The history of the Ancient World is full of interesting questions and even mysteries. Most likely, we will never know exactly how many great civilizations could not be born, being crushed by their neighbors, more powerful and successful militarily and economically. But some of the peoples managed to "break out into people." Sometimes this was facilitated by the collapse or weakening of powerful neighbors.
Such were the Kassites, who had once left the composition of ordinary hill tribes, the Phoenicians, who had vegetated under the rather strict control of the Egyptians, were once such. But it all ends sometime, and Egypt began to weaken. Soon after, both the cities of the Phoenicians, and all their people, began to rapidly develop and flourish.
Who were they?
Contemporaries described this people: “They were amazing people who were equally easy to manage with both peaceful and military affairs. They invented their writing, achieved unprecedented successes in politics, public administration and navigation. The Phoenicians were and are merchants from God. ”
After reviewing 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 above 1.63 meters, women - 1.57 meters. Judging by the remaining images, 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 Phenicia were equally fond of fine jewelry made of precious metals and stones.
Major 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 this was not at all surprising. 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, his own faith and his clergy, his own army, armed with his own artisans. There is no need to talk about farmers! They were much more impressed with the idea of paying taxes in only 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 formally obeyed Sidon.
The Rise of Tire
At that time, this city was the first among equals, but its time quickly came to an end. The terrible raid of the "peoples of the sea" did not leave stone to stone from the once majestic settlement, after which the cities of the Phoenicians began to listen to the opinion of Tire. The latter at that time had just reached its peak of development. King Hiram I was then seated on the throne.
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 mound around the city, almost doubling its territory. The king was lucky: soon the prospectors dug up a good spring with fresh water in these places, so that Tire turned into an almost impregnable stronghold. The achievements of the Phoenicians of that time in irrigation are also known.
Thanks to well-thought-out irrigation systems and makings of selection, they could fully provide themselves with food. In those days, this was an incredible progress in the development of the state.
The advent of Carthage
Not surprisingly, the city very soon established 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 laid Carthage there, and the terrain itself was perfectly familiar to them, since the builders immediately chose the best place for the new policy. Some small
colonies of the Phoenicians were founded
, information about which has not reached our time.
Tradition says that its bookmark occurred in 814 BC. e. Soon the Phoenicians actively traded with Mesopotamia and the peoples who inhabited the Nile Valley. In addition, they gradually settled firmly in those areas from which it was possible to control approaches to the Mediterranean Sea. All this led to the fact that of all the cities of this state for a long time it was Carthage that retained its significance. History has brought us information about the majestic Hannibal and his struggle with Rome.
What was the wealth 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. There was also a certain land ownership within the rural community, which was distributed among its members depending on the merits and influence of a particular person. However, by that time own agricultural production only fed Phenicia, but had little influence on trade profits.
Much more money the city of the Phoenicians had, developing deposits of valuable metals in the mountains of Lebanon. In addition, many valuable tree species grew there, the wood of which quickly became the most important export item. Foreign merchants loved the Phoenician wool, dyed in purple, the secret of which was known only to scientists of Tire. Starting from the VIII - VII centuries. BC e. The manufacture of sophisticated and exquisite glass products, which were also in great demand by foreign traders, is becoming increasingly important.
Expansion of maritime trade
After Egypt finally collapsed, Tire and other cities began to grow rich with amazing speed. Almost all the colonies of the Phoenicians quickly expanded, many of them later became independent states. They quickly seized all the Egyptian trading channels, and the enrichment process went even faster.
What did the Phoenicians trade in?
It should be understood that in ancient times Phenicia 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 (jewelry, in particular). In addition, the inhabitants of this country were not only beautiful sailors, but also desperate pirates. All the loot was often quite officially surrendered in 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 temporarily forget their strife in order to drown a couple of their ships together. The Phoenicians knew about this, and therefore did not disdain to make bold sea raids on coastal settlements, without exception leading the people who inhabited them into captivity.
Not surprisingly, slaves were one of the main revenue items of maritime trade of the same Tire. There is evidence that Phenicia in ancient times was one of those unique states in which the kings of the policies could lend considerable amounts to ordinary citizens. This was done not for the sake of altruism, but with the goal of developing "entrepreneurship": a person received money from the state, for which he could only purchase a ship and stocks of goods for the first time. The key to loyalty was the "gifted" family. Simply put, cheating with money was not in the interests of citizens.
The land paths of the Phoenicians mastered far from so controversially. But everything changed around the first millennium BC. er, when people were able to tame camels. The people of hard-working merchants could not miss such a unique opportunity, but because the development of the same Syria began immediately.
Some clarifications
You might think that Phenicia in ancient times was simply a branch of paradise on earth, where free citizens of the country were free to trade and earn. It 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 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 Phenicia subsequently “exploded”.
The slave trade and class struggle
In the Ancient World, this country had a bad glory, which arose precisely because of the addiction of its people to the slave trade. A huge amount of “living goods” was sold to other countries, but the ancient Phenicia itself was in great need of these people: workshops and shipbuilding yards, quarries and vineyards, road construction and sheep farming ... In a word, without slave labor, the entire state economy would immediately have arrived end.
All the achievements of the Phoenicians, especially in the field of building high-quality roads and grandiose temples, were based precisely on the work of slaves. However, this phenomenon also had a reverse side, which was often extremely unpleasant and even mortally dangerous for the “rulers of the world” themselves.
Almost all contemporaries testify that a tense and constantly intensified class struggle was going on in the country. So, the Greeks have repeatedly written about the grand slave uprising in Tire, to which thousands of poor citizens joined. The leadership of the rebellion is attributed to a certain Abdastrat (Staraton). Oddly enough, but the grandiose massacre that happened around the 9th century BC ended in the complete and unconditional victory of the slaves.
Greek historians testify that all men of the “privileged” classes were ruthlessly massacred, and their women were distributed among the representatives of the rebels who inhabited Tire. The city was completely depopulated for a long time.
The paradoxes of domestic politics and the gradual fading
In general, Greek historical texts almost universally report some mysterious “Phoenician misfortunes”. It may well be that all these are echoes of a grandiose slave revolt that swept all cities, including the great Carthage. History, however, has not taught the ruling class anything. No mitigation in relation to the slaves was not expected, and the state did not even think of “diversifying” its dependence on their labor.
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 dragged away by powerful neighbors.
Despite this, all contemporaries spoke of them with 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 nations, could not organize at least some semblance of a state. “Dominating the world, they cannot command at home,” they said about this people. Merchants, desperate and adventurous travelers, they became perhaps the first people in the whole history of mankind who created their Empire not by fire and sword, but by conviction, cunning, intelligence and gold.
The new exaltation of Sidon
So, due to political squabbles, intrigues and rebellions of slaves, Tyr eventually loses its significance. The reins of government were immediately intercepted (at the end of the 9th century BC) by the time Sidon (the present city of Sayda in Lebanon) was completely restored. In those years, this policy restored its lost value, acquired a powerful fleet and army, and therefore could dictate its conditions to 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 Tire in the region. At the beginning of the first millennium BC, citizens of this particular city-polis took an active part in the Phoenician colonization, which swept through the entire Western Mediterranean. However, he soon became very dependent on Tyr, which had strengthened by then.
In 677 BC, the city was captured by Assyrian troops, which completely destroyed it. However, after a decade, it was completely restored. Around the beginning of the 6th century BC, Sidon was absorbed by the Persian power, in which the Achaemenid dynasty reigned.
End of an era
Soon, the other cities of the Phoenicians were completely deprived of their independence. Already in the middle of the VI century BC, restless Assyrians began to appear more often under their walls. Despite the continued economic power, all policies, with the exception of proud Tyr, quickly submit to the authorities of Assyria.
Do not forget that at the end of the 7th century BC, Egypt began to regain its former power, and therefore a considerable number of cities of the former Phenicia are included in it. Finally, in those centuries the Persian Empire began to swear and develop, which put an end to the history of the state of sailors, merchants of live goods and pioneers.
However, the Phoenicians themselves had no business before: 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 for a long time reminded themselves. 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 cruel Arab conquests finally put an end to the developed ancient culture.
Over the past few decades, we have made significant advances in the study of the writing and language of the ancient people. Many new inscriptions open annually ... Archaeologists suggest that a deep study of the Phoenician heritage can reveal to us many secrets of the Ancient World.