building things, like ships, etc. This wood is called cedar wood. They also used it for carving things. Their Tyrian purple dye was another thing they were famous for. They used this to color their clothes. From being so famous from their dye they were called the "Purple People". In Phoencia they had metalworkers. They were most know for their gold. In two Phoenician cities, Tyre and Sidon, they were known for their glass. Phoenicia was well known for trade.
Anne F. - Historian
Start: 3000Little is known on how the Phoenician culture started. But we did know that the Phoenicians had a small amount of farmland, due to their location, making them go to the Mediterranean Sea to find food and other things. Because of their limited farmland and them having to go to the sea the Phoenician ended up being some of the first and most successful fisherman in the world. Their food for trade lead to their wealth which is what made them a large successful civilization.There were many other great civilizations that influenced the Phoenicians, such as Egypt who influenced them with religion and culture. Also Hittitites, Assyrians are places that also influenced the Phoenician culture. The Phoenicians also had a king named king Hiram, who made the town of Tyre a very important city.In 1000 B.C. Phoenicia was founded, but small towns that were a part of Phoenicia were already founded. Such as Byblos founded in 3000 B.C., and Tyre founded in 2750 B.C. One of Phoenicia's most famous legacy's was founded in 1000 B.C. too, their alphabet. 969-936 B.C. king Hiram ruled the city Tyre. Then id 878 B.C. a important Phoenician city was founded, Carthrage. Later the Phoenicians settle in Cyprus, around 800 B.C.. Not much later in 738 B.C. Assyrians invade Phoenicia, but with with not a strong army the Assyrians conquer most of Phoenicia. Around 539 B.C. "Cyrus the great" takes over Phoenicia into the Persian empire. 332 b.C. Tyre falls to Alexander the Great.What really changed the Phoenicians path for worse, was when they started having conflicts with other countries and nations. When other countries started to invade Phoenicia, Phoenicia did not defend so well, because their army was not very strong. They were invaded by the Assyrians in 738 B.C. and in 332 B.C. they were completely conquered by Alexander the Great.
Anson G.
Anson G.
Geographer
Today, Phoenicia is divided into Syria, Israel, and Lebanon. It was located in the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians lived on the coast and made a living from the ocean. They were good at building ships and could navigate too. One of the natural resources they had was snails from water that produced purple dye when boiled and processed. I think they were geographically lucky because they were traders that would sell things that would come from the ocean. Plus, they had barrier in the Mediterranean Sea and also barriers in the place that is now Lebanon. The barriers would protect them from enemies. And plus the fact they know how to make purple dye. Now Syria, Lebanon, and Israel has the land the Phoenicians had.
James P.
James P. ArcheologistObjects and inventions that had special importance to the Phoenicians are wood and ivory. They made their best trades by sea and traded many things, but they loved wood carving and ivory. Purple represents royalty and Phoenicians used purple dye and in Greek the word Phoenician means purple people. The most important invention was their 22 letter alphabet which gradually turned in to the one we use today leaving the legacy of the Phoenicians. The way they impacted our life today was that they spoke a language similar to Hebrew. No one knows exactly what language they were speaking but the best guess people could make was Hebrew. The legends and myths that explained the way the Phoenicians lived was that they believed in gods. They believed the highest was Baal Shamen (Lord of the Heavens). After that that believed Baal Hammon (Lord of Braziers) (No one knows what Brazier meant) who was the Chief of WesternPhoenicians. Then came Melquart Baal (Lord of the City) who in Greek would have been like Hercules. He also had a famous temple.