Phoenician sailors and traders transformed the ancient world By Ancient History Encyclopedia, adapted by Newsela staff on 07.31.19 Word Count 976 Level 850L Image 1. Troops from a United Nations peacekeeping force on the Israeli-Lebanese border mingle with tourists exploring the Phoenician ruins in Tyre, Lebanon, July 29, 2017. Photo by Jon Gambrell for AP The wealth of Phoenician cities such as Tyre, Sidon and Byblos was based on trade. Indeed, it was the search for new goods and new markets that caused the Phoenicians to found colonies. Phoenician civilization first developed in the Levant. The Levant is an area that today includes the states of Lebanon, Syria and Israel. From the 10th century B.C. onward, Phoenicians branched out from this homeland. They colonized territories throughout the ancient Mediterranean. Sailing And Trading The Phoenicians were not only excellent traders. They were skilled navigators as well. They traveled widely and established colonies wherever they went. The major Phoenician trade routes were by sea to the Greek islands, across southern Europe, down the Atlantic coast of Africa, and up to ancient Britain. Trade and the search for valuable goods led to the founding of trading posts. Over time, these sites grew. Their populations became larger. More and more buildings were erected. In time, simple This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. trading posts turned into large cities and fully developed colonies. The Phoenician colonization of the Mediterranean happened in stages. Sometime between the 12th and eighth centuries B.C., various small trade centers were established. This "pre-colonial" period was followed by the founding of full-scale colonies between the eighth and sixth centuries B.C. 500 Years As A Trading Power Thus, for more than 500 years the Phoenicians controlled many important stopping points along the Mediterranean coast. This made them one of the greatest trading powers in the ancient world. A broad range of goods were traded with other cultures of the time. Textiles, glass, precious metals, wood, wool, pottery, foodstuffs and spices were among the most important of these goods. There was also a major trade in slaves. The island of Cyprus is located near the Levant and was rich in timber and copper. It was probably one of the first places to be colonized by the Phoenicians, perhaps as early as the 11th century B.C. Cyprus's most important city was Kition. Others included Golgoi, Idalion, Tamassos, Marion and Lapethos. Other islands in the Aegean were colonized by the Phoenicians as well. Among them were Rhodes, Crete, Kythera, Melos, Thasos and Thera. These were all in what is now Greece. African Ivory And Spanish Silver Phoenicia had always had strong trade links with Egypt. Trading posts were probably established there quite early. Other posts were set up further along the northern coast of Africa. Utica, for example, was established around 1101 B.C. It allowed Phoenicians to trade directly for valuable African ivory. Other colonies included Auza, Leptis Magna, Hippo, Hadrumetum and Lixus. Carthage was founded around 814 B.C. When it prospered and grew into a large city, it started to found colonies too. Sicily was colonized by the Phoenicians. Sicilian cities such as Motya, Panormo (Palermo), and Solunto were founded from the eighth century B.C. onward. At the same time, colonies were established on the islands of Lampedusa, Malta, and Pantelleria. Farther west, grain-rich Sardinia was colonized earlier, probably in the ninth century B.C. Its important cities included Nora, Caralis (Cagliari), Bythia, Sulcis, Carloforte, and Tharros. Spain was a rich source of silver. The Phoenicians were able to get Spanish silver in exchange for cheaper goods such as glass, oil, and pottery. Thus, they wanted to make sure they could keep the trade going. Perhaps as early as 1110 B.C., they established the colony of Gades (Cadiz). Other important colonies in Spain include Malaka (Malaga), Sexi (Almunecar), Abdera (Adra), and Ebusus (Ibiza). Exporting Phoenician Art And Culture This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Some Phoenician colonies became culturally very Phoenician. Others kept much more of the original native culture of the surrounding area. North Africa became more "Phoenician" than any other territory. Phoenician gods such as Melqart and Astarte were worshipped there. Temples to these gods were constructed and religious practices were followed just as they were in the home cities of Tyre or Sidon. Phoenician-style Tophets were found in many colonies. The Tophet was a location where human and animal sacrifices were carried out. Phoenician art was another export. Workshops were established in many colonies. These could produce the fine goods the homeland was so famous for, such as goldwork and purple-dyed cloth. Architecture too was copied from the homeland. One example of this is the temple of Melqart at Gades. Its layout and columns mirrored those of the temple at Tyre. Expanding Colonies Colonies had to supply raw materials like wood, metals, or grains to the homeland. They also had to pay tribute to Phoenicia. For example, each year Carthage had to send tribute to the Temple of Melqart at Tyre. That tribute amounted to one-tenth of its yearly profits. As the colonies prospered and their populations grew, they expanded their territory. They became more militarized, built fortifications, and fought wars. Some became great powers themselves. The Phoenician colonies did not remain Phoenician colonies forever. Some were taken over by other powers. For example, Cyprus was conquered by the Assyrian king Sargon II at the end of the eighth century B.C. Over time, the Phoenician colonies around Greece were taken over by the Greeks. Alexander The Great Attacks Other Phoenician colonies developed into separate civilizations. Some became so successful they founded colonies of their own. This was the case with Carthage from the mid-sixth century B.C. onward. Phoenicia's power and influence shrank further after Alexander the Great attacked Phoenicia in 332 B.C. By then, however, Phoenicia had already left its mark. Its string of colonies had already made the Mediterranean world far more connected. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz 1 Read the following statements. 1. The Phoenicians were a great trading power in the ancient world. 2. The Phoenicians established colonies in the Mediterranean. 3. The Phoenicians got silver from its colonies in Spain. 4. The Phoenicians constructed temples to worship their gods. Which two statements are main ideas from the article? (A) 1 and 2 (B) 2 and 3 (C) 3 and 4 (D) 4 and 1 2 Read the paragraph from the article. Colonies had to supply raw materials like wood, metals or grains to the homeland. They also had to pay tribute to Phoenicia. For example, each year Carthage had to send tribute to the Temple of Melqart at Tyre. That tribute amounted to one-tenth of its yearly profits. Which statement summarizes the paragraph? (A) Colonies had raw materials like wood, metals and grains that they gave to Phoenicia. (B) Colonies had to supply raw materials to Phoenicia and also pay tribute to Phoenicia. (C) Carthage sent its tribute to Phoenicia each year to the Temple of Melquart at Tyre. (D) The amount of tribute that Carthage sent each year to Tyre was one-tenth of its yearly profits. 3 Read the article's introduction [paragraphs 1-2] and the final section “Alexander The Great Attacks.” What is one connection between these two sections? (A) The introduction describes where the Phoenician civilization first developed, and the final section explains why the civilization developed there. (B) The introduction explains why the Phoenicians founded colonies, and the final section explains what happened to some of those colonies. (C) The introduction identifies the states that the Levant area includes today, and the final section identifies the states that the area used to include. (D) The introduction describes how three Phoenician cities became wealthy, and the final section explains what happened to the wealth of those cities. 4 The section “Expanding Colonies" is MOSTLY organized using cause and effect. Why do you think the author chose to organize the information this way? (A) to describe a problem that the Phoenician colonies had when they expanded and how they solved that problem (B) to compare different reasons for the population growth of Phoenician colonies and their expansion (C) to explain why the colonies were able to expand and what happened as a result of that expansion (D) to describe the order of events that occurred when some Phoenician colonies were taken over by other powers This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com..