# 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 - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Region: Coastal Lebanon, with colonies across the Mediterranean" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Period: ~1500–300 BCE" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Major cities: Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, Berytus (Beirut)" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Language: Phoenician (Northwest Semitic)" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 14: "Writing: Phoenician alphabet (~1050 BCE), ancestor of Greek and Latin alphabe..." - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Developed the first widely-used phonetic alphabet ~1050 BCE" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Founded Carthage (~814 BCE) and colonies across the western Mediterranean" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Pioneered long-distance maritime trade (tin from Britain, gold from West Africa)" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 20: "Produced Tyrian purple dye from murex snails" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 21: "Circumnavigated Africa under commission from Pharaoh Necho II (~600 BCE) [^2]" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [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.