Chapter 11 – Phoenician and Punic cities

Chapter Summary

The Phoenicians flourished from the twelfth to the fourth centuries BC in a narrow coastal strip of the central Levant, today’s Lebanon with extensions north into Syria and south into Israel. But the Phoenicians were not confined to their homeland. To ensure their prosperity, the Phoenicians sent their ships and merchants to the central and western Mediterranean in search of raw materials. In the process, they founded settlements in these far-flung regions, the greatest of which was Carthage. The term “Punic” is used to denote Phoenicians or, especially, Carthaginians in the central and western Mediterranean, from the sixth to the second centuries BC.

Flashcards

Study guide

Describe the appearance of Iron Age Tyre: topography, buildings, harbors, possible city plan.
How do we know what Iron Age Tyre looked like? What are our sources of knowledge? Some outside reading may be necessary in order to answer these questions.
How does the harbor at Atlit illustrate Phoenician planning and construction of harbors?
When and why did the Phoenicians explore the central and western Mediterranean? Where did they establish settlements?
Describe the foundation and early settlement at Carthage, according to both literary and archaeological evidence.

Useful websites

Phoenicia: The Phoenician Ship Expedition: http://phoenicia.org.uk
Tel Dor excavation project: http://dor.huji.ac.il

Images

Figure 11.1

Figure 11.1

Phoenician and related cities in the eastern Mediterranean.

Figure 11.2

Figure 11.2

Plan, Tyre.

Figure 11.3

Figure 11.3

Phoenicians transporting logs by sea, in an Assyrian relief sculpture, from Dar-Sharrukin (Khorsabad), late eighth century BC. Louvre Museum, Paris.

Figure 11.4

Figure 11.4

Phoenician ships: warship (above) and hippos (below).

Figure 11.5

Figure 11.5

Plan, harbor and promontory, Atlit.

Figure 11.6

Figure 11.6

Central shrine, Sanctuary at Amrit.

Figure 11.7

Figure 11.7

Phoenician expansion in the central and western Mediterranean.

Figure 11.8

Figure 11.8

Regional plan, ancient Gadir.

Figure 11.9

Figure 11.9

City plan, Gadir.

Figure 11.10

Figure 11.10

Plan, early Carthage.