Does anyone still remember who the Phoenicians were?
As you write something on paper (does anyone still use pen and paper?), a keyboard, or a phone, have you ever wondered where the letters you use came from? Read on and discover more.
Phoenicia, or Canaan, was a group of trading port city-states that shared a common language, script, and culture. They referred to themselves as Canaanites, while the Greeks called them Φοίνικες (Phoínikes). The Canaanites, or Phoenicians, settled in the Near East, sheltered by mountains to the east and the sea to the west, at a crossroads of major trade routes. They traded with the peoples of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete, and other Mediterranean civilizations. They developed a writing system that later served as the basis for other scripts; many peoples adopted letters from the Phoenician alphabet and incorporated them into their own languages. The Phoenicians were also skilled sailors, warriors, and producers.
Where did the Phoenicians come from?
The Phoenicians, or Canaanites, migrated from the region around the Red Sea to the Levant – the narrow western end of the Fertile Crescent, which resembles a banana. They settled in the coastal area stretching from Latakia in the north to Acre in the south. Initially engaged in agriculture, they soon adopted maritime techniques from nearby Crete and Egypt, which enabled them to master Mediterranean seafaring.
Their location proved advantageous: protected by mountains on land and by the sea along the coast, it was strategically strong. Economically, however, agriculture alone could not sustain the densely populated port cities, as the region lacked fertile land (grain fields, pastures, orchards, etc.). As a result, trade became essential to their survival. Major trade routes intersected in this area, extending from Mesopotamia to Gibraltar at the western exit of the Mediterranean Sea, linking the Phoenicians with Egypt, Crete, and other peoples.
Trade was conducted through city-states. Byblos, or Gubla (modern-day Jbeil), traded with Egypt as early as the beginning of the 3rd millennium BCE, later joined by the Aegean islands. Other Phoenician poleis also participated in trade, including Arad (modern Arwad), Sidon (modern Saida), Tyre (modern Sur), Beirut, and others.
Where did the alphabet come from?
As you write something on paper (does anyone still use pen and paper?), a keyboard, or a phone, have you ever wondered where the letters you use came from? I have. So, the Phoenician script developed from Proto-Canaanite and had reached its standardized form by the 12th century BCE. Parts of the alphabet were later adopted by the Greeks (who added vowels), the Etruscans, the Romans, and others. Moreover, the earliest known text dates to the 11th century BCE and is a funerary inscription from Byblos. The script and language remained in use until the 1st century BCE, although they survived longer in certain regions.
Our knowledge of the script is limited because material sources provide only sporadic information about the language. Of approximately 10,000 known inscriptions, only about 2,000 words are known. Votive and epigraphic texts are generally short, sometimes recording only a personal name, a single word, or incomplete sentences. Graffiti, seals, and inscribed weights have also been found, all of limited content. Only royal inscriptions were more extensive; such texts have been discovered exclusively in Byblos and Sidon. Outside the Phoenician homeland, epigraphic texts have been found particularly in present-day Turkey and Cyprus.
But how did they spread? Glad you asked. Through trade and colonization, the Phoenicians spread their language and script. Their language belonged to the Semitic family and formed part of the Canaanite group, which also included Ugaritic, Hebrew, and others. It remained in use until the 1st century BCE, when Aramaic became dominant, although it survived among some Asian communities until the 2nd century BCE and among African communities until the 4th century CE.
Conclusion
Although often forgotten in discussions of history, the Phoenicians shaped the world more than we tend to realize. Their ships connected distant Mediterranean shores, their trade linked cultures, and their alphabet laid the foundation for the letters we still use today.
Learn more about Phoenician trade next week.
#history #phoenician #alphabet #levant #ancientcivilization #mediterranian
Sources:
Feničani. Hrvatska enciklopedija, mrežno izdanje. Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža, 2013. – 2026. https://www.enciklopedija.hr/clanak/fenicani
Braudel, F., Memory and the Mediterranean, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001
Graham, A. J., Collected papers on Greek colonization, Leiden: Boston: Köln: Brill, 2001
Morley, N., Trade in classical antiquity, New York: Cambridge Univerity Press, 2007
Sader, H., The history and archaeology of Phoenicia, Atlanta: SBL Press, 2019
Britannica Editors. "Phoenicia." Encyclopedia Britannica, December 18, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/place/Phoenicia.