REL 464 - The Inter-Testamental Era
Course Notes
History of the Phoenicians
Origins and Early History of the Phoenicians
The Phoenicians were descendents of the Canaanites who dwelt in the Mediterranean coastal strip to the north of what is now Israel-Palestine. the Canaanites controlled the region during the earlier Bronze Age (3,000-1,200 B.C.). There is archaeological evidence for a continuous cultural tradition from the Bronze to the Iron Age (1,200-333 B.C.) at the cities of Tyre and Zaraphath. In the Egyptian Amarna age (fourteenth century B.C.) many letters to Egypt were sent from King Rib-Addi of Byblos, King Abi-Milki of Tyre, and King Zimrida of Sidon, and in other New Kingdom Egyptian texts there are references to the cities of Beirut, Sidon, Zaraphath, Ushu, Tyre, and Byblos. In the Amarna tablets, the people from the region refer to themselves as Kenaani, probably indicating a Canaanite relationship. The cities of Byblos, Tyre, Sidon, Simyra, Arwad, and Berytus are all mentioned in the Amarna tablets. There is a thirteenth-century B.C. letter from the king of Tyre to Ugarit, and an Ugaritic inscription has been found at Zaraphath. The term "Phoenician" is now normally applied to the culture from the Iron Age onward (beginning about the twelfth century B.C.) when the traits that characterize Phoenician culture evolved : long-distance seafaring, trade and colonization, and distinctive elements of their material culture, language, and script.
Other groups invading and controlling Phoenicia at various times included the Hyksos (18th century B.C.), the Egyptians of the New Kingdom (16th century B.C.), and the Hittites (14th century B.C.).
Bronze Ages
Trade with Egypt started during the time of the Old Kingdom (2,686-2,192 B.C.). The Phoenicians exported cedar, olive oil, and wine, and imported gold and other products from the Nile Valley.
Relations with Egypt were interrupted when the Hyksos, a nomadic Semitic people, conquered Egypt during the seventeenth century B.C. After about three decades of Hyksos rule (1,600-1,570 B.C.), Pharaoh Ahmose I (1,570-1,545 B.C.) launched an Egyptian war of liberation. The war against the Hyksos continued until pharaoh Thutmose III (1,490-1,436 B.C.) invaded Syria, put an end to Hyksos rule, and brought the Phoenicians and other Canaanites under Egyptian domination.
Toward the end of the fourteenth century B.C., the Egyptian Empire weakened, and the Phoenicians were able to regain their independence. The subsequent three centuries were a period of prosperity and freedom from foreign control during which the earlier Phoenician invention of the alphabet facilitated communications and trade. The Phoenicians also excelled not only in producing textiles but also in carving ivory, in working with metal, and in making glass. They became the foremost sea-power in the Mediterranean, and founded colonies wherever they went (specifically in Cyprus, Rhodes, Crete, and Carthage). The Phoenicians were not looking for land to settle but for anchorages and staging points on the trade route from Phoenicia to Spain, a source of silver and tin. Places on an alternative route by way of Sicily, Sardinia, and the Balearic Islands were also occupied. The Phoenicians lacked the manpower and the need to found large colonies as did the Greeks, and few of their settlements were large. The sites chosen were generally offshore islands or easily defensible promontories with sheltered beaches on which ships could be drawn up.
Towards the end of the Bronze Age (around 1,200 B.C.) there was trade between the Phoenicians, Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece. In a shipwreck found off at Uluburun off the coast of Turkey, Canaanite storage jars along with pottery from Cyprus and Greece were found.
The recovery of the Mediterranean economy after the collapse of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1,200 B.C.) seems to have been largely due to the work of Phoenician traders and merchants, who re-established trade between Egypt and Mesopotamia in the 10th century BC.
Pharaoh Seti I (1,290-1,279 B.C.) of the New Kingdom conquered most of Phoenicia, but Ramses III (1,187-1,156 B.C.) lost it to invaders from Asia Minor and Europe.
The history of Tyre and Sidon is intertwined (indeed they were only twenty-two miles [35 km.] apart). Sidon seems to have been the more powerful at first but by the tenth century B.C. Tyre dominated. Tyre's kings ruled a stretch of the coast that included Sidon and often they were referred to as kings of the Sidonians (1 Kings 16:31).
The Egyptian Tale of Wen-amun, dating to the mid-eleventh century B.C., demonstrates the decline of Egyptian prestige and power in the Levant. This was due in part to the invasions of the Sea Peoples and the general disruptions of Late Bronze Age cultures throughout the eastern Mediterranean, with the collapse of Mycenaean and Hittite cultures and the destruction of city-states in the Levant. Trade was severely affected.
In the aftermath of the disruptions a new order emerged in which flourishing Phoenician settlements came into prominence.
Iron Ages
In the 10th century B.C. the city-state of Tyre rose to prominence among the Phoenician city-states and founded colonies throughout the Mediterranean region. During the same time, Tyre strengthened its influence over the northern kingdom of Israel.
Queen Jezebel, the wife of king Ahab of northern Israel, was a princess from Phoenicia (1 Kings 16:30-31).
There were no major Phoenician cities north of Arvad, but Phoenician influence extended into Cilicia in the ninth and eighth centuries B.C. At Zinjirli King Kilamuwa, who was probably Aramaean in origin, chose the Phoenician language and script for a long inscription at the front of his palace. Other Phoenician inscriptions are also found in the same region. The Hittite king Azitiwada marked the rebuilding of his city with bilingual inscriptions in Phoenician and hieroglyphic Hittite at Karatepe. The strong Phoenician influence in Cilicia may be due to trading activities in a network including Urartu, the northern rival of Assyria in the ninth and eighth centuries B.C.
To the south, the Philistines settled the coast of what later became Israel. The Philistines were part of the Sea Peoples who attacked Egypt during the early Iron Age, were repulsed, and then settled on the coastal regions between Egypt and Phoenicia. Their cities included Dor, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gaza.
Assyrian activity in Phoenicia escalated in the ninth century B.C. when Ashurnasirpal II, Shalmaneser III, and Adadnirari III exacted tribute and taxes from Sidon, Tyre, and other Phoenician cities. Assyria was extending its control over the Levant.
Eventually the Assyrians invaded Phoenicia, and were in control from 875-608 B.C. As a result of the reorganization of the Assyrian Empire by Tiglathpileser III (744-727 B.C.), the impact on Phoenicia changed from occasional demands by raiding armies to incorporation as vassals into the empire.
There were several unsuccessful rebellions by the Phoenicians.
In the middle of the eighth century B.C., Tyre and Byblos rebelled, but the Assyrian ruler Tiglath-Pileser subdued the rebels and imposed heavy tributes.
Tyre rebelled again, against Sargon II (722-705 B.C.), who besieged the city in 721 B.C. and punished its population.
Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) crushed a serious revolt by coastal cities in 701 B.C. and forced Luli (Elulaeus), king of Tyre, to flee to Cyprus, where he died.
Revolts in the Phoenician cities became more frequent under Babylonian rule (685-636 B.C.).
During the seventh century B.C., Sidon rebelled and was completely destroyed in 676 B.C. by Esarhaddon (681-668 B.C.). Its inhabitants were enslaved and Esarhaddon built a new city on Sidon's ruins.
Tyre rebelled again and for thirteen years resisted a siege by the troops of Nebuchadnezzar (587-574 B.C.) (see Ezekiel, chapters 26-28). After this long siege, the city capitulated, its king was dethroned, and its citizens were enslaved.
However, by the end of the seventh century B.C. the Assyrian Empire fell to the Babylonians.
In 539-538 B.C. Babylon fell to Cyrus II, founder of the Persian Empire. Phoenicia and its neighbors became part of the Persian Empire, and Sidon became a principal coastal city of this empire.
During the Graeco-Persian Wars (490-449 B.C.) the Phoenicians were forced to provide ships and to fight on the side of the Persians. They lost many of their ships in the Battle of Salamis, and Xerxes ordered the execution of the leading captains of the fleet. Some of the other captains saw what was happening, and fled with their ships, but Phoenicia was crippled as a sea-power in the Mediterranean. Howeveer, Phoenician colonies, particularly Carthage, had not been involved in the Greek and Persian war, and took control of the seas.
Alexander the Great and his successors
The Persian Empire eventually fell to Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia. He attacked Asia Minor, defeated the Persian troops in 333 B.C., and advanced toward the coast. Initially most of the Phoenician cities made no attempt to resist, and accepted rule by Alexander.
The king of Tyre was at sea with the Persian fleet. So a delegation headed by the king's son came out to meet Alexander. It was of strategic importance for Alexander to take Tyre as the city was an important base for the Persians. Alexander used the pretext that he wished to enter Tyre in order to sacrifice to Tyre's god Melkurt, whom he identified with Heracles, for the kings of Macedonia held that they were descended from Heracles. The Tyrians realized that it would be dangerous to allow Alexander inside their city, and said that there was a temple to Heracles on the mainland where he could go. Alexander was enraged by their answer, and attacked the city.
It took Alexander seven months to subdue Tyre. The city was built on an island a short distance from the mainland. At first Alexander tried to build a mole or rampart through the sea, with rocks and timber, but the Tyrians harrassed his army with bows and arrows and brought their ships to attack the builders. At one point the Tyrians filled a ship with bitumen, sulfur, and burning wood and ran it into the mole. As a further insult, the Tyrians captured some Macedonians, executed them on the walls of Tyre in sight of the Macedonian army, and tossed their bodies into the sea.
At this point, the kings of Aradus and Byblos, who were at sea with the remains of the Persian fleet, heard that their cities were in Alexander's hands. They deserted the Persian fleet and came with the Sidonians to side with Alexander.
The Tyrians sent out their ships to attack their fellow Phoenicians, and sank several of the other Phoenician ships.
Alexander and his men were enraged. They blockaded Tyre with Macedonian ships, and sank most of the Tyrian ships. After that, Alexander was able to bring his ships close to the walls of Tyre, and throw bridges across from his ships. His army was furious about the execution of their fellow-soldiers, and massacred the Tyrians. Of those who survived, about 30,000 were sold as slaves, and 10,000 were crucified. Alexander offerred his sacrifice to Melkart-Heracles, and began his march south to conquer Gaza and Egypt. In Egypt, Alexander visited the shrine of Zeus-Ammon, where he claimed that the god had acknowledged him as his son.
After the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. his empire was divided among his generals. The eastern part - Phoenicia, Asia Minor, northern Syria, and Mesopotamia - fell to Seleucus I, founder of the Seleucid dynasty. The southern part of Syria and Egypt fell to Ptolemy I, and the European part, including Macedonia, to Antigonus I.
Seleucus I and Ptolemy I fought for forty years for control of the borders until finally the Seleucids gained the upper hand.
Between 286 and 197 BC, most of Phoenicia was taken by the Ptolemies of Egypt, but in 197 B.C. the Seleucids regained control.
During this period the Greek language became the predominant language for busines, politics, and literature, and the Phoenician language began to lose importance.
In the west, Rome was increasing in power and influence, but was involved in wars in Italy from
91-83 B.C.
The chaotic conditions in Syria allowed Tigranes 11 the Great, king of Armenia, to overrun Cappadocia and expel the Seleucid monarchy. By 83 B.C. Tigranes occupied the throne at Antioch and his frontier extended into Lebanon.
In 69 B.C. the Roman general Lucullus brought an army to the East, chased Tigranes across the River Euphrates, and invaded Armenia. However his army did not support him so he withdrew to Asia Minor.
In 66 B.C. Pompey replaced Lucullus and took Syria from the Seleucids. Pompey combined the Seleucid territory, including Phoenicia, Syria and Palestine into a new province named "Syria". Anarchy and piracy were brought under control and the cities of Phoenicia were able to return to the sea and to trading. The inhabitants of the Phoenician cities of Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre were granted Roman citizenship. These cities were centers of the pottery, glass, and purple dye industries; their harbors also served as warehouses for products imported from Syria, Persia, and India. They exported cedar, perfume, jewelry, wine, and fruit to Rome. Economic prosperity led to a revival in construction and urban development : temples and palaces were built throughout the country, as well as paved roads to link the cities.
During Roman rule, the Phoenician language died out and was replaced by Aramaic as the vernacular tongue. Greek became the language of literature.
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
