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The '''Phoenicians''' were an [[Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples|ancient Semitic]] group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the [[Levant]] region of the [[eastern Mediterranean]], primarily modern [[Lebanon]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Malaspina |first=Ann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pfop0v79y7gC&q=phoenicia+lebanon&pg=PA19 |title=Lebanon |date=2009 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-0579-6}}</ref> They developed a [[Maritime history|maritime]] civilization which expanded and contracted throughout history, with the core of their culture stretching from [[Arwad]] in modern [[Syria]] to [[Mount Carmel]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meir Edrey |title=Phoenician Identity in Context: Material Cultural Koiné in the Iron Age Levant |publisher=Ugarit-Verlag – Buch- und Medienhandel Münster |year=2019 |isbn=978-3-86835-282-5 |series=Alter Orient und Altes Testament |volume=469 |location=Germany |pages=23–24}}</ref> The Phoenicians extended their cultural influence through trade and colonization throughout the Mediterranean, from [[Cyprus]] to the [[Iberian Peninsula]], evidenced by thousands of [[Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions|Phoenician inscriptions]].
The Phoenicians directly succeeded the [[Bronze Age]] [[Canaan]]ites, continuing their cultural traditions after the decline of most major [[Mediterranean basin]] cultures in the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]] and into the [[Iron Age]] without interruption. They called themselves Canaanites and referred to their land as Canaan, but the territory they occupied was notably smaller than that of Bronze Age Canaan.{{sfn|Gates|2011|pp=189–190}} The name ''Phoenicia'' is an [[ancient Greek]] [[Exonym and endonym|exonym]] that did not correspond precisely to a cohesive culture or society as it would have been understood natively.{{sfn|Quinn|2017|p=xviii}}{{sfn|Lehmann|2024|p=75}} Therefore, the division between Canaanites and Phoenicians around 1200 BC is regarded as a modern and artificial construct.{{sfn|Gates|2011|pp=189–190}}{{sfn|Quinn|2017|p=16-24}}
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The Phoenicians were organized in [[city-state]]s, similar to those of [[ancient Greece]], of which the most notable were [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], [[Sidon]], and [[Byblos]].{{sfn|Aubet|2001|p=17}} Each city-state was politically independent, and there is no evidence the Phoenicians viewed themselves as a single nationality.{{sfn|Quinn|2017|pp=201–203}} While most city-states were governed by some form of [[king]]ship, merchant families probably 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.
The Phoenicians were long considered a lost civilization due to the lack of indigenous written records
==Etymology==
Being a society of independent city states, the Phoenicians apparently did not have a term to denote the land of Phoenicia as a whole;<ref>Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. In ''Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History''. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–2024. [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/phoe/hd_phoe.htm "The Phoenicians (1500–300 BC)"]. (October 2004)</ref> instead, demonyms were often derived from the name of the city a person hailed from (e.g., ''Sidonian'' for [[Sidon]], ''Tyrian'' for [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], etc.) There is no evidence that the peoples living in the area denoted as ''Phoenicia'' identified as "Phoenicians" or shared a common identity, although they may have referred to themselves as "Canaanites".{{sfn|Killebrew|2022|p=42}} Krahmalkov reconstructs the [[Honeyman inscription]] (dated to {{circa|900}} BC by [[William F. Albright]]) as containing a reference to the Phoenician homeland, calling it ''Pūt'' ([[Phoenician language|Phoenician]]: 𐤐𐤕).<ref name=Honeyman>Honeyman, A. M. "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/4241651 The Phoenician Inscriptions of the Cyprus Museum]" Iraq, vol. 6, no. 2, 1939, pp. 104–108 [106-107], number 8.</ref>{{sfn|Krahmalkov|2001|pp=1–2}}
Furthermore, as late as the first century BC, a distinction appears to have been made between 'Syrian' and 'Phoenician' people, as evidenced by the epitaph of [[Meleager of Gadara]]: 'If you are a Syrian, Salam! If you are a Phoenician, Naidius! If you are a Greek, Chaire! (Hail), and say the same yourself.'<ref>Linda Jones Hall, ''Roman Berytus: Beirut in late antiquity'' (2004), p 131.</ref>
Obelisks at [[Karnak]] contain references to a "land of ''[[wikt:fnḫw|fnḫw]]''", ''fnḫw'' being the plural form of ''fnḫ'', the Ancient Egyptian word for 'carpenter'. This "land of carpenters" is generally identified as Phoenicia, given that Phoenicia played a central role in the lumber trade of the Levant.<ref>James P. Allen (2010) ''Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs'', 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-51796-6, p. 345.</ref> As an [[exonym]], ''fnḫw'' was evidently borrowed into Greek as {{lang|grc|φοῖνιξ}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|phoînix}}'', which meant variably 'Phoenician person', '[[Tyrian purple]], [[crimson]]' or '[[date palm]]'. [[Homer]] used it with each of these meanings.<ref>{{cite web |title=Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, φοῖνιξ |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=foi=nic |access-date=2017-02-03 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> The word is already attested in [[Linear B]] script of [[Mycenaean Greek]] from the 2nd millennium BC, as ''po-ni-ki-jo''. In those records, it means 'crimson' or 'palm tree' and does not denote a group of people.{{sfn|Quinn|2017|page=48}} The name ''Phoenicians'', like [[Latin]] ''{{lang|la|Poenī}}'' (adj. ''{{lang|la|poenicus}}'', later ''{{lang|la|pūnicus}}''), comes from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|Φοινίκη}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Phoiníkē}}''. According to Krahmalkov, ''[[Poenulus]]'', a Latin comedic play written in the early 2nd century BC, appears to preserve a [[Punic]] term for the Phoenician/Punic language which may be reconstructed as ''Pōnnīm'',{{sfn|Krahmalkov|2001|pp=1–2}} a point disputed by Joseph Naveh, a professor of West Semitic [[epigraphy]] and [[palaeography]] at the [[Hebrew University]],<ref name="Naveh2001">{{cite journal |last1=Naveh |first1=Joseph |title=Review of A Phoenician–Punic Grammar (Handbook of Oriental Studies, Section One: The Near and Middle East 54) |journal=Israel Exploration Journal |date=2001 |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=113–115 |jstor=27926965 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27926965 |issn=0021-2059 |quote=Krahmalkov found that in the Punic text of Plautus's ''Poenulus'' the Phoenician/Punic language is called ''ponnim''. In order to corroborate this Krahmalkov emends parts of Psalms 45:12-14 and reads:השתחוי לו בת צר // כבדה בת מלך פנימה 'Show him respect, O daughter of Tyre, // Honor him, O daughter of the King the Phoenicians (Ponnima!)' Krahmalkov's eagerness for innovative readings results sometimes in nonsense.}}</ref>▼
▲Obelisks at [[Karnak]] contain references to a "land of ''[[wikt:fnḫw|fnḫw]]''", ''fnḫw'' being the plural form of ''fnḫ'', the Ancient Egyptian word for 'carpenter'. This "land of carpenters" is generally identified as Phoenicia, given that Phoenicia played a central role in the lumber trade of the Levant.<ref>James P. Allen (2010) ''Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs'', 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN
==History==
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The Assyrian domination of Phoenicia began with King [[Shalmaneser III]]. He rose to power in 858 BC and began a series of campaigns against neighboring states. Although he did not invade Phoenicia and maintained good relations with the Phoenician cities,{{sfn|Aubet|2008|p=184}} he demanded tribute from the "kings of the seacoast", a group which probably included the Phoenician city-states.{{sfn|Woolmer|2021|p=44}} According to Aubet, Tyre, Sidon, Arwad and Byblos paid tribute in bronze and bronze vessels, tin, silver, gold, ebony and ivory.{{sfn|Aubet|2008|p=184}} Initially, they were not annexed outright—they were allowed a certain degree of freedom.{{sfn|Hodos|2011|p=25}} This changed in 744 BC with the ascension of [[Tiglath-Pileser III]]. By 738 BC, most of the Levant, including northern Phoenicia, were annexed;{{sfn|Faust|2021|p=37}}{{sfn|Bunnens|2022|p=67}} only Tyre and Byblos, the most powerful city-states, remained tributary states outside of direct Assyrian control.{{sfn|Elayi|2018|p=149}}
Tyre, Byblos, and Sidon all rebelled against Assyrian rule. In 721 BC, [[Sargon II]] besieged Tyre and crushed the rebellion. His successor [[Sennacherib]] suppressed further rebellions across the region. During the seventh century BC, Sidon rebelled and was destroyed by [[Esarhaddon]], who enslaved its inhabitants and built a new city on its ruins. By the end of the century, the Assyrians had been weakened by successive revolts, which led to their destruction by the [[Median empire|Median Empire]].{{
The Babylonians, formerly vassals of the Assyrians, took advantage of the empire's collapse and rebelled, quickly establishing the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] in its place. Phoenician cities revolted several times throughout the reigns of the first Babylonian King, [[Nabopolassar]] (626–605 BC), and his son [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] ({{circa|605}} – {{circa|562}} BC). Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre, his siege commonly having been thought to have lasted thirteen years, although the city was not destroyed and suffered little damage. The consensus opinion in contemporary Phoenician historiography is that the thirteen-year siege began soon after the conquest of Jerusalem in 587 BC, and lasted from 585 BC through 573 BC. Among the writings of ancient historians, this detail about the length of the Nebuchadnezzar II's supposed thirteen-year siege of Tyre in the early sixth century BC can be found only in Josephus' first century writings, recorded almost 700 years after the date of the purported event. Helen Dixon proposes that the putative 'thirteen-year' siege was more likely several small-scale interventions in the region, or a limited blockade between the land-side city and its port.{{sfn|Dixon|2022|pp=165–170}}
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[[File: Construction of Xerxes Bridge of boats by Phoenician sailors.jpg|thumb|Phoenicians build [[pontoon bridge]]s for [[Xerxes I of Persia]] during the [[second Persian invasion of Greece]] in 480 BC (1915 drawing by A. C. Weatherstone).]]
In 539 BC, [[Cyrus the Great]], king and founder of the Persian [[Achaemenid Empire]], took Babylon.<ref name="Katzenstein-1979">{{cite journal|last=Katzenstein|first=Jacob|title=Tyre in the Early Persian Period (539-486 B.C.E.)|journal=The Biblical Archaeologist|volume=42|issue=1|year=1979|page=31|doi=10.2307/3209545|jstor=3209545|s2cid=165757132|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3209545}}</ref> As Cyrus began consolidating territories across the Near East, the Phoenicians apparently made the pragmatic calculation of "[yielding] themselves to the Persians".<ref>
The Phoenician area was later divided into four vassal kingdoms—Sidon, Tyre, Arwad, and Byblos—which were allowed considerable autonomy. Unlike in other areas of the empire, there is no record of Persian administrators governing the Phoenician city-states. Local Phoenician kings were allowed to remain in power and given the same rights as Persian satraps (governors), such as hereditary offices and minting their coins.<ref name="Katzenstein-1979" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://brewminate.com/a-history-of-phoenician-civilization/|title=A History of Phoenician Civilization|last=MAMcIntosh|date=2018-08-29|website=Brewminate|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-20}}</ref>
[[File: Coin of Abdashtart I, Achaemenid Phoenicia (2).jpg|thumb|[[Achaemenid]]-era coin of [[Abdashtart I]] of Sidon, who is seen at the back of the chariot, behind the Persian King]]
The Phoenicians remained a core asset to the Achaemenid Empire, particularly for their prowess in maritime technology and navigation;<ref name="Katzenstein-1979" /> they furnished the bulk of the Persian fleet during the [[Greco-Persian Wars]] of the late fifth century BC.<ref>
In the mid-fourth century BC, King [[Tennes]] of Sidon led a failed rebellion against [[Artaxerxes III]], enlisting the help of the Egyptians, who were subsequently drawn into a war with the Persians.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/16C*.html|title=LacusCurtius • Diodorus Siculus — Book XVI Chapters 40‑65|website=penelope.uchicago.edu|access-date=2020-04-20}}</ref> The resulting destruction of Sidon led to the resurgence of Tyre, which remained the dominant Phoenician city for two decades until the arrival of Alexander the Great.
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When Alexander's empire collapsed after his death in 323 BC, the Phoenicians came under the control of the largest of its successors, the [[Seleucids]]. The Phoenician homeland was repeatedly contested by the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]] of Egypt during the forty-year [[Syrian Wars]], coming under Ptolemaic rule in the third century BC. The Seleucids reclaimed the area the following century, holding it until the mid-first 2nd century BC. Under their rule, the Phoenicians were allowed a considerable degree of autonomy and self-governance.
During the [[Seleucid Dynastic Wars]] (157–63 BC), the Phoenician cities were mainly self-governed. Many of them were fought for or over by the warring factions of the Seleucid royal family. Some Phoenician regions were under Jewish influence, after the Jews revolted and succeeded in defeating the Seleucids in 164 BC. A significant portion of the Phoenician diaspora in North Africa thus converted to Judaism in the late millennium BC.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Feldman |first1=Louis H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pACJYw0bg3QC&pg=PA195 |title=Studies in Hellenistic Judaism |date=1996 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-10418-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>Rives, 1995 p.220</ref><ref name="Selzer1984">{{cite book |last1=Selzer |first1=Claudia |title=The Cambridge History of Judaism: The late Roman-Rabbinic period |year=1984 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-77248-8 |editor1-last=Davies |editor1-first=William David |page=69 |language=en |chapter=The Jews in Carthage and Western North Africa, 66-235 CE |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjtWLZhhMoYC&pg=PA68}}</ref> The Seleucid Kingdom was seized by [[Tigranes the Great]] of [[Armenia]] in 74/73 BC, ending the Hellenistic influence on the Levant.{{sfn|Wright|2011|p=128}}{{
==Demographics==
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====Viticulture====
The most notable agricultural product was wine, which the Phoenicians helped propagate across the Mediterranean.<ref name="History & Culture-2020">{{Cite web|date=2020-09-14|title=2,600-year-old wine 'factory' unearthed in Lebanon|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/09/2600-year-old-wine-factory-unearthed-lebanon/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915071559/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/09/2600-year-old-wine-factory-unearthed-lebanon/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 15, 2020|access-date=2020-09-15|website=History & Culture|language=en}}</ref> The [[Vitis vinifera|common grape vine]] may have been domesticated by the Phoenicians or Canaanites, although it most likely arrived from [[Transcaucasia]] via trade routes across [[Mesopotamia]] or the [[Black Sea]]. Vines grew readily in the coastal Levant, and wine was exported to Egypt as early as the [[Old Kingdom]] period (2686–2134 BC). Wine played an important part in [[Phoenician religion]], serving as the principal beverage for offerings and sacrifice.<ref name="History & Culture-2020" /> An excavation of a small Phoenician town south of Sidon uncovered a wine factory used from at least the seventh century BC, which is believed to have been aimed for an overseas market.<ref name="History & Culture-2020" /> To prevent [[oxidation]] of their contents, amphorae were sealed with a disk plug made of pinewood and a mixture of resin and clay.{{sfn|Woolmer|2021|p=163}}
The Phoenicians established vineyards and wineries in their colonies in North Africa, Sicily, France, and Spain,<ref name="History & Culture-2020" /> and may have taught [[winemaking]] to some of their trading partners. The ancient Iberians began producing wine from local grape varieties following their encounter with the Phoenicians. Iberian cultivars subsequently formed the basis of most western European wine.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sechrist|first=Robert|title=Planet of the Grapes: A Geography of Wine|pages=6–7}}</ref>
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==Society and culture==
Since very little of the Phoenicians' writings have survived, much of what is known about their culture and society comes from accounts by contemporary civilizations or inferences from archaeological discoveries.{{
===Politics and government===
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File:Votive statue from eshmun.jpg|The [[Baalshillem Temple Boy]], a 5th century BC royal votive gift from the [[Temple of Eshmun]]
File:Votive statue Eshmun.jpg|A head of a child, fifth century BC, from the Temple of Eshmun
File:Phoenician Prayer to Isis, Rabat, Malta.jpg|Phoenician prayer to [[Isis]] on papyrus with illustration, from [[Rabat, Malta|Rabat]], [[Malta]].
</gallery>
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