The phoenicians were the great seatraders of the ancient mediterranean, famous for cedar ships, the alphabet, purple cloth, carthage, hannibal and cities in lebanon. List of books and articles about ancient carthage online. Phoenicians was the name given to this people by the greeks, but the phoenicians continued to refer to themselves as canaanites. This book is the first fullscale history of carthage i. Carthage is the largest of the towns founded by the phoenicians on the north african coast. I will encourage you to read some archaeology article that gives an independent account of who the carthaginians were. Beginning as phoenician settlers in north africa, the carthaginians then.
In search of the phoenicians represents the best of ancient history writing today. Initially a dependency of the phoenician state of tyre, carthage gained independence around 650 bc and established its political hegemony over other phoenician settlements throughout the western mediterranean. Instead, it shows how interest in the phoenicians increased during the hellenistic and roman periods. She and her followers fled tyre and were permitted to settle on the north african coast and were given land on the byrsa oxhide. Instead of seeing darkness in the years before classical greece, we now see glimmers of light revealing a continuous parade of remarkable societies, great leaders. Also, it covers the various ethnic groups who intermarried with them, over thousands of years. The city of carthage was founded in the 9th century bc on the coast of northwest africa. The ancient phoenician civilization, which thrived in the mediterranean region in around bc, is still shrouded in mystery. The first few chapters exclusively talk about the phoenicians of the levant, with a focus on tyre the mother city of carthage. The name phoenicia also appears as phenice and phenicia. Carthage was founded in 814 by elissa, princess of tyre, whose husband high priest of melqart was killed by her brother king pygmalion. Brief explanation of how the phoenicians and the carthaginians lived and created colonies in the mediterranean sea in ancient history for students in primary education. These people were canaanites see canaan, and in the 9th cent.
The first carthaginians were phoenicians from the lebanese coast, who had. The city in modernday tunisia, north africa was originally known as karthadasht new city to distinguish it from the older phoenician city of utica nearby. Phoenicia ancient history, mesopotamia history, books. Its inhabitants, the phoenicians, were notable merchants, traders, and colonizers of the mediterranean in the 1st millennium bce.
It rapidly assumes a leading position among the neighbouring colonies. Make no mistake, this is a book focused on the punic wars, hannibals campaigns and the eventual destruction of carthage. One of the great enigmas of the ancient world, the phoenicians were both lauded and despised in antiquity. The phoenicians were a great maritime people, known for their mighty ships adorned with horses heads in honor of their god of the sea, yamm, the brother of mot, the god of death. In search of the phoenicians makes the startling claim that the phoenicians never actually existed. Carthage of the phoenicians in the light of modern excavation. There were, however, other punic cities in northwest africa, and carthage itself was rebuilt and regained some importance, if a shadow of its ancient. You see, even if some phoenicians had migrated to carthage present day tunisia, there is no way they could have had the number.
The main stock of these people is canaanite phoenician, which has been scientifically proven by recent studies. Phoenicia, ancient region corresponding to modern lebanon, with adjoining parts of modern syria and israel. Although entitled a short history of the phoenicians, this book is more of an introduction to a very complex subject. And they say that the phoenicians and the syrians first invented letters. A short history of the phoenicians short histories. The history and culture of one of the ancient worlds most influential civilizations kindle edition by charles river editors. The phoenician galley was built from precious cedar wood. Carthage was a phoenician state that included, during the 7th3rd centuries bc, its wider. After the wars, the city of carthage was completely razed and the land around it was turned into farmland for roman citizens. Polybius wrote in the sixth book of his history that the carthaginians were more exercised in maritime affairs than any other people. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The history and culture of one of the ancient worlds most influential civilizations.
Their homeland was arid and inhospitable for farming, so the phoenicians turned to the sea to become the greatest travelers and traders of their time. Phoenicia was an ancient civilization composed of independent citystates located along the coast of the mediterranean sea stretching through what is now syria, lebanon and northern israel. David mattingly, times literary supplement quinns narrative is both exhilarating and cautionary because it shows how antiquity can be reimagined to promote ideological prejudices. So if you are interested in the punic wars, or hannibal, this is not the book for you. According to legend, carthage was founded by the phoenician queen elissa better known as dido sometime around 8 bce although, actually, it rose following alexanders destruction of tyre in 332 bce. Carthages final destruction by the romans in 146 bce, said that it seemed at the time to be the richest city in the world. Eventually, carthage fell to the romans, but it took three wars. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the phoenicians. Around 400 bc, the carthaginians began to exercise considerable influence, so much so that by 264 bc they had come into direct confrontation with the rising roman civilization. Carthage, great city of antiquity on the north coast of africa, now a residential suburb of the city of tunis, tunisia.
The first of these wars 264241 cost carthage all remaining hold on sicily. The phoenicians were the late canaanites of the first millennium b. Yet they also created a strong and unique society that interacted with the great societies of. The final part argues against the commonly held view that phoenician history came to an end with the conquests of alexander the great in the east and the destruction of carthage in the west. The phoenicians were tremendous mariners and to a certain extent seeded finished reading carthage. Popular carthage books meet your next favorite book. But i have to say this is a pretty great book on phoenician culture and history in general. Who were the ancient phoenicians, and did they actually exist. Founded by a seafaring people known as the phoenicians, the ancient city of carthage, located in modernday tunis in tunisia, was a major center of. The principal colony of the phoenicians was carthage, in the western mediterranean on the coast of africa opposite rome. Excavations have yielded skillfully crafted objects of gold and silver and. Cherokeephoenician dna connection book of mormon evidence.
According to irish records, they descend from a scythian king named phoeniusa farsa. Iron age through roman period, descendants of the canaanites of the second millennium b. The city of carthage was founded in the 9th century bc on the coast of northwest africa, in what is now tunisia, as one of a number of phoenician settlements in the western mediterranean created to facilitate trade from the city of tyre on the coast of what is now lebanon. This book is really much more than a history of carthage. In search of the phoenicians princeton university press. Phoenicians from tyre lebanon founded carthage, an ancient citystate in the area that is modern tunisia. Books about phoenicia and phoenicians history forum. Bc the greeks gave the new appellation phoenicians to those canaanites who. Taking readers from the ancient world to today, this monumental book argues that the notion of these sailors as a coherent people with a shared identity, history, and culture is a product of modern nationalist ideologiesand a notion very much at odds with the ancient sources. The mysterious phoenicians and the ancient mediterranean are experienced in richer detail than ever before in this well researched and intriguing narrative. The history covers the original canaanite phoenicians. Carthage, now a ruin on the north coast of africa, was the capital of one of the worlds most powerful empires. The phoenicians invented the alphabet and taught several cultures their advanced system of writing. Carthage had existed for over half a millennium when the romans.
They also were known as superb craftsmen who worked in wood, metal, glass, and ivory. The destruction of carthage was not the end of the carthaginians. So much, it seems as though jealousy prompted the romans to set out to annihilate them in 146 b. Carthage of the phoenicians in the light of modern. List of books and articles about ancient carthage online research. And cadmus, the inventor of letters among the greeks, as euphorus says, was a phoenician. The phoenicians built a trading post in north africa they called carthage. Politics, colonies and trade, by maria eugenia aubet. Carthage became a major economic and political power in the mediterranean fighting over territory in sicily with the greeks and romans. Settlers from tyre founded carthage in about 725 bce. They all shared a similar culture but things like religious rituals varied child sacrifice to baal was limited in time and scope to carthage. Bc rome challenged carthages control of the w mediterranean in the punic wars so called after the roman name for the carthaginians, poeni, i. Daniel metcalfe is fascinated by a useful history of carthage.
There speculations that the phoenicians were the ancestors of the celts who displaced the picts. They were celebrated as learned scribes who passed on the modern alphabet, as skilled seafarers and explorers, and as gifted artisans and engineers. The phoenicians traded goods they got from other lands wine, weapons, precious metals, ivory, and slaves. Discover librarianselected research resources on ancient carthage from the questia.
Taking readers from the ancient world to today, this monumental book argues that the. Carthage was one of a number of phoenician settlements in the western mediterranean that were. Miles tells us in his admirable new book, the history of carthage was bound. The city was founded way back in 814 bc by a group of people from the city of tyre way over in palestine they were called the phoenicians. Carthago was destroyed in 146 bce thus ending the era of phoenician power and expansion. The phoenicians came from the eastern shore of the mediterranean sea. Taking these facts to their logical conclusion i believe that the minoans who survived, became the. The punic wars and the decline of carthage in the 3d cent. Carthage developed from a phoenician colony of the first millennium bce into the capital of an ancient maritime trading empire. The traditional date of its founding by dido is 814 bc, but archaeological evidence suggests that it. It is also a history of the phoenicians and the phoenician city of tyre which founded carthage as a colony. Ethnic origin, language and literature of the phoenicians.
List of books and articles about phoenician history. Were this the only contribution of the phoenicians, their place in history would be assured, but they did more. This book provides a clear explanation of carthaginian history, including much. Here are some informative and useful books about the phoenicians and the history of phoenicia. Historical sources show they were also perceived as unscrupulous profiteers and cheaters, and as a morally corrupt race of people who. This crucial event serves as the endpoint in our history date range for this civilization, although remnants of the phoenician culture lingered on long after the fall of carthage.
Its people left few written records, but they are known to have been expert navigators and some of the greatest traders in history skills which brought them riches that were legendary. Use our search facility enter a search word, such as video, cadiz, punt. Taking readers from the ancient world to today, this monumental book argues that the notion of these sailors as a coherent people with a shared identity, history, and culture is a product of modern nationalist ideologiesand a notion very. Feb 12, 2014 there is a lot of mystery surrounding the origins of the phoenicians. The latin name, carthago or cartago, was derived from the phoenician. The phoenicians played a fundamental role in shaping the history of the mediterranean. The greatest phoenician colony was at carthage kahrthij, in north africa. This book is primarily about the phoenicians in their homelands, with a relatively small section on their settlements. This book describes its history, from foundation by the phoenicians in the ninth century bc to destruction by the romans some six centuries later. Lauded by homer as unrivalled navigators and traders, they are known to have founded colonies across the length of north africa and into southern spain, yet as.
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