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The PhoeniciansIn this lesson, students will identify characteristics of Phoenician civilization.

Students will be able to define and/or identify the following terms:

PhoeniciansAlphabet

Cultural Diffusion

E. NappPhoenicia was located in Southwest Asia.

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Phoenicians

• The Phoenicians were a Semitic-speaking people.

• They settled in small city-states in present-day Lebanon.

• There were few natural resources in their land. So, they turned to the seas.

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The Phoenicians were seafaring traders.They sailed the Mediterranean sea.

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Phoenician Traders

• By 900 B.C., the Phoenicians dominated Mediterranean trade.

• The Phoenicians were able to build a civilization without relying on agriculture.

• Income generated by trade allowed the Phoenicians to build permanent settlements.

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These are Phoenician coins. Phoenician money was minted

by individual cities.

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The World’s First Alphabet• The Phoenicians invented the world’s first

alphabet.

• Each of the twenty-two Phoenician alphabet symbols represented a different sound.

• The Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet. From the Phoenician and Greek alphabets come our alphabet.

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An alphabet based on symbolsrepresenting sounds is easier to learn

than the use of characters.

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Phoenician Colonies

• The Phoenicians established trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean region.

• A colony is a region controlled by a distant country.

• Carthage was a famous Phoenician trading colony in North Africa.

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Carthage was a Phoenician colony locatedin North Africa.

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Phoenician Purple

• The Phoenicians made their own purple dye.

• The Phoenicians had a monopoly on the market for purple.

• The Phoenicians crushed shellfish to make their purple dye.

E. NappThe Phoenicians established many colonies.

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Travel and trade encouraged culturaldiffusion.

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Questions for Reflection:

• Who were the Phoenicians?• Why did the Phoenicians turn to the seas?• What was Carthage?• Name the most significant Phoenician

contribution to world history.• Why was Phoenicia known for its purple?• How did Phoenicia’s location benefit it?• Why do we remember Phoenicia?