The history of the ancient world is full of interesting questions and even mysteries. Most likely, we will never know for sure how many great civilizations could not be born, being crushed by their neighbors, stronger and more successful militarily and economically. But some of the peoples managed to "break out into the people." Sometimes this was facilitated by the collapse or weakening of powerful neighbors.
These were the Kassites, who once left the ordinary mountain tribes, such were the Phoenicians, who lived under the fairly strict control of the Egyptians. But everything ends someday, and Egypt began to weaken. Soon after, both the cities of the Phoenicians and all their people began to develop rapidly and prosper.
Who were they?
Contemporaries described this people as follows: “They were amazing people, equally easily managed with both peaceful and military affairs. They invented their own written language, achieved unprecedented success in politics, government and navigation. The Phoenicians were and aremerchants from God.”
From the information provided by modern anthropologists, we can even imagine the appearance of these people. Like many peoples of that era, they did not differ in a heroic article. Men were rarely taller than 1.63 meters, women - 1.57 meters. Judging by the remaining images, the people had narrow, slightly elongated faces, almond-shaped eyes, curly hair, and a short, straight nose.
The clothes of the Phoenicians were bright and colorful. So, the Egyptians wrote that in the crowd of citizens of the pharaoh, these aliens stood out like "butterflies on a sheep's fleece." Men and women in Phoenicia equally loved fine jewelry made of precious metals and stones.
Main Phoenician Policies
As soon as Egypt began to lose ground politically and militarily, Tire, Sidon, Byblos, Arvad and some other policies immediately declare their independence. And there was absolutely nothing surprising in this. The fact is that not only the cities of the Phoenicians, but also all other large settlements at that time were actually autonomous states.
Often there was a "personal" king, their own faith and their own clergy, their own army, armed with their own artisans. Not to mention farmers! They were much more impressed by the idea of paying taxes only in one pocket, and not in several. Tyr came to this idea faster than others. The city quickly became completely independent, although for some time it was formally subordinate to Sidon.
Rise of Tyr
At that time, the first among equals wasthis particular city, but its time quickly came to an end. The terrible raid of the “peoples of the sea” did not leave stone upon stone from the once majestic settlement, after which the cities of the Phoenicians began to listen to the opinion of Tyre. The latter at that time had just reached its peak of development. On the throne then sat King Hiram I.
In many sources there is evidence that he was a contemporary of the great Solomon, king of the Jews (about 950 BC). Hiram began his accomplishments by making a massive artificial embankment around the city, almost doubling its territory. The king was lucky: soon his miners dug a good spring with fresh water in these places, so Tire turned into an almost impregnable stronghold. The achievements of the Phoenicians of that time in the irrigation business are also known.
Thanks to well-thought-out irrigation systems and the makings of breeding, they could fully provide themselves with food. In those days, this was an incredible progress in the development of the state.
The appearance of Carthage
It is not surprising that the city soon developed strong trade relations with all its neighbors. Most likely, it was Hiram who began the colonization of modern Tunisia. This assumption is based on the fact that his heirs founded Carthage there, and the area itself was perfectly familiar to them, since the builders immediately chose the optimal place for the new policy. Some small colonies of the Phoenicians were founded, information about which has not reached our time.
Tradition says that histhe bookmark took place in 814 BC. e. Soon the Phoenicians were actively trading with Mesopotamia and the peoples who settled in the Nile Valley. In addition, they gradually settled firmly in those areas from which it was possible to control the approaches to the Mediterranean Sea. All this led to the fact that of all the cities of this state, it was Carthage that retained its importance for a long time. History has brought us information about the majestic Hannibal and his struggle with Rome.
What was the we alth of policies based on?
To attract new people (the military, in particular), the kings of the cities complained for the faithful service of the land. Within the rural community there also existed a certain land property, which was distributed among its members depending on the merits and influence of a particular person. However, by that time, its own agricultural production only fed Phoenicia, but had little effect on trade profits.
The cities of the Phoenicians had much more money by developing deposits of valuable metals in the mountains of Lebanon. In addition, many of the most valuable species of trees grew there, the wood of which quickly became the most important export item. Foreign merchants loved Phoenician wool, dyed purple, the secret of which was known only to the scientists of Tyre. Starting from the VIII - VII centuries. BC e. Increasingly important is the manufacture of refined and refined glass products, which were also in great demand from foreign merchants.
Expansion of maritime trade
After Egypt finally fell apart, Tire and other cities began to grow rich withamazing speed. Almost all Phoenician colonies grew rapidly, many of them subsequently became independent states. They quickly took over all the trading channels of the Egyptians, and the enrichment process went even faster.
What did the Phoenicians trade?
It should be understood that Phoenicia in ancient times grew rich not so much because of the sale of goods produced on its territory. First of all, her well-being grew due to the resale of luxury goods and rare items (jewellery, in particular). In addition, the inhabitants of this country were not only excellent sailors, but also desperate pirates. All the loot was often quite officially surrendered in the Phoenician cities, for which the ancient "privateers" received a decent jackpot.
Remembering that the Phoenicians are seafarers from birth, neighboring countries did not dare to bully them, since the state's navy could cause many problems to offenders. At the same time, the “glory” of this people was such that even the worst enemies could forget their feuds for a while in order to sink a couple of their ships together. The Phoenicians knew about this, and therefore did not disdain to make daring sea raids on coastal settlements, completely taking the people inhabiting them into captivity.
It is not surprising that one of the main sources of income for the maritime trade of the same Tire was slaves. There is evidence that Phoenicia in ancient times was one of those unique states in which the kings of policies could lend considerable sums to ordinary citizens. This was done not for the sake of altruism, but for the purpose of development.“entrepreneurship”: a person received money from the state, with which he could only purchase a ship and stocks of goods for the first time. The family of the "giftee" became the key to loy alty. Simply put, cheating with money was not in the interests of citizens.
The land routes of the Phoenicians mastered not so quickly. But everything changed around the first millennium BC. er, when people were able to tame camels. The people of hardened merchants could not miss such a unique opportunity, and therefore the development of the same Syria began immediately.
Some clarifications
You might think that Phenicia in ancient times was just a branch of paradise on earth, where free citizens of the country could freely trade and earn. Everything was not so simple. Yes, constantly developing trade brought huge profits to the state, and almost any free person could open his own business.
But a significant number of slaves, without which the Phoenician trade could not function, the ever-increasing number of destitute debtors and representatives of bankrupt families gradually turned into a real bomb, on which ancient Phoenicia subsequently "exploded".
Slave trade and class struggle
In the ancient world, this country had a bad reputation, which arose precisely because of the predilection of its people for the slave trade. A huge amount of "living goods" was sold to other countries, but ancient Phenicia itself was in dire need of these people: workshops and stocks of shipyards,quarries and vineyards, building roads and raising sheep… In short, without slave labor, the entire state economy would immediately come to an end.
All the achievements of the Phoenicians, especially in the field of building quality roads and grandiose temples, were based precisely on the work of slaves. However, this phenomenon also had a downside, which was often extremely unpleasant and even deadly for the “rulers of the world” themselves.
Practically all contemporaries testify that a tense and constantly escalating class struggle was going on in the country. Thus, the Greeks repeatedly wrote about a grandiose slave uprising in Tyre, which was joined by thousands of poor citizens. The leadership of the uprising is attributed to a certain Abdastrat (Staraton). Oddly enough, but the grandiose massacre, which happened around the 9th century BC, ended in a complete and unconditional victory for the slaves.
Greek historians testify that all the men of the "privileged" classes were mercilessly slaughtered, and their women were distributed among the representatives of the rebels who inhabited Tyre. The city was completely depopulated for a long time.
Paradoxes of domestic politics and fading away
In general, in the Greek texts of historical subjects, almost everywhere, some mysterious “Phoenician misfortunes” are reported. It may very well be that all this is the echo of a grandiose uprising of slaves that swept all the cities, including the great Carthage. History, however, has taught the ruling class nothing. No leniency in relation to the slaves was foreseen, and the state anddid not think of somehow "diversifying" its dependence on their work.
All this subsequently led to the fact that the history of the Phoenicians ended sadly, and the once great state, weakened by constant strife and internal turmoil, was simply pilfered by strong neighbors.
Despite this, all contemporaries spoke of them with the deepest amazement. The Greeks and Romans were surprised how the Phoenicians, whose world map was the most detailed at that time, having managed to conquer many peoples, could not organize at least some semblance of a state. "Ruling over the world, they cannot command at home," - so they said about this people. Merchants, desperate and enterprising travelers, they became perhaps the first people in the entire history of mankind who created their Empire not with fire and sword, but with persuasion, cunning, intelligence and gold.
New Rise of Sidon
Thus, due to political squabbles, intrigues and slave uprisings, Tire eventually loses its value. "The reins of government" immediately intercepts (at the end of the 9th century BC) completely restored by that time Sidon (the current city of Saida in Lebanon). In those years, this policy regained its lost importance, acquired a powerful fleet and army, and therefore could dictate its terms to its neighbors.
Historians believe that the ancient Phoenicians erected it around the 4th century BC. Already in the second millennium, Sidon was strong enough for a fierce struggle with Tyre in the region. At the beginning of the first millennium BC, the citizens of this particular city -policies took an active part in the Phoenician colonization, which swept through the entire Western Mediterranean in a wave. However, he soon fell into a strong dependence on Tyr, which had grown stronger by that time.
In 677 BC, the city was captured by Assyrian troops, who completely destroyed it. However, a decade later it was completely restored. Around the beginning of the 6th century BC, Sidon was absorbed by the Persian state, in which the Achaemenid dynasty reigned.
End of an era
Soon, other cities of the Phoenicians completely lose their independence. Already in the middle of the VI century BC, restless Assyrians increasingly began to appear under their walls. Despite the continued economic power, all the policies, with the exception of the proud Tire, quickly submit to the authorities of Assyria.
Do not forget that at the end of the 7th century BC, Egypt began to recapture its former power, and therefore a considerable number of cities of the former Phenicia are part of it. Finally, in those centuries, the Persian Empire quickly began to mature and develop, which put an end to the history of the state of sailors, traffickers and pioneers.
However, the Phoenicians themselves had nothing to do with this: their cities retained their self-government, and trade became even more profitable due to the protection and patronage of the Persians. The Phoenician fleet became part of the Persian flotilla as the most powerful and respected unit of the latter.
Afterword
This people reminded of itself for a long time. Thus, the language and traditions of the Phoenicians were preserved in many regions of the Mediterranean almost until the end of the Middle Ages. Only the brutal Arab conquests finally put an end to the developed ancient culture.
Over the past few decades, we have made significant progress in studying the writing and language of the ancient people. Many new inscriptions are discovered every year… Archaeologists suggest that a deep study of the Phoenician heritage can reveal to us many secrets of the Ancient World.
