daniel/factbase-ancient-history
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull Requests Actions Packages Projects Releases Wiki Activity

initial repo seedings

Browse Source
This commit is contained in:
daniel
2026-02-22 21:35:29 +00:00
parent a2864b3522
commit 23098547f1
80 changed files with 7486 additions and 0 deletions
Download Patch File Download Diff File Expand all files Collapse all files

105
writing-systems/phoenician-alphabet.md Normal file
View File

@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
<!-- factbase:a94620 -->
# Phoenician Alphabet
# Phoenician Alphabet
## Overview
The Phoenician alphabet (~1050 BCE) was the first widely-used phonetic alphabet, consisting of 22 consonant letters. It is the ancestor of virtually all modern alphabets including Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew.
## Key Facts
- Origin: Phoenicia (modern Lebanon), ~1050 BCE
- Type: Abjad (consonantal alphabet, no vowels)
- Number of letters: 22
- Direction: Right to left
- Derived from: Proto-Sinaitic/Proto-Canaanite script (~1800 BCE) [^1]
## Descendants
- Greek alphabet (~800 BCE): Added vowels, adapted letter forms
- Aramaic alphabet: Ancestor of Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, and many Asian scripts
- Latin alphabet (via Greek and Etruscan): Used by most of the modern world
- South Arabian script: Ancestor of Ethiopic (Ge'ez) [^2]
## Significance
- Simplified writing from hundreds of signs (cuneiform, hieroglyphics) to 22 letters
- Made literacy more accessible beyond scribal elites
- Spread across the Mediterranean through Phoenician trade networks
---
[^1]: Sass, B. *The Genesis of the Alphabet* (1988)
[^2]: Daniels, P.T. & Bright, W. *The World's Writing Systems* (Oxford, 1996)
---
## Review Queue
<!-- factbase:review -->
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Origin: Phoenicia (modern Lebanon), ~1050 BCE" - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Type: Abjad (consonantal alphabet, no vowels)" - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Number of letters: 22" - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Direction: Right to left" - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 14: "Derived from: Proto-Sinaitic/Proto-Canaanite script (~1800 BCE) [^1]" - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Greek alphabet (~800 BCE): Added vowels, adapted letter forms" - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Aramaic alphabet: Ancestor of Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, and many Asian scripts" - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Latin alphabet (via Greek and Etruscan): Used by most of the modern world" - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 20: "South Arabian script: Ancestor of Ethiopic (Ge'ez) [^2]" - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "Simplified writing from hundreds of signs (cuneiform, hieroglyphics) to 22 le..." - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Made literacy more accessible beyond scribal elites" - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "Spread across the Mediterranean through Phoenician trade networks" - when was this true?
>
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Origin: Phoenicia (modern Lebanon), ~1050 BCE" - what is the source?
>
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Type: Abjad (consonantal alphabet, no vowels)" - what is the source?
>
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Number of letters: 22" - what is the source?
>
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Direction: Right to left" - what is the source?
>
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 17: "Greek alphabet (~800 BCE): Added vowels, adapted letter forms" - what is the source?
>
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Aramaic alphabet: Ancestor of Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, and many Asian scripts" - what is the source?
>
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Latin alphabet (via Greek and Etruscan): Used by most of the modern world" - what is the source?
>
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 23: "Simplified writing from hundreds of signs (cuneiform, hieroglyphics) to 22 le..." - what is the source?
>
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 24: "Made literacy more accessible beyond scribal elites" - what is the source?
>
- [ ] `@q[missing]` Line 25: "Spread across the Mediterranean through Phoenician trade networks" - what is the source?
>
- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 14: "Derived from: Proto-Sinaitic/Proto-Canaanite script (~1800 BCE) [^1]" - Sass source from 1988 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
>
- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 20: "South Arabian script: Ancestor of Ethiopic (Ge'ez) [^2]" - Daniels source from 1996 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
>