Phoenicia
Fertile Crescent Project
PHoenicia
History
Who were the Phoenicians?
The Phoenicians were originally a Semitic group of people, the Canaanites. They migrated from the Arabian Peninsula and arrived in 3000 B.C. It is believed that economic opportunity and population pressures forced them out into the seas. Since the area lacked agricultural resources, they relied on the Mediterranean Sea to earn a living and collect their food.
They accomplished many things. They were the best shipbuilders and sailors of Mesopotamia. They established many trade colonies, and created the Phoenician alphabet.
Famous people: Sanchuniathon of Berytus, Philo of Byblos, Porphyry Malchus of Tyre, Taautos of Byblos/ Thoth
Amorites, the Egyptians of the New Kingdom, the Hyksos, and the Hittites conquered Phoenicia.
The Phoenicians were originally a Semitic group of people, the Canaanites. They migrated from the Arabian Peninsula and arrived in 3000 B.C. It is believed that economic opportunity and population pressures forced them out into the seas. Since the area lacked agricultural resources, they relied on the Mediterranean Sea to earn a living and collect their food.
They accomplished many things. They were the best shipbuilders and sailors of Mesopotamia. They established many trade colonies, and created the Phoenician alphabet.
Famous people: Sanchuniathon of Berytus, Philo of Byblos, Porphyry Malchus of Tyre, Taautos of Byblos/ Thoth
Amorites, the Egyptians of the New Kingdom, the Hyksos, and the Hittites conquered Phoenicia.
GeOGRAPHY
Location: Part of Phoenicia is now Israel, Lebannon, and Syria.
The Phoenicians lived on a strip of fertile land between the sea and the Lebanon mountains. The Mountains acted as a natural barrier for them. Northern Phoenicia was many degrees colder than the Southern. In the South, the plain Sharon had the greatest heat. In the summertime, temperatures were not exceedingly high, usually 70º to 90º fahrenheit. Rain and thunderstorms would happen frequently in Phoenicia. In the wintertime, the temperature decreased much below 50º, so it wasn't not that cold. The snow fell occasionally on the high elevations on mountains, but hardly laied on the ground for more than a few days.
Trees filled the whole area, which was useful for the Phoenicians because they used wood for many inventions and also traded the cedar wood to the Egyptians.
The physical features affected Phoenicia in many ways. Since there was a huge body of water near them, it provided them food and allowed them to travel (for trade).
A MAP OF PHOENICIA:
- Continent = Southern Asia
- Relative Location: Western coast of the Fertile Crescent, Near the Meditterean Sea
- Topography: slopes, hills, and mountains
- Hydrography- By the coast of the the Mediterranean Sea
The Phoenicians lived on a strip of fertile land between the sea and the Lebanon mountains. The Mountains acted as a natural barrier for them. Northern Phoenicia was many degrees colder than the Southern. In the South, the plain Sharon had the greatest heat. In the summertime, temperatures were not exceedingly high, usually 70º to 90º fahrenheit. Rain and thunderstorms would happen frequently in Phoenicia. In the wintertime, the temperature decreased much below 50º, so it wasn't not that cold. The snow fell occasionally on the high elevations on mountains, but hardly laied on the ground for more than a few days.
Trees filled the whole area, which was useful for the Phoenicians because they used wood for many inventions and also traded the cedar wood to the Egyptians.
The physical features affected Phoenicia in many ways. Since there was a huge body of water near them, it provided them food and allowed them to travel (for trade).
A MAP OF PHOENICIA: