Phoenicians

1. Phoenicians World History I Heritage High School Mr. Irwin

2. Objective: To understand who the Phoenicians were and why they were significant.

3. Who were the Phoenicians? • Lived in the area now know as Lebanon • Group of city-states • Never united into one country • First city-states: • Byblos • Tyre • Sidon • Very wealthy

4. Sea Travel • Traders • Sailed around Mediterranean Sea • Established colonies • Known shipbuilding • Made the best ships at the time • Some evidence shows that the Phoenicians might have sailed all the way around Africa and back • No one else will do for another 2,000 years

5. Colonies • Had faraway settlements • Established colonies throughout the Mediterranean • Faraway cities used for trade • Most famous Phoenician colony was Carthage

6. Traders • Traded the goods they got from other lands, as well as items which they produced • Traded their items • Created crafts • Made out of wood, glass, ivory, and metal • Most famous item produced by Phoenicians was purple dye • Made from special type of snail that lived in the sea near Phoenicia • Very expensive and became known as the “royal” color

7. Purple Dye • Extremely expensive purple dye used in cloth/clothing • Only could be afforded and worn by kings – royal purple • Why? • 60,000 snails to make 1 pound of dye • One snail (left to rot) produced only one or two drops of deep purple liquid

8. Achievement • Most important contribution of the Phoenicians was the first alphabet • 22 letters • Symbols to represent sounds • Adopted by Greeks and eventually – us! • Simplified writing