and the Lydians
Trade remains an important activity in the world today. Use or other
current eventsources to find information about inter- national trade. Record your findings in your journal.
The Phoenicians and the Lydians, c. 1200 B.C.–
c. 600 B.C.
Interpreting Maps The early cultures of the eastern Mediterranean inhabited lands that were characterized by many different geo- graphic environments.
■Skills Assessment: Environment and SocietyWhat two cities shown on the map would you expect to be major centers of trade and commerce?
The Story Continues “Who was ever silenced like Tyre . . . ? When your merchandise went out on the seas, you satisfied many nations; with your great wealth and your wares you enriched the kings of the earth.” This passage from the Bible evokes the splendor of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre at its height.
The Phoenicians
The peoples in the western end of the Fertile Crescent did not create large empires, but they still had a great influence on the modern world. Today this region forms the nations of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. In ancient times, people called part of this region Phoenicia (fi·NI·shuh).
Phoenicia consisted of a loose union of city-states, each governed by a different king. Phoenicia had little fertile land and the Lebanon Mountains made migration to the east difficult. Thus, the Phoenicians turned to trading on the sea. The Phoenician seaports of Tyre and Sidon (SYD·uhn) became world famous.
The Main Idea
The societies of Phoenicia and Lydia made important contributions to other Mediterranean cultures.
Phoenician trade.The Phoenicians sailed in ships that today would seem small and frail, but their sailors were highly skilled. Using sails and oars, the Phoenicians took their ships throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. Some historians believe that the Phoenicians sailed as far as Britain. They might even have sailed around the western coast of Africa. In time the Phoenicians became the greatest traders in the ancient world.
Phoenicia reached its peak as a great sea trading power in the centuries after 1000 B.C. Phoenician colonies were established throughout the Mediterranean region. The Phoenician city of Carthage in North Africa became a major regional power. Other important colonies could be found on the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Malta. Farther west, the Phoenicians established a colony in what is now Spain. These colonies themselves became centers for trade.
Phoenicia had one particularly important natural resource—lumber. The Lebanon Mountains had beautiful cedar forests and other trees. Many ancient peoples used this lumber for building.
The Phoenicians developed several other valuable exports as well.They became skilled workers in metal and created beautiful objects of gold and silver. To do so, the Phoenicians used methods they learned from the Egyptians. They probably imported the materials they used as well. The Phoenicians invented the art of glassblowing and made exquisite glass objects. The city of Sidon became the home of a well-known glass industry.
On their coast the Phoenicians gathered a shellfish called murex. They used the murex to make a purple dye. Sidon and Tyre became the centers of the dyeing trade. People throughout the ancient world prized cloth dyed with this purple. A favorite of the rich and of royalty, the color became known as royal purple. The Phoenicians also exported dried fish, linen, olive oil, and wine.
Phoenician culture.The Phoenicians imitated the cultures of other peoples. Their government and customs resembled those of the Egyptians and Babylonians. Through trading, the Phoenicians spread Egyptian and Babylonian culture throughout the Mediterranean area.
The religion of the Phoenician people offered few comforts. While the Phoenicians believed in an afterlife, their efforts were focused on winning the favor of one of the many gods they worshiped, sometimes going so far as to sacrifice their own children. Some scholars believe this was done just in a few places and just under extreme circumstances. Sacrifices might have taken place, for example, if a natural disaster convinced people that the gods were very angry with them.
The Phoenicians never established a major empire. Eventually, their cities were conquered by the Assyrians. The Phoenicians did, however, make one major contribution to the world: the Phoenician alphabet. Writing systems had been developed earlier in both Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Phoenicians, however, developed the alphabet that became the model for later Western alphabets.
The spread of the alphabet is a good example of how commerce can speed cultural diffusion. Phoenicians used writing in their businesses to draw up contracts and record bills. Their trading partners saw these writ- ten records. They probably also saw the advantages of them. Phoenician traders spread the knowledge of alphabetical writing throughout the Mediterranean world.
Ivory carving Ivory—the material from which this Phoenician sculp- ture was carved—was highly prized in the ancient world. Phoenician merchants imported ivory from coastal North and East Africa. What evidence does this carving provide about the extent of the Phoeni- cians’ trading empire?
Phoenician trade helped spread the use of the alphabet throughout the Mediter- ranean region. How might the history of writing have been different if the Phoenicians had not been traders?
What If?
42 CHAPTER 2
The Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet. They improved it by adding signs for vowel sounds. Later, the Etruscans and then the Romans copied this alphabet from the Greeks. Eventually, the Romans developed the alphabet we use now.
READING CHECK:Drawing Inferences Why were the Phoenicians more likely than some ancient peoples to spread and borrow from other cultures?
Lydians
Today Asia Minor makes up the greater part of the nation of Turkey. In ancient times the western portion of Asia Minor was called Lydia (LI·dee·uh). Like the Phoenicians,
the Lydians did not create an empire. Also like the Phoenicians, however, they made an extremely important contribution. Today Lydians are remembered as the first people to use coined money. They began issuing small kidney-bean-shaped pieces of money made out of a mixture of gold and silver.
Before coins were invented in about 600 B.C., traders had to rely on barter.
Barter is the exchange of one good or service for another; goods that have value are called commodities.In bartering, for example, a fisherman might trade a commodity such as a basket of fish for a farmer’s extra vegetables. Barter, however, limited trade. Two people could strike a bargain only if each could offer goods or services that the other wanted.
In contrast, the use of money allowed traders to set prices for goods and services. Lydian traders developed a money economy.This economic system is based on the use of money as a measure of value and a unit of account. Through trade, the Lydians passed on the concept of a money economy to the Greeks and
Persians. They, in turn, helped spread this concept to other parts of the world.
READING CHECK:Contrasting How does a money economy differ from barter?
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SECTION 5REVIEW
SECTION 5REVIEW
1. Defineand explain the significance: barter
commodities money economy
2. Identifyand explain the significance: Phoenician alphabet
3. Identifying Cause and Effect
Copy the chart below. Use it to illustrate the ways in which trade influenced life in Phoenicia.
4.
a. What effect did the trading civilization of Phoenicia have on the ancient world?
b. What role did colonies fill for Phoenicia?
c. What effect would the Lydians’ development of a money economy have on ancient civilizations?
5.
Summarizing Imagine that you are a Phoenician trader. Write a journal account about traveling to a foreign land to trade.
Consider:
• the goods the Phoenicians traded • how they transported goods to other lands keyword: SP3 HP2
Trade
Money
Money can be any object that people are willing to accept as payment for goods or services. The first form of money was called commod- ity money. Salt, shells, and special stones were all used as commodity money.
Later, Mediterranean countries began making coins from precious metals. These ancient coins often were stamped with images of gods or rulers. Today, coins and paper notes still bear images, but the materi- als themselves have little actual value. Instead, they represent a value that every- one agrees upon. What might be some advantages of a money
economy?
These Greek coins show the influence of the Lydians’ development of a money economy.
44 CHAPTER 2