Portal:Phoenicia

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

THE PHOENICIA PORTAL

Phoenicia (/fəˈnɪʃə, fəˈniːʃə/), or Phœnicia, was an ancient Semitic thalassocratic civilization originating in the coastal strip of the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenicians expanded and contracted throughout history, with the core of their culture stretching from Arwad in modern Syria to Mount Carmel in modern Israel covering the entire coast of modern Lebanon. Beyond their homeland, the Phoenicians extended through trade and colonization throughout the Mediterranean, from Cyprus to the Iberian Peninsula.

The Phoenicians directly succeeded the Bronze Age Canaanites, continuing their cultural traditions following the decline of most major cultures in the Late Bronze Age collapse and into the Iron Age without interruption. It is believed that they self-identified as Canaanites and referred to their land as Canaan, indicating a continuous cultural and geographical association. The name Phoenicia is an ancient Greek exonym that did not correspond precisely to a cohesive culture or society as it would have been understood natively. Therefore, the division between Canaanites and Phoenicians around 1200 BC is regarded as a modern and artificial division.

The Phoenicians, known for their prowess in trade, seafaring and navigation, dominated commerce across classical antiquity and developed an expansive maritime trade network lasting over a millennium. This network facilitated cultural exchanges among major cradles of civilization like Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. The Phoenicians established colonies and trading posts across the Mediterranean; Carthage, a settlement in northwest Africa, became a major civilization in its own right in the seventh century BC.

The Phoenicians were organized in city-states, similar to those of ancient Greece, of which the most notable were Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos. Each city-state was politically independent, and there is no evidence the Phoenicians viewed themselves as a single nationality. While most city-states were governed by some form of kingship, merchant families likely exercised influence through oligarchies. After reaching its zenith in the ninth century BC, the Phoenician civilization in the eastern Mediterranean gradually declined due to external influences and conquests. Yet, their presence persisted in the central and western Mediterranean until the destruction of Carthage in the mid-second century BC. — Read more about Phoenicia, its mythology and language

Featured article • show another
A Featured article represents some of the best content on Wikipedia

The Naval Battle Near Ecnomus (256 BC)

The Battle of Cape Ecnomus or Eknomos (Ancient Greek: Ἔκνομος) was a naval battle, fought off southern Sicily, in 256 BC, between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic, during the First Punic War (264–241 BC). The Carthaginian fleet was commanded by Hanno and Hamilcar; the Roman fleet jointly by the consuls for the year, Marcus Atilius Regulus and Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus. It resulted in a clear victory for the Romans.

The Roman fleet of 330 warships plus an unknown number of transports had sailed from Ostia, the port of Rome, and had embarked approximately 26,000 picked legionaries shortly before the battle. They planned to cross to Africa and invade the Carthaginian homeland, in what is now Tunisia. The Carthaginians were aware of the Romans' intentions and mustered all available warships, 350, off the south coast of Sicily to intercept them. With a combined total of about 680 warships carrying up to 290,000 crew and marines, the battle was arguably the single largest battle of ancient history, and was possibly the largest naval battle in history by the number of combatants involved. (Full article...)

List of Featured articles
Temple of Eshmun Law school of Berytus Battle of Drepana Mercenary War Battle of Panormus Battle of the Aegates Treaty of Lutatius Roman temple of Bziza Battle of Adys Battle of the Bagradas River Siege of Lilybaeum Volubilis

Phoenician mythology • show another

Asherah (/ˈæʃərə/; Hebrew: אֲשֵׁרָה, romanized: ʾĂšērā; Ugaritic: 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚, romanized: ʾAṯiratu; Akkadian: 𒀀𒅆𒋥, romanized: Aširat; Qatabanian: 𐩱𐩻𐩧𐩩 ʾṯrt) is the great goddess in ancient Semitic religion. She also appears in Hittite writings as Ašerdu(s) or Ašertu(s) (Hittite: 𒀀𒊺𒅕𒌈, romanized: a-še-ir-tu₄). Her name was Aṯeratum to the Amorites, and Athiratu in Ugarit. Many scholars hold that Yahweh and Asherah were a consort pair in ancient Israel and Judah, although others disagree. (Full article...)

List of mythology articles
Sanchuniathon Baal El (deity) Astarte Adon Eshmun Melqart Resheph Tanit Dea Gravida Hadad Yam (god) Moloch Marqod Kothar-wa-Khasis Heliopolitan Triad Kotharat Anat Allatu Dumuzid Nikkal Qetesh Shahar (god) Shalim Shapash Taautus Baʽalat Gebal

Images

Image 1Oinochoe; 800–700 BC; terracotta; height: 24.1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) (from Phoenicia)
Image 2Figure of Ba'al with raised arm, 14th–12th century BC, found at ancient Ugarit (Ras Shamra site), a city at the far north of the Phoenician coast. Musée du Louvre (from Phoenicia)
Image 3Phoenicians build pontoon bridges for Xerxes I of Persia during the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC (1915 drawing by A. C. Weatherstone). (from Phoenicia)
Image 4Ruins of the Punic and then Roman town of Tharros (from Punic people)
Image 5Achaemenid-era coin of Abdashtart I of Sidon, who is seen at the back of the chariot, behind the Persian King. (from Phoenicia)
Image 6Major Phoenician trade networks (c. 1200–800 BC) (from Phoenicia)
Image 7Earring from a pair, each with four relief faces; late fourth–3rd century BC; gold; overall: 3.5 x 0.6 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (from Phoenicia)
Image 8Tomb of King Hiram I of Tyre, located in the village of Hanaouay in southern Lebanon. (from Phoenicia)
Image 9Ruins of the ancient Phoenician city of Motya, Sicily, present-day Italy (from Phoenicia)
Image 10An Etruscan tomb (c. 350 BC) depicting a man wearing an all-purple toga picta. (from Phoenicia)
Image 11A naval action during Alexander the Great's Siege of Tyre (332 BC). Drawing by André Castaigne, 1888–89. (from Phoenicia)
Image 12Carthaginian sphere of influence 264 BC (from Punic people)
Image 13Female figurines from Tyre (c.1000–550 BC). National Museum of Beirut. (from Phoenicia)
Image 14Phoenician faces. Glass from Olbia, 4th century BC. The bold pools of color and detailed hair give a Greek impression. (from Phoenicia)
Image 1519th-century depiction of Phoenician sailors and merchants. The importance of trade to the Phoenician economy led to a gradual sharing of power between the King and assemblies of merchant families. (from Phoenicia)
Image 16Phoenician sarcophagi found in Cádiz, Spain, thought to have been imported from the Phoenician homeland around Sidon. Archaeological Museum of Cádiz. (from Phoenicia)
Image 17Sarcophagus of Ahiram, which bears the oldest inscription of the Phoenician alphabet. National Museum of Beirut (from Phoenicia)
Image 18Face bead; mid-4th–3rd century BC; glass; height: 2.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (from Phoenicia)
Image 19Map of Phoenician (yellow labels) and Greek (red labels) colonies around 8th to 6th century BC (with German legend) (from Phoenicia)
Image 20Stela from Tyre with Phoenician inscriptions (c. 4th century BC). National Museum of Beirut. (from Phoenicia)
Image 21Phoenician metal bowl with hunting scene (8th century BC). The clothing and hairstyle of the figures are Egyptian. At the same time, the subject matter of the central scene conforms with the Mesopotamian theme of combat between man and beast. Phoenician artisans frequently adapted the styles of neighboring cultures. (from Phoenicia)
Image 22Two bronze fragments from an Assyrian palace gate depicting the collection of tribute from the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon (859–824 BC). British Museum. (from Phoenicia)

Good article • show another
A Good article meets a core set of high editorial standards

The Battle of Leptis Parva was fought in 238 BC between a Carthaginian army of over 30,000 commanded by Hamilcar Barca and Hanno, and approximately 20,000 mutinous Carthaginian soldiers and North African rebels under Matho in the North African province of Byzacium (in modern Tunisia). The battle was the final major conflict of the Mercenary War and resulted in a decisive victory for the Carthaginians.

In 241 BC 20,000 foreign troops who had been employed by Carthage during the First Punic War (264 to 241 BC) mutinied under the leadership of Spendius and Mathos starting the Mercenary War. They were supported by an uprising of Carthage's oppressed African territories and 70,000 local recruits flocked to join them, bringing supplies and finance. War-weary Carthage fared poorly in the initial engagements of the war, especially under the leadership of Hanno. Hamilcar Barca was given supreme command in 239 BC and slowly turned the tide. (Full article...)

List of Good articles
National Museum of Beirut Gisco (died 239 BC) Battle of Salamis Battle of Ibera Hasdrubal, son of Hanno Dumuzid Battle of Ticinus Le Dernier Combat

Phoenician inscriptions & language • show another

The sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II is a 6th-century BC sarcophagus unearthed in 1855 in the grounds of an ancient necropolis southeast of the city of Sidon, in modern-day Lebanon, that contained the body of Eshmunazar II (Phoenician: 𐤀𐤔𐤌𐤍𐤏𐤆𐤓 ʾšmnʿzr, r. c. 539 – c. 525 BC), Phoenician King of Sidon. One of only three Ancient Egyptian sarcophagi found outside Egypt, with the other two belonging to Eshmunazar's father King Tabnit and to a woman, possibly Eshmunazar's mother Queen Amoashtart, it was likely carved in Egypt from local amphibolite, and captured as booty by the Sidonians during their participation in Cambyses II's conquest of Egypt in 525 BC. The sarcophagus has two sets of Phoenician inscriptions, one on its lid and a partial copy of it on the sarcophagus trough, around the curvature of the head. The lid inscription was of great significance upon its discovery as it was the first Phoenician language inscription to be discovered in Phoenicia proper and the most detailed Phoenician text ever found anywhere up to that point, and is today the second longest extant Phoenician inscription, after the Karatepe bilingual.

The sarcophagus was discovered by Alphonse Durighello, a diplomatic agent in Sidon engaged by Aimé Péretié, the chancellor of the French consulate in Beirut. The sarcophagus was sold to Honoré de Luynes, a wealthy French nobleman and scholar, and was subsequently removed to the Louvre after the resolution of a legal dispute over its ownership.

More than a dozen scholars across Europe and the United States rushed to translate the sarcophagus inscriptions after its discovery, many noting the similarities between the Phoenician language and Hebrew. The translation allowed scholars to identify the king buried inside, his lineage, and his construction feats. The inscriptions warn against disturbing Eshmunazar II's place of repose; it also recounts that the "Lord of Kings", the Achaemenid king, granted Eshmunazar II the territories of Dor, Joppa, and Dagon in recognition for his services.

The discovery led to great enthusiasm for archaeological research in the region and was the primary reason for Renan's 1860–1861 Mission de Phénicie, the first major archaeological mission to Lebanon and Syria. Today, it remains one of the highlights of the Louvre's Phoenician collection. (Full article...)

List of Phoenician inscription articles
Ahiram sarcophagus Byblian royal inscriptions Osorkon Bust Baal Lebanon inscription Baalshillem Temple Boy Cippi of Melqart Marseille Tariff Phoenician language Nora Stone Yehawmilk Stele Kanaanäische und Aramäische Inschriften Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions

Did you know (auto-generated) • load new

... that archaeological excavations in the historic town of Kharayeb revealed a rural settlement with a complex system of cisterns and a Phoenician temple?
... that Eshmunazar I, the Phoenician king of Sidon, participated in the Neo-Babylonian campaigns against Egypt, where he seized stone sarcophagi belonging to members of the Egyptian elite?
... that alongside a 7th-century BC Phoenician shipwreck, two additional wrecks from various historical periods were unearthed in Bajo de la Campana, situated off the coast of Cartagena, Spain?
... that the discovery of Phoenician metal bowls in 1849 created the entire concept of Phoenician art?
... that Bochart's 1646 Geographia Sacra seu Phaleg et Canaan was the first full-length book devoted to the Phoenicians?
... that the sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II, the Phoenician king of Sidon, is one of only three ancient Egyptian sarcophagi unearthed outside Egypt?