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Home , Gindibu, Hiram I, Samaria, Ushu

ARCH 1616 Between Sahara and Sea: North from Human Origins to Islam

Brett Kaufman [email protected] Office Hours: Tuesdays, 2:30-4:30 pm Rhode Island Hall 007 The Phoenicians 1200 – 586 BC How can Phoenician colonial interactions be characterized?

What’s a Phoenician? Phoenicians in the Homeland Phoenicians in the West

Timeline

1200-800 BC: Phoenicians go out in search of natural resources, especially metal. Their strategy is to tap into existing trade networks and establish profitable relationships.

800-700 BC: In response to Assyrian pressure, Phoenicians colonize much of the central and western Mediterranean.

700-550 BC: Phoenicians continue to found cities, and in mid-6th century abandon many of them.

580-264 BC: Carthaginian Phoenicians consolidate their empire and the old relationship of mutual trade with Greeks starts to get violent. The rise of the occurs in this period, culminating in the First Punic War.

264-241 BC: First Punic War. loses and withdraws from Sicily.

218-201 BC: Second Punic War. Hannibal drives his forces through Italy, but is still defeated at the battle of . Carthage is indebted to Rome.

149-146 BCE Third Punic War. Carthage is surrounded by Roman soldiers following its ancient ally Utica's defection to Rome. Carthage is burnt to the ground. What is a Phoenician?

Spiny Murex shells to make “Royal Purple of Tyre,” or “Tyrian Purple.” What’s a Phoenician? Cultural evolution vs. Cultural history

Poenus=Punic

Φοινίκη→Phoenician

בן צר=Citizen of Tyre

צדני=Sidonian

עם קרתחדשת = Nation of Carthage

What’s a Phoenician? How do we know what we know about the Phoenicians? There are maybe 30 Phoenician inscriptions at most, most from 6th century BC and later.

~1000 BC “Coffin which Ithobaal, son of Ahiram, king of , made for Ahiram, his father, when he placed him in the house of eternity. Now if a king among kings or a governor among governors or a commander of an army should come up against Byblos and uncovers this coffin, may the scepter of his rule be torn away, may the throne of his kingdom be overturned, and may peace flee from Byblos. And as for him, if the destroys the inscription, then the…” What’s a Phoenician?

Golden Pyrgi tablets from Etruria, Italy, 6th century BC

Urbanistic Inscription from Carthage, 3rd century BC

How do we know what we know about the Phoenicians? Phoenicians in the Homeland

Modern-day aerial view of Tyre Phoenicians in the Homeland What was the geopolitical context of early Phoenician expansion? TALE OF WENAMUN (end of 12th / 11th centuries BC):

Wenamun talks with Zakarba'al, prince of Byblos: "And he answered and said to me: 'What affairs bring you?' Thus I spoke to him: 'I came in search of timber for the great and august ship of Amon-Re, Sovereign of the gods. Your father did [it], your grandfather did [it] and you also will do it!' Thus I spoke to him. But he said to me: 'Certainly they did it! And if you give me [something] for it, I shall do it. In truth, when my people fulfilled this charge, the pharaoh - life, prosperity, health! - sent six ships loaded with Egyptian merchandise and unloaded them in my storehouses. As for you, what do you bring me for your part?' And he bade them present the rolls of the annals of his fathers, and ordered them to be read in my presence, and they found a thousand deben of silver and all manner of things in his rolls. Therefore he said to me: 'If the ruler of Egypt were my lord, and I were his servant, he would not have sent silver and gold, saying: "Fulfill the charge of Amon!" They would not transport a royal gift, such as was the custom to do in the case of my father. As far as concerned, neither am I your servant! Nor do I serve him who sent you! If I shout to Lebanon, the heavens open up and the logs lie at rest [on] the seashore!" Phoenicians in the Homeland

Tiglat-Pileser I (roughly contemporary with Wenamun):

"I marched to Mount Lebanon. I cut down (and) carried off cedar beams for the temple of the gods Anu and Adad, the great gods my lords. I continued to the land Amurru (and) conquered the entire land Amurru. I received tribute from the lands Byblos, , Arvad. I rode in boats of the city Arvad, of the land Amurru, travelled successfully a distance of three double-hours from the city Arvad, an island, to the city Samuru which is in the land of Amurru. I killed at sea a nahiru, which is called a sea-horse." Phoenicians in the Homeland Kings of Tyre () Reign Abibaal ~1001 BCE Hiram I 969-936 BCE -eser I 935-919 BCE Abdastrato 918-910 BCE Ithobaal I 887-856 BCE Baal-azor II 855-830 BCE Mattan II 829-821 BCE Pygmalion 820-774 Ithobaal II 750-740 Hiram II 739-730 Mattan II 730-729 Elulaios 729-694 Baal I 680-640 Itobaal III 621- Baal II Mattan III Hiram III -609 Phoenicians in the Homeland Assyrian Empire (late 8th cent.) Phoenicians in the Homeland

Neo-Assyrian kings of note:

Shalmaneser III, 858-824 BCE : faces a contingent of Aramaean tribes from Damascus, Hamat, and also under King Ahab. (married to Sidonian Phoenician princess, Jezebel). Eventually breaks through, and receives tribute from these kings.

Adad-Nirari III, 810-783 BCE: defeats another Syro-Palestinian coalition of Aramaeans, but reaching a tribute agreement with King Joash of Israel, mentioned in both biblical and Assyrian sources. During the time period of both of these kings, the Phoenicians were relatively unmolested.

Tiglat-Pileser III, 745-727 BCE: embarks from Assur with aim of subjugating most of known world, consolidates Neo-Assyrian empire.

Sennacherib, 704-681 BCE: Further consolidates empire, focusing mosly on Babylonians. Traps Judean King Hezekiah “like a bird in a cage,” takes , but does not take . Phoenicians in the Homeland The city of Tyre, with Phoenicians unloading goods for Shalmaneser III Gates of Balawat, Band III 858 BC

“the tribute of Tyre and Sidon, silver, gold, lead, bronze, purple-dyed wool I received” Phoenicians in the Homeland

Phoenicians shipping timber to Sargon II Khorsabad relief 721-705 BC

8So Hiram sent word to : “I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and pine logs. 89My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food for my royal household.” :8 Phoenicians in the Homeland Kilamuwa, 840-830 BC, from Sam’al in Cilicia () I am Kilamuwa, the son of Hayya. Gabbar became king over Y’DY (Sam’al) but accomplished nothing. There was BMH, but he accomplished nothing. Then there was my father Hayya but he accomplished nothing. But I Kilamuwa…what I accomplished not even their predecessors accomplished…The king of the Danunians lorded it over me, but I hired against him the king of . ‘He gave a maid for the price of a sheep, and a man for the price of a garment.’…to some I was a father, and to some I was a mother, and to some I was a brother. He who had never seen the face of a sheep I made owner of a flock; him who had never seen the face of an ox, I made owner of a herd and owner of silver and owner of gold; and him who had never seen linen from his youth, in my days they were covered with byssus (the finest linen textile). I grasped the MSKBM by the hand and they behaved toward me like an orphan toward his mother…. Phoenicians in the Homeland Barrakkab, 744-727 BC, from Sam’al in Cilicia (Anatolia) He (father Panammu) ran at the wheel of his lord, Tiglat-Pileser, king of Assyria, in campaigns from east to west…over the four quarters of the earth…then Panammu, my father, fied, while following his lord TP III, king of Assyria, in the campgains; even his lord [TP III] wept for him and his brother kings wept for him, and the whole camp of his lord, the king of Assyria, wept for him….Then me Barrakkab, son of Panammu, because of my father’s righteousness and my own Tiglat Pileser III righteousness, did my lord make to sit upon the throne… Phoenicians in the Homeland

Phoenicians in the Phoenicians in the Homeland Pottery and weapons from Akhziv, 11th to 7th centuries BC Phoenicians in the Homeland Tel Dan inscription “House of ” (~825 BC) Phoenicians in the Homeland

“For the king had at sea a ship of with a ship of Hiram: once in three years the ship of Tarshish came, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.” :22

Phoenicians bring luxury goods to Asurnasirpal II in Nimrud, Bas-relief, 859-839 BCE Phoenicians in the Homeland Jezebel and Ahab Representative of reorientation of relationship between Tyre-Jerusalem (Phoenicians- Judeans) To Tyre- (Phoenicians-Israel)

“Ahab the son of did evil in the eyes of more than all that were before him. And it came to pass…that he took to wife Jezebel, the daughter of King Etobaal of the Sidonians, and went and served Ba’al, and prostrated himself to him. And he erected an altar for Ba’al in the house of Ba’al, which he had built in Samaria. Ahab made an ; and Ahab did more to provoke Yahweh God of Israel than all the kings of Israel that were before him.” 1 Kings 16:31-33

Phoenicians in the Homeland Jezebel and Ahab Representative of reorientation of relationship between Tyre- Jerusalem (Phoenicians-Judeans) to Tyre-Samaria (Phoenicians- Israel)

yzbl Jezebel יזבל

Phoenicians in the Homeland Kurkh Monolith 853 BC, where Phoenician and coastal groups revolted against Shalmaneser under Irhuleni of

“1,200 chariots, 1,200 cavalry and 20,000 men of Hadadezer [from] ‘the Land of Ass’ (i.e. Damascus), 700 chariots, 700 cavalry and 10,000 men of Irhuleni of Hamath, 2,000 chariots and 10,000 men of Ahab of Israel, 500 men of Byblos, 1,000 men of Egypt, 10 chariots and 10,000 men of Irqata (north-east of ), 20 men of Matinubali of Arvad, 200 men from Usanat, 30 chariots and 10,000 men of Adunubali of Shianu, 1000 camels of Gindibu the Arab and […]men of Baesa of Beth-Rehob, the Ammonite – these 12 kings he took to help him.”

Phoenicians in the Homeland King of Israel submits to Shalmaneser III of Assyria after 841 BC symbolizing southernmost Assyrian domination Phoenicians in the Homeland Samaria: Phoenician architecture

Palmette capitals Dressed ashlar massonry with (Proto-Aeolic) header-stretcher construction in palace of Samaria Phoenicians in the Homeland Samaria: Phoenician Ivories Phoenicians in the Homeland Phoenician pottery: “Samaria ware” Phoenicians in the Homeland Samaria Ostraca (ca. 770 BC)

Over 100 inscribed potsherds Excavated 1908–1910 from palace at Samaria by G. Reisner Earliest among them date to 15th year of reign of Jeroboam II of Israel (785-745 BC) Represent accounts of taxes paid in kind (wine and oil) Dialect of Hebrew with Phoenicianisms (e.g., writing of word “wine”) Example: “In ninth year, from Kozah to Gaddiyahou, jar of old wine” Individuals mentioned are from tribal territory of Manasseh Names include theophoric elements of both Yahweh and Ba‘al

Phoenicians in the Homeland Agreement between Assyrian king Esarhaddon and Ba'alu , 7th century BCE :

"If a ship belonging to Baal or the people of Tyre is wrecked in the land of the Philistines or in the frontier territory of Assyria, then all of what is in the ship belongs to Esarhaddon, king of Assyria; but the people who are aboard the ship shall not be touched(?). they must all be returned to their country."

Phoenician ship from palace of Sennacherib in Nineveh, circa 700 BCE Phoenicians in the Homeland

Tyre - the flight of King Luli from Sennacherib, Bas-relief from Khorsabad, early 7th century BC. Jaffa taken in Sennacherib’s campaigns Phoenicians in the Homeland

Phoenician colonies fulfill at least one criterion: 1) Acquisition of precious metal resources 2) Creation of friendly ports of call to ferry resources back to Assyrian world 3) Political refuge 4) Tribute producers

5) Relief of Malthusian demographic concerns 6) Establishment of naval bases, fortifications, or administrative centers Phoenicians in the West Phoenician and Punic colonies in geographical context Phoenicians in the West

Nora Stele: 9th century BCE Phoenician inscription from Sardinia commemorates the Island of Sardinia building of a temple to PMY, a Cypriot- Phoenician god Phoenicians in the West

Ibiza

Abul

Cartagena La Fonteta

Rio Tinto/ Morro de Mezquitilla Málaga Abdera Cádiz Phoenician foundations and metal extraction in Iberia

“Orientalizing” artifacts; warehouses Phoenicians in the West Phoenician settlements in Spain, 8th century BCE (Gadir not shown)

Morro (early-mid 8th century BCE) Gadir/Cadiz (mid 8th century BCE), Toscanos (730-720 BCE) Chorreras, Cerro del Villar, Montilla, Abdera, (750-700 BCE). Phoenicians in the West Rio Tinto Phoenicians in the West Ashlar retaining wall to prevent erosion from rainfall from the Tartessian village of San Pedro (Huelva) dating to ca. 800 BC. This wall finds a parallel in Tyre which dates to ca. 850 BC, and may suggest technological exchange on friendly terms in the decades before intensified colonization. Phoenicians in the West Egyptian hieroglyphs from around 800 BC, including some heirlooms from Hyksos era, found at Phoenician Sexi.

Inscription on a vase from Takelot II (850-825 BC, Third Intermediate Period) “I have arrived from my faraway country, I have passed through lands, and I have heard tell of your being, of the primordial state of the two lands, which has created what now exists. Your two eyes shine within you. Your word is the breath of life that allows throats to breathe. Now I am on the horizon inundated by the happiness of the oases of Bahria and Karga, with a companion. Within me here is a fountain of health and life, and the serpent Mehen has sat down on its edge.”

Vase dating to Apophis I (17th/16th centuries BC) Phoenicians in the West Phoenicians Shipwrecks: Tanit and Elissa (ca. 750 BC) Phoenicians in the West Phoenicians in the West Archaeologically, we can see a very clear pattern of Phoenician settlement:

1) They liked islands because they felt like home (Tyre, , , Gadir/Cadiz), and were more easily defensible than a mainland settlement. They also liked mainland highpoints adjacent to the island (Ushu, Doña Blanca, Zita?)

2) They wanted silver, gold, copper, tin, iron and ivory.

3) They wanted timber in those places so they could refine the metals on site, and then ship the metal ingots for trade.

4) They wanted to tap into existing trade networks so they would not have to mine themselves, or fight for territory. Their goals were economic. What is a Phoenician? How can Phoenician colonial interactions be characterized?

Phoenicians had to negotiate their autonomy along a sliding scale of capitulation, resistance, but overall through trade value. The Tyrians maintained a mercantile, cooperative state that provided incentive for its citizens and emergent indigenous hierarchical elites to engage in long-distance trade. The goals of this trade were essentially two-fold: 1) surplus acquisition in the form of mineral wealth such as silver, the hoarding of which allowed 2) provision to the successive Mesopotamian empires (Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, Persian) of luxury trade goods that formed the basis of their political economy, thereby 3) granting the Tyrian state relative autonomy. It may be argued that the Phoenician ideology is one of technological and maritime acumen, identities being forged and ranked through industrial and mercantile activities. A Phoenician is one who buys into this non-ethnically based industrial identity, which is likely one reason that groups identified as Phoenician or Punic from around 1200 BC to 700 AD.