Brief history of Phoenicians
Phoenicians were a Semitic descent population inhabiting the Syrian-Palestinian coastline between the Levant Sea and current Lebanon. They were in a central geographical position between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Mountain headlands, with many forests and good natural harbors along the coast, characterized their territory. The imperviousness of the territory caused political fragmentation, with the constitution of city-state in the valleys, independent from each other.
The head of every city was a king, flanked by a council of elders who restricted his power. Kings of city-states were as divinities. They were both political and religious leaders. The transmission of power took place dynastially.
Phoenicians city-states
The presence of so many city-states, often in conflict with each other, never allowed the Phoenicians to become a single country. This made the Phoenician cities very weak compared to foreign peoples and caused the Phoenicians to suffer the political influence of the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians and the Persians.
The main Phoenician city-states were Byblos, Sidon and Tyre.
Byblos
The earliest archaeological evidence (V millennium BC) comes from the city of Byblos, and proved a Neolithic settlement. It subsequently became a developed urban settlement with intense commercial exchanges. Phoenicians named it Gebel. Greeks called it Byblos because they imported papyrus from the city. Hence the English word Bible comes from Byblos. It was the most important city-state in the early period of the Phoenician history and was mainly under Egyptian control.
Sidon and Tyre
Sidon became the most important city of Phoenicia between 1500 and 1100 BC. It also suffered the rule of the Egyptians. Sidon had such importance that Homer called all the Phoenicians Sidoni (people from Sidon). At the end Philistines destroyed it.
The importance of Tyre as a city-state grew in the last period of the history of the Phoenicians.
After the destruction of Sidon, also its colonies decayed. Greeks also became more and more influential in the eastern Mediterranean basin. Thus, Tyre’s trades moved mainly to the western Mediterranean. Tyre fell under the rule of the Assyrians, but continued to play an important role among the cities of Phenicia. Subsequently Babylonians subdued the city.
Phoenicians commerce
Between the 3rd and 2nd millenniums BC Phoenicians traded overland with peoples of Egypt and Mesopotamia. They imported agricultural products and exported handicrafts.
At the beginning of the 1st millennium, Phoenicians, especially the inhabitants of Tyre, began to intensify sea-trading across the whole Mediterranean up to the Strait of Gibraltar. With their advanced skills in navigation and naval shipbuilding, Phoenicians transported their activities to more and more distant places.
It is said of exceptional exploration of unknown regions by Phoenician in search of precious metals and new markets, such as the circumnavigation of the African continent. Another venture was the journey by the Carthaginian Annone over the columns of Hercules to the Atlantic Ocean at the end of the fifth century BC. In the same century the Carthaginian Imilcone’s journey along the Atlantic coasts of Europe up to Brittany allowed the Phoenicians the discovery of the British Isles.
Here the Phoenicians would buy tin, highly required because, together with copper, it became bronze.
Colonies
This important and widespread commercial development increased Phoenicians need to found colonies serving as commercial emporiums and support stations for ships. They founded their first colonies in Cyprus and in the Aegean archipelago along the African coast.
Unlike Greeks, Phoenicians used colonies as commercial stations, without political domination purposes, so apart from Carthage, Phoenician cities were rather small.
In the area that now corresponds to Tunisia, at the end of the 9th century BC, and more precisely in 814 BC, some settlers from Tyre founded Carthage.
Carthage grew both geographically and politically to the point of becoming a second homeland. From the African coast to Sicily and Sardinia, the pace was short. Right after Carthage, Phoenicians founded Mozia, Panormo (the current Palermo) and Solunto. Later on they colonized Malta and the south-east coast of Sicily. Greeks soon conquered their colonies of Eastern Sicily. In Sardinia Phoenicians founded Sulci and Caralis before pushing to the Iberian peninsula.
In Sicily Phoenicians founded sub colonies near the larger colonies. Among these are Lilibeo and Drepano, the present Marsala and Trapani, sub-colonies of Mozia and Erice.
Colonies in Spain
Phoenician colonization in Spain had the fundamental purpose of ensuring control of the metals (gold, tin, and especially silver) that Phoenicians used to buy in this region to resell to the East.
Among the main Phoenician centers in Spain there was Gadir, the modern Cadiz. Settlers from Tyro founded it around 1100 BC in a place favorite from the economic, strategic and naval point of view. The coastline of the Costa del Sol, between the provinces of Malaga, Granada and Almeria, keeps a huge concentration of Phoenician settlements, organized in small port cities, dating from 750 to 550 BC.
Strategically important was the island of Ibiza, a required stop for ships during navigation across the western Mediterranean. Subsequently, under the Carthaginian influence, other cities became important, including Cartagena and Sagunto. Finally, Malaka, today’s Malaga, was a major shopping centre.
Punic wars
The largest wars that had ever taken place in the ancient world
Carthage had been in war against Greece and Rome for nearly 150 years.
The inhabitants of Carthage were called Punic. This term roughly means “New City inhabitants.” Perhaps it referred to a new Tyre or perhaps it was to distinguish the inhabitants of Carthage from the neighbors of the city of Utica, which means old town.
The conflict between Carthaginians and Greeks began for the political control of Sicily, considered a natural bridge from northern Africa and the Italian peninsula.
At first, in Sicily the soldiers of Gerone, tyrant of Siracusa, defeated the Carthaginian forces, led by King Amilcare, at around 480 BC. During the battle Amilcare was killed.
Later Carthage attempted to conquer Sicily and again it was hindered in his hegemonic project, this time by Syracusan tyrants Dionysius the Younger, Dionysius the Elder, Agatocles and Pirro, King of Epirus. Pirro’s intervention in the war between Carthaginians and Greeks in Sicily also brought on the field Rome, which from then on was engaged in a series of three great wars against Carthage.
Despite the defeat, Carthage continued to own some territories in western Sicily. Twelve years later, in 264, began the first Punic war, which lasted from 264 to 241 BC. It represents the very beginning of the war of civilizations between Carthage and Rome that would end only in 146 BC. They fought on land in Sicily and Africa, but was largely a naval war.
The naval battle of Egadi islands (10th March 241 BC) was the final battle of the First Punic War. After 24 years of naval and land clashes both the Carthaginians and the Romans were exhausted. However, the latter perpetrated a surprise attack. The Roman fleet with the chief Gaio Lutazio Catulo headed to Sicily and easily besieged Drepano and Lilibeo.
General Hamilcar Barak (Barca in Roman), already in Sicily to fight with other cities, then moved quickly to Mount Erice. Carthage sent ships loaded with wheat to rescue Hamilcar’s troops. Annone was at the head of the fleet. While on the way to Mount Erice, Roman fleet lay in front of the Carthaginian fleet. Carthaginian ships were heavy and not prepared for battle. Roman equipped their ships with a rostrum to sink enemy ships. The battle was among the bloodiest of ancient history. Hamilcar had to surrender.
The defeat in Sicily had the effect of the cession of Carthaginians territories in Sicily to Rome.
Second Punic War
After the First Punic War, General Hamilcar convinced Carthaginian government to conquer the Iberian peninsula to obtain the resources needed to pay war debts to Rome and plan revenge against it. He chose as headquarter the old Punic colony of Gades, now Cádiz. He opened again the mines for self-financing, reorganized the army, and easily began to conquer Spain.
Dead in battle, his son-in-law Hasdrubal succeeded to him. After his murder the leadership passed to his brother-in-law Hannibal Barca. This was one of the greatest leaders of antiquity.
From Spain in 218 BC Hannibal began a long march towards Italy. This is considered the beginning of second Punic War. Five months later he made the famous crossing of the Alps, bringing to Italy a mighty army complete with war elephants. Hannibal troops advanced victorious to Rome but did not try to conquer it, waiting for finding allies in Italy. After the Battle of Canne where Roman army was overthrown, Hannibal settled in Capua his headquarters.
Once again, Roman strategy aimed to weaken Hannibal by intercepting food, aid and support to Carthaginians from both Spain and the motherland. Publius Cornelio Scipio defeated the Carthaginians in Spain and carried the battle near Carthage. Hannibal was forced to retire and was definitively defeated at Zama in 202 BC.
This second defeat implied to Carthage the cession of Spain and numerous Mediterranean islands.
Third Punic War
By the will of Catone the Elder, in 149 BC Rome and Carthage clashed again in the third Punic War. But Carthage was no longer the super power of the past centuries, and the defeat of the ancient naval giant came quickly and relentlessly. In 146 Carthage was defeated for the last time and afterwards the city was finally grounded and the occupation of the site was forbidden for a period of 25 years.
On the ruins of Carthage in 122 BC Rome built a new city called Cologne Junonia but thirty years later the city had already fallen into ruin and thus remained at least until 46 when Julius Caesar, visiting the site, ordered to arise a new city in the same place. In 29 BC Ottaviano indeed founded there a city called Colonia Julia. It became one of the most important Roman cities, for a long time second only to Rome, succeeding in surviving for many centuries. But Colony Julia was definitely destroyed by the Ottoman advance in the 14th century.
Decline of the Phoenicians
The decline of the Phoenicians began with Alexander the Great in 332 BC. He destroyed Tyre and founded, alongt the Nile, the city of Alexandria. Due its great port, Alessandria became the new commercial centre of the Mediterranean.
After the death of Alexander the Great, his empire was disembodied and the Phoenicia followed destiny of Syria, falling under the control of Seleucids.
Two centuries later Romans conquered Phoenicia (63 BC).
source:
“Fenici e vichinghi” by Museo Archeologico Regionale “Baglio Anselmi” Marsala
“Motya” By Nino Sammartano