5.0 KiB
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. @t[1500 BCE..300 BCE]
Key Facts
- Region: Coastal Lebanon, with colonies across the Mediterranean
- Period: ~1500–300 BCE @t[1500 BCE..300 BCE]
- Major cities: Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, Berytus (Beirut)
- Language: Phoenician (Northwest Semitic)
- Writing: Phoenician alphabet (~1050 BCE), ancestor of Greek and Latin alphabets @t[~1050 BCE] 1
Achievements
- Developed the first widely-used phonetic alphabet ~1050 BCE @t[~1050 BCE]
- Founded Carthage (~814 BCE) and colonies across the western Mediterranean @t[~814 BCE]
- 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) @t[~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. @t[=332 BCE]
Review Queue
@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 .
@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.
@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 .
@q[temporal]Line 13: "Language: Phoenician (Northwest Semitic)" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Markoe (2000) 1 ; Herodotus (~430 BCE) 2 .
@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.
@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.
@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.
@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 .
@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 .
@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.
@q[missing]Line 10: "Region: Coastal Lebanon, with colonies across the Mediterranean" - what is the source?
Markoe (2000) 1
@q[missing]Line 11: "Period: ~1500–300 BCE" - what is the source?
Markoe (2000) 1
@q[missing]Line 12: "Major cities: Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, Berytus (Beirut)" - what is the source?
Markoe (2000) 1
@q[missing]Line 13: "Language: Phoenician (Northwest Semitic)" - what is the source?
Markoe (2000) 1
@q[missing]Line 17: "Developed the first widely-used phonetic alphabet ~1050 BCE" - what is the source?
Markoe (2000) 1
@q[missing]Line 18: "Founded Carthage (~814 BCE) and colonies across the western Mediterranean" - what is the source?
Markoe (2000) 1
@q[missing]Line 19: "Pioneered long-distance maritime trade (tin from Britain, gold from West Africa)" - what is the source?
Markoe (2000) 1
@q[missing]Line 20: "Produced Tyrian purple dye from murex snails" - what is the source?
Markoe (2000) 1
@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.
@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.