THE CANAAN REGION

PHOENICIA (FENİKE)
PHOENICIA
• The map on the left
shows the location of
Phoenicia, the land of
the Phoenicians
(Fenikeliler), as they
were called by the other
people of the region and
those they traded with.
The etymology of the
word is Greek meaning
‘purple people’ because
of the famous purple
dye they had perfected.
PHOENICIA
• Phoenicia was located west of the • Because of its geography the
Mesopotamia and north-east of Canaan region had little fertile land
Egypt on the Mediterranean in the middle. To the east the
coast. The countries that occupy Lebanese mountains were like a wall
this region today are mainly Israel, protecting it from the peoples of the
Lebanon and a part of Syria. east. The Lebanese mountains were
covered with dense forests made up
• The area that is shown in a dark of cedar trees. To the west, as said
blue colour on the map where before, was the Mediterranean sea.
Phoenicia is located, is known as • Because of these conditions, unlike
the Canaan. many other peoples of the
• It is basically a strip of land Mesopotamia region, the
between the Lebanese mountains Phoenicians could not depend only
and the Mediterranean Sea. on farming and raising animals.
PHOENICIA
• In order for the Phoenicians to • They also came to know the sea, use
provide a living for themselves there the products it offered and to
were the two options, the sea and the navigate it (seyir etmek, rota
mountains. belirlemek).
• As a result they turned to both, the • Using wood from the cedar forests
cedar forests provided them with a lot they built strong and fast ships that
of wood and the sea with fish. The looked like the ones today. It is
sea also acted as a waterway, by believed that the Phoenicians were
which they could travel to other lands. the inventors of the modern curved
• Phoenicians developed skills based on hull (gövde) of ships.
what was available to them and so
• Phoenicians became expert sailors
they turned to using the wood of the
cedar forests. As a result they who were able to travel under the
became master ship builders. worst sea conditions and travel
great distances, as far as Britain.
PHOENICIA
• The Phoenicians were an ancient • After settling in various parts of
Semitic speaking people who had the Canaan region they built
settled in the Canaan region cities and each city became an
coming from various places. There independent city state. The
are many theories about their Phoenicians were never united
origin as people coming from the and often one city fought against
southern and eastern desert another. For this reason they
regions and from the north-eastern
identified themselves with the
Mediterranean region. It seems
that they shared a common name of the city they came from.
language and culture and referred • Phoenician was a name used for
to themselves not as Phoenicians, identifying these people by
but by the name of the city they foreigners, or other people.
came from.
PHOENICIA
• Some of the important cities built by the
Phoenicians were Tyre, Sidon, Beirut and
Byblos.
• Each of these cities had grown into centers
where various goods, from ships to
glassware and from paper to dye and cloth,
were produced.
• Byblos was known for its papyrus
production, it was a major papyrus
producing center. It was also known for its
ship building and other wood craft from
chests (sandık) to furniture.
• Sidon and Tyre had become famous for their
glassware, where the production had
reached such artistic levels that they were
sold as luxury goods. (pic. Source: Pinterest)
PHOENICIA
• The Phoenicians had developed
the glass blowing technique and
had reached perfection in this
field.
• They also produced a lot of glass
trinkets (biblo, incik boncuk) for
export and such things had
become very popular.
• The Phoenicians were influenced
by cultural motifs of Egypt,
Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Greece
and other regions they went to.
(M. Cartwright in Wikididactic)
PHOENICIA
• Tyre and Sidon, particularly Tyre,
were also known for their dye
and dyed cloth production.
These cities produced a purple
dye obtained from a very small
sea mollusk known as Murex
brandaris, or shortly Murex
which provide only two drops of
purple ink. Therefore, as can be
imagined, this was a very
expensive dye afforded only by
royalty.
PHOENICIA
• Byblos was another important • Byblos had become so associated
center producing paper from with paper that the Greeks gave it
papyrus and exporting this paper this name which later inspired the
through out the Mediterranean name ‘Bible’ (İncil).
region. • Phoenician cities were walled
• Byblos, the original Phoenician cities and the center of cultural
name being Gebal, was a name activity for each city was outside
that stuck and the city came to the walls, the port (liman). This
be called Byblos. The word was because all the ware houses
(biblia) comes from Greek were there, all the goods coming
meaning ‘papers’. in and going out were there, as
well as all the traders and
merchants.
PHOENICIA
• We said earlier that Phoenician cities • They travelled extensively and so
were independent city states and were cultural transmitters of
often fought with each other. This various cultures.
brings to mind the question ‘What
about the more powerful countries • They were protected by
outside the Canaan region, didn’t powerful neighbors by treaties
they attack Phoenicia?’ and agreements, protection in
• The simple answer is no! The reason return for goods.
is: • They became very good at
• Phoenicians were traders and diplomacy and making
carried goods in demand (talep agreements.
edilen mallar) from one area to the
other. • The wars among themselves also
served a purpose.
PHOENICIA & CARTHAGE
• When one city state became very • These were in the beginning
succesful in production and small trading colonies, but they
resulting trade made them rich, grew into big cities and one such
jealousy set in among the kings of colony later became a major
other city states. power fighting wars with the
• They fought, but also tried harder Roman Empire (Hannibal).
to become as succesful, hence • This colony was Carthage
competition among city states (Kartaca) in north Africa, in
increased.
Tunisia.
• They became so good at producing
the goods they did and so good in
• Carthaginian sailors also became
trading that they established famous for their voyages to very
colonies (permanent settlements). far lands.
PHOENICIA & CARTHAGE

• The map on the left

(Crystalinks.com) shows in blue
Carthage and its dependencies.
• Carthage started as an empire but
later turned into a republic and
towards its end had a population
that reached four million.
• Carthage is an example to how
successful Phoenicians were in
what they did.
PHOENICIA & CARTHAGE
• A drawing of the city of Carthage
based on remaining ruins around
200 B.C.E. (Pinterest.ie)
• As we said earlier Phoenicians
were widely travelled and
influenced by many differenet
cultures. This reflects to the art
of Carthage.
• Influences on Carthaginian art
were various: Phoenician,
Egyptian, Roman, Greek and
other Mediterranean cultures.
PHOENICIA & CARTHAGE
• Carthaginian art ranged from
everyday utensils, pots and pans
to masks, glassware, ornaments
to jewellery.
• Various materials such as
precious metals, ivory, glass,
stone and clay were used.
• Carthaginian statues were also
very common based on earlier
and later Roman models.
• Carthaginians also minted coins.
• An ivory sphinx (Livius.org)
PHOENICIA
• It was said earlier that the • Later, as they grew in trade and
Phoenicians travelled extensively production, hieroglyphics was not
and took their culture to foreign good enough for them to keep
records and make calculations.
lands and brought back the
culture of these foreign lands to • They develped a more practical
alphabet from the hieroglyphics and
the Phoenician cities. began using that.
• While doing this, one important • Soon they influenced other cultures
contribution of the Phoenicians with what they developed.
to the other cultures was their • The Greeks got their alphabet from
alphabet. the Phoenicians and the Romans from
• Initially the Phoenicians used the the Greeks. The Latin alphabet we use
today comes from the Phoenician
Egyptian hieroglyphics. alphabet(22 symb.)
PHOENICIA
• Phoenicia was conquered in 539 • After 286 BCE it fell into the
B.C.E. By the Persians (Persler) under hands of the Egyptians and
Cyrus the Great. For a time finally became a Roman
Phoenicia continued to prosper (ship province.
building) but soon after began
declining. Later the city of Sidon • While Phoenicia was destroyed
was destroyed by the Persian king by 196 BCE, Carthage remained
Artaxerxes. an important naval power for
• In 332 B.C.E. the Macedonian king another 50 years before being
Alexander the Great conquered the destroyed by the Roman Empire.
region and destroyed the city of
Tyre.