Definition of Phoenician Culture

In the first half of the l millennium BC. C the Phoenicians colonized the main cities of the Mediterranean. The Phoenician people have gone down in history for their powerful fleet of ships and their spirit entrepreneur and commercial.

Trade was the main activity of the Phoenician culture

In their origins the Phoenicians were dedicated to piracy, but with the passage of time they changed their strategy and they began to trade with other peoples throughout the Mediterranean. They founded cities such as Byblos, Sidon, Tire or Carthage, among many others. In Byblos they obtained abundant wood to make decorative items that were later sold at high prices. In the cities of Tire and Sidon they produced cloth that they dyed in colors to trade with.

To take their products to other towns, they organized land caravans and traveled along rivers and sea routes. They dominated the Mediterranean practically in its entirety and reached the shores of Britain.

The inventors of money and credit as we know them today

At the beginning of their commercial activities, they acted as mere intermediaries using a barter system, since they bought products in a territory and they later sold them in another. Over the years they began to manufacture their own products. In this sense they became specialists in manufacturing of glass objects, jewelry, vessels and all kinds of ornaments. Archaeological studies show that these skills were acquired from others due to contact with other peoples, especially the inhabitants of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

As commercial activity grew, the barter system became obsolete, so the Phoenicians began to use gold and silver bullion as a more effective form of payment than the barter. For this reason, the next step was the minting of coins, an easier system to transport and store than bullion. metal. The bill of exchange and the credit system were also Phoenician inventions.

Their wealth generated envy in other towns, reason why their cities were plundered in several occasions. However, the invaders ended up imitating the advanced processes of manufacture of the Phoenicians.

They perfected the writing system

For the commercial activity to be efficient and profitable, it is necessary to create a rigorous accounting system and for this it is essential to use a system of communication based on an alphabet and not on simple pictograms. Thus, it was the Phoenician merchants who spread the consonantal alphabet that finally generated a new system of writing.

Photos: Fotolia - Juulijs / DaneeShe