The Phoenicians of the Iron Age (first millennium B.C.) descended from the original Canaanites who dwelt in the region during the earlier Bronze Age (3000-1200 H.C.), despite classical tradition to the contrary. There is archaeological evidence for a continuous cultural tradition from the Bronze to the Iron Age (1200 -333 s.c.) at the cities of Tyre and Z araphath. In the Amarna age (fourteenth century B.C.) many letters to Egypt emanated 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. Additionally there is a thirteenth-century B.C. letter from the king of Tyre to Ugarit, and a Ugaritic inscription has turned up at Zaraphath. Despite these facts showing that the coastal cities were occupied without interruption or change in population, the term "Phoenician" is now normally applied to them in the Iron Age (beginning about the twelfth century B.C.) onward when the traits that characterize Phoenician culture evolved: long-distance seafaring, trade and colonization, and distinctive elements of their material culture, language, and script.
History's first written mention of the People of Israel
Egyptian armies led by pharoahs had been trodding through Canaan toSyria since the 1500s BCE. They had withdrawn from area in the 1300s and were soon back again with Pharoah Ramses II early in his reign in the 1270s doing battle with the Hittites. He returned to Egypt in 1270s after having established a treaty of "everlasting peace" with the Hittites, and he put slaves to work on his creation of great buildings and monuments to celebrate what he claimed was his victory. No mention of the Israelites appeared on his monuments. The first mention of the Israelites by the Egyptians known to archeologists came with Ramses' successor, Pharaoh Merneptah, who reigned from 1213 to 1203. On a monument today called the Merneptha Stele he described his victory over the Libyans and their allies, and in the last 3 of its 28 lines of text he described a separate campaign that reads, "Israel had been wiped out...its seed is no more." The pictogram used for Israel indicates a tribal or nomadic people lacking a centralized government.
Other groups invading and periodically controlling Phoenicia included the Hyksos (18th century BC), the Egyptians of the New Kingdom (16th century BC), and the Hittites (14th century BC). Seti I (1290-79 BC) of the New Kingdom reconquered most of Phoenicia, but Ramses III (1187-56 BC) lost it to invaders from Asia Minor and Europe. The roster of Phoenician cities changed during the near millennium-long period beginning in 1200 B.C., reflecting the waxing and waning of their individual fortunes and the impinging historical events of the Near East. At the beginning of the Iron Age, as part of the invasion of the Sea Peoples (groups from the Greek islands, especially Crete), the Philistines occupied the coastal area south of Mt. Carmel, including Dor, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gaza. By the eighth century B.C., however, the material culture of the Phoenicians extended southward, and Sidon controlled Dor and Joppa during the Persian period (539-333 B.C). The Achaemenians, an Iranian dynasty under the leadership of Cyrus II, conquered the area in 538 B.C. Sidon became a principal coastal city of this empire. The history of Tyre and Sidon is intertwined (indeed they were only twenty-two miles [35 km.] apart). Classical tradition suggests that Sidon was 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)
There were no major Phoenician cities north of Arvad, but Phoenician influence extended into Cilicia in the ninth and eighth centuries B.C. Obscurity surrounds the emergence of Phoenician culture during the twelfth and eleventh centuries B.C. In a foray, the Assyrian king Tiglathpileser I (1114-1076 B.C.) sojourned at Arvad and received tribute from Byblos and Sidon, and there are archaeological data from Tyre and Zaraphath for this period. The Egyptian Tale of Wenamun, dating to the mid-eleventh century B.C., graphically portrays 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 and the power vacuum a new order emerged in which flourishing Phoenician settlements replaced such destroyed centers as Ugarit on the coast of northern Syria. Instead of the Levant being the recipient of Aegean wares, Phoenician cities began exporting goods and services.
In the 10th century B.C. the city state of Tyre rose to hegemony among Phoenician states and founded colonies throughout the Mediterranean region. During the same time, Tyre strengthened its influence over the northern kingdom of Israel. Phoenician influence is also to be seen in the region of Cilicia at Zinjirli where King Kilamuwa, probably Aramaean in origin, chose the Phoenician language and script for a long inscription at the front of his palace. Other Phoenician inscriptions come from the same region in the following centuries 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.
The pace of Assyrian activity in Phoenicia quickened 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 gradually extending its control over the Levant. As a result of the far-reaching reorganization of the Assyrian Empire by Tiglathpileser III (744-727 B.C.), the nature of the impact on Phoenicia changed from one of occasional demands by raiding armies to incorporation as vassals into the empire. Many cities lost their autonomy altogether and became part of Assyrian provinces administered by governors; for example, an Assyrian province of Simyra was established by Tiglathpileser III.
During Sennacherib's reign (705-681 B.C.) he crushed a serious revolt by coastal cities in 701 B.C. and forced Luli (Elulaeus), king of Tyre, to flee to Cyprus (see graphic depicting escape to Cyprus), where he died. Later Sidon revolted against the Assyrian ruler Esarhaddon (681-669 B C.) who in 676 B.C. sacked and destroyed it and in its place built a governor's residence, called Kar-Esarhaddon, for a new Assyrian province. He also made a treaty with Baal, king of Tyre. Ashurbanipal (668-627 B.C.) laid siege to Tyre and Nebuchadnezzar besieged it for thirteen years (586-573 B.C.; Ezek. 26-28: 19).
Sidon reemerged as the dominant city of Phoenicia in the Persian period (539-333 B.C.) and led a Phoenician contingent in the Persian wars of the early fifth century B.C., helping bridge the Hellespont and fighting at Salami
It is widely known that the Phoenicians were the master sea-traders of the ancient Mediterranean and expert builders of sea-going ships. Those who are knowledgeable about these people also understand that they founded Carthage and other colonies, as well as brought the first alphabet and papyrus to the Greeks.i Thereafter, a considerable amount of confusion seems to occur. This uncertain state of affairs is conveyed to students of history through the widely divergent dates and data regarding the Phoenicians which are contained in current texts and references.
To take a step toward resolving this unfortunate situation, the present paper examines in some depth the origin of the Phoenician empire. In doing this we address when that event took place, what actually constituted their empire, and place this occurrence in the context of those times—which is to say, the Phoenicians’ interactions with, and impacts upon, the other ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean.
To clearly illustrate the problem being addressed here, consider the conflicting and vague nature of comments made in standard texts and references pertaining to the date of origin of the Phoenician empire. While many sources incorporate "hedging" words into their statements, they each commit to a particular date…leaving the reader with the definite impression they have been told the proper "origin" date.
"The Phoenician civilization flourished from about 1200 B.C. until the capture of Tyre by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. " From The Hutchinson Dictionary of World History.2
"…The Phoenicians turned to the sea and by the eleventh century B.C. had become the greatest traders, shipbuilders, navigators, and colonizers before the Greeks." From Civilization Past & Present.3
The next reference attributes the name Canaan to all lands between Asia Minor and Egypt prior to 1200 B.C. It then looks at a region within this area and states, "…Phoenicia now generally refers to this region in the Iron Age (c. 1200–332 B.C.), even though the culture had earlier antecedents." This is from the distinguished Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East.4
In contrast to this, other sources assert origin dates in the neighborhood of 1600–1550 B.C.
"Of these Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos, all flourishing towns in the Late Bronze Age 1600–1200 B.C., remained important throughout most of the first millennium B.C." From the well-respected Cambridge Ancient History.5
"…Phoenician history over a period of 1200 years, from the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550 B.C.)—when the Phoenician cities (with the exception of Byblos) first emerged as urban entities—to the start of the Hellenistic period around 300 B.C." From Peoples of the Past: Phoenicians.6
Read more: Origin of the Phoenician Empire -- Accurately Dating Phoenician History http://phoenicia.org/datingchronology.html#ixzz4BEli0dTF
Read more: Origin of the Phoenician Empire -- Accurately Dating Phoenician History http://phoenicia.org/datingchronology.html#ixzz4BElTJY00
Read more: History of the Phoenician Canaanites http://phoenicia.org/history.html#ixzz4BEkX7wI1
Read more: History of the Phoenician Canaanites http://phoenicia.org/history.html#ixzz4BEjQWX8N
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