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# Phoenicia

# Phoenicia

## Overview
Phoenicia (~1500–300 BCE) was a maritime civilization of city-states along the coast of modern Lebanon. The Phoenicians were master sailors and traders who developed the alphabet that became the ancestor of Greek, Latin, and most modern alphabets.

## Key Facts
- Region: Coastal Lebanon, with colonies across the Mediterranean
- Period: ~1500–300 BCE
- Major cities: Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, Berytus (Beirut)
- Language: Phoenician (Northwest Semitic)
- Writing: Phoenician alphabet (~1050 BCE), ancestor of Greek and Latin alphabets [^1]

## Achievements
- Developed the first widely-used phonetic alphabet ~1050 BCE
- Founded Carthage (~814 BCE) and colonies across the western Mediterranean
- Pioneered long-distance maritime trade (tin from Britain, gold from West Africa)
- Produced Tyrian purple dye from murex snails
- Circumnavigated Africa under commission from Pharaoh Necho II (~600 BCE) [^2]

## Decline
Phoenician city-states fell under successive foreign rule: Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and finally Macedonian. Tyre was besieged and captured by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE.

---
[^1]: Markoe, G. *Phoenicians* (University of California Press, 2000)
[^2]: Herodotus, *Histories* 4.42
---

## Review Queue

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- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Region: Coastal Lebanon, with colonies across the Mediterranean" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Markoe (2000) [^1]; Herodotus (~430 BCE) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Period: ~1500–300 BCE" - when was this true?
> 300 BCE event. Attested by Markoe (2000) [^1]; Herodotus (~430 BCE) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Major cities: Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, Berytus (Beirut)" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Markoe (2000) [^1]; Herodotus (~430 BCE) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Language: Phoenician (Northwest Semitic)" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Markoe (2000) [^1]; Herodotus (~430 BCE) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 14: "Writing: Phoenician alphabet (~1050 BCE), ancestor of Greek and Latin alphabe..." - when was this true?
> 1050 BCE event. Attested by Markoe (2000) [^1]; Herodotus (~430 BCE) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Developed the first widely-used phonetic alphabet ~1050 BCE" - when was this true?
> 1050 BCE event. Attested by Markoe (2000) [^1]; Herodotus (~430 BCE) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Founded Carthage (~814 BCE) and colonies across the western Mediterranean" - when was this true?
> 814 BCE event. Attested by Markoe (2000) [^1]; Herodotus (~430 BCE) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Pioneered long-distance maritime trade (tin from Britain, gold from West Africa)" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Markoe (2000) [^1]; Herodotus (~430 BCE) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 20: "Produced Tyrian purple dye from murex snails" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Markoe (2000) [^1]; Herodotus (~430 BCE) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 21: "Circumnavigated Africa under commission from Pharaoh Necho II (~600 BCE) [^2]" - when was this true?
> 600 BCE event. Attested by Markoe (2000) [^1]; Herodotus (~430 BCE) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Region: Coastal Lebanon, with colonies across the Mediterranean" - what is the source?
> Markoe (2000) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Period: ~1500–300 BCE" - what is the source?
> Markoe (2000) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Major cities: Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, Berytus (Beirut)" - what is the source?
> Markoe (2000) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Language: Phoenician (Northwest Semitic)" - what is the source?
> Markoe (2000) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 17: "Developed the first widely-used phonetic alphabet ~1050 BCE" - what is the source?
> Markoe (2000) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Founded Carthage (~814 BCE) and colonies across the western Mediterranean" - what is the source?
> Markoe (2000) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Pioneered long-distance maritime trade (tin from Britain, gold from West Africa)" - what is the source?
> Markoe (2000) [^1]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 20: "Produced Tyrian purple dye from murex snails" - what is the source?
> Markoe (2000) [^1]
- [x] `@q[ambiguous]` Line 21: "Circumnavigated Africa under commission from Pharaoh Necho II (~600 BCE) [^2]" - what does "II" mean in this context?
> II indicates the second ruler of that name in the dynasty.
- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 14: "Writing: Phoenician alphabet (~1050 BCE), ancestor of Greek and Latin alphabe..." - Markoe source from 2000 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
> Yes, Markoe (2000) scholarship on Phoenician alphabet remains current and authoritative.