Phoenicia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Phoenicia
2500 BC–539 BC
Map of Phoenicia and its Mediterranean trade routes
Capital	Byblos (2500–1000 BC) Tyre (900–550 BC)
Common languages	Phoenician, Punic
Religion	Canaanite religion
Government	City-states ruled by kings
Well-known kings of Phoenician cities
• c. 1000 BC	Ahiram
• 969 – 936 BC	Hiram I
• 820 – 774 BC	Pygmalion of Tyre
Historical era	Classical antiquity
• Established	2500 BC
• Tyre in South Lebanon, under the reign of Hiram I, becomes the dominant city-state	969 BC
• Dido founds Carthage (legendary)	814 BC
• Cyrus the Great conquers Phoenicia	539 BC
Area
1000 BC	20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi)
Preceded by Succeeded by Canaanites Hittite Empire Egyptian Empire Achaemenid Phoenicia Ancient Carthage

Phoenicia was an ancient civilization. It was made up of people who spoke a language called Semitic. They lived along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This area is now mostly Lebanon.

The Phoenicians were known for being great sailors and traders. They spread their culture across the Mediterranean. Their civilization lasted from about 1500 BC to 300 BC.

Who Were the Phoenicians?

The name "Phoenicia" comes from an ancient Greek word. It referred to a special purple dye that the Phoenicians made. This dye was very famous and valuable. It was made from a sea snail called the Murex mollusc.

The Phoenicians lived in powerful city-states. A city-state is like an independent country, but it's centered around one main city. These cities were similar to those in ancient Greece. Important Phoenician cities included Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, and later, Carthage.

Each city-state had its own ruler and government. It's not clear if the Phoenicians thought of themselves as one big nation. They shared a similar culture, language, and religion with other groups in the Levant region. This included their neighbors, the Israelites.

The Phoenician Alphabet

Around 1050 BC, the Phoenicians developed their own Phoenician alphabet. This was a very important invention. It became one of the most used writing systems in the ancient world.

Phoenician merchants traveled far and wide. They took their alphabet with them across the Mediterranean. Other cultures learned from it and changed it to fit their own languages. The Roman alphabet, which we use today, developed from the Phoenician alphabet. This shows how important the Phoenicians were to the history of writing!

Images for kids

• 

  Two bronze pieces from an Assyrian palace gate. They show people from the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon bringing gifts (859–824 BC).

• 

  Phoenicians building pontoon bridges for Xerxes I of Persia. This was during the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC.

• 

  An Achaemenid-era coin showing Abdashtart I of Sidon. He is seen behind the Persian King in a chariot.

• 

  A naval battle during Alexander the Great's Siege of Tyre (332 BC).

• 

  Phoenician sarcophagi found in Cádiz, Spain. These stone coffins were likely brought from the Phoenician homeland.

• 

  A Phoenician metal bowl with a hunting scene (eighth century BC). Phoenician artists often used styles from other cultures.

• 

  An Etruscan tomb (around 350 BC) showing a man wearing a purple toga picta.

• 

  Map of Phoenician (yellow) and Greek colonies (8th to 6th century BC).

• 

  A stone slab (stela) from Tyre with Phoenician writing (around fourth century BC).

• 

  The sarcophagus of Ahiram. It has the oldest known writing of the Phoenician alphabet.

• 

  Female statues from Tyre (around 1000–550 BC).

• 

  A figure of Ba'al with a raised arm. Found at ancient Ugarit, a city on the northern Phoenician coast.

• 

  An Oinochoe (a type of jug); 800–700 BC; made of terracotta.

• 

  A face bead made of glass; mid-4th–3rd century BC.

• 

  One of a pair of gold earrings with four faces; late fourth–3rd century BC.

See also

In Spanish: Fenicia para niños