2 4 Who Were the Phoenicians The Phoenicians

2. 4 Who Were the Phoenicians? • The Phoenicians were fearless sailors. For hundreds of years they dominated sea trade across the Mediterranean. Phoenicia had few natural resources of its own, so the Phoenicians traded with other cultures. Phoenician traders brought back many imports, including raw materials such as gold, silver, tin, copper, iron, ivory, and precious stones. Phoenician craftsworkers used these raw materials to make bronze and silver bowls, iron tools and weapons, and gold jewelry. Traders shipped these goods—as well as pine and cedar logs, wine, olive oil, salt, fish, and other goods—as exports to ports across the Mediterranean.

How Did the Phoenicians Use the Sea? • Phoenicia’s location on the eastern Mediterranean was ideal for trade. Many peoples came to depend on the Phoenicians to ship their trade goods across the Mediterranean Sea. Phoenician sailors became experts at navigation and developed a thorough knowledge of wind patterns and ocean currents. Phoenicians showed great courage by sailing far into unknown waters. They journeyed all the way to West Africa and even Britain. On their journeys, they founded colonies in places suitable for settlement. Some, such as the North African colony of Carthage, even became wealthy city-states.

What Is the Cultural Legacy of the Phoenicians? • Phoenicia did not survive, but some of its achievements endured. The Phoenicians’ legacy includes their alphabet, which was easier to learn than cuneiform and enabled more people to learn how to write. This alphabet was adapted by both Greece and Rome. The Greeks used the Phoenician standard of weights and measures. Through trade, the Phoenicians linked the diverse peoples and cultures around the Mediterranean region and beyond.