Around 3000 BC, a group of individuals migrated from the Arabian Peninsula into the land of Canaan, which was between Egypt and Syria. These people were known as the Phoenicians. By 1200 BC, the Phoenicians controlled a narrow strip of land that bordered along the Mediterranean Sea in Northern Canaan, where they built a number of cities and villages.
The Phoenicians were masters of the sea. Rather than moving goods over the land in massive caravans, the Phoenicians built large sailing ships, and traveled to lands as distant as Great Britain and Spain.
The Phoenicians became the greatest traders of their time, and the secret of their power lay in shipbuilding. They built three types of ships, that could be rowed as well as sailed, and along with trading; they started establishing colonies all over the Mediterranean. They built new cities, and the most important of these cities was Carthage. They also developed an alphabet- and taught it to their trading partners.
Did you know that the name Phoenician means ‘purple country’? It refers the purple dye which was one of the most important items that the Phoenicians traded in. They also traded in terracotta and glassware, precious metals, wine, olive oil, textiles and cedar wood.
