Gale - Science and Its Times Vol 01 (2000 BC to AD 699).pdf

Exploration
& Discovery
2000 B.C.
to A.D. 699
A Phoenician galley. (Corbis Corporation. Reproduced with permission.)
fragrance. The Phoenicians developed the technique
of glassblowing, which enabled glass
products to be available to all strata of society.
Perhaps the best-known and most desired export
was their famous purple Tyrian cloth, made
from the snail-like shellfish Murex. In fact, the
Tyrian cloth was so identified with this group of
people that the name Phoenicia comes from the
Greek word for purple. Other significant exports
included fine linen, embroideries, wine, and
metalwork. Lastly, the Phoenicians conducted an
important transit trade that shuttled people from
one place to another.
There is little evidence concerning how the
Phoenician civilization came about, or even how
they referred to themselves in their own language;
however, historians believe they used the term kena’ani.
Interestingly, in Hebrew this same word can
also mean “merchant,” an apt description for the
trade-loving Phoenicians. They probably arrived in
the Mediterranean Sea area around 3000 B.C.
In general, Phoenicia was not a sovereign
nation for much of its existence. It was constantly
threatened and overrun by powerful nations.
Egypt initially seized some control over Phoenicia,
but once the Phoenicians wrestled free from
their grip, they were often controlled by other
entities, such as the Syrians and the Persians,
until the Romans eventually assimilated the
Phoenicians into their society. Despite this, the
Phoenicians were able to make a lasting impact
on the world.
The Phoenicians were instrumental in disseminating
their form of writing, from which our
modern alphabet is derived. They encouraged
trade with other cultures and through commerce
they exposed various civilizations and cultures in
the Mediterranean basin to each other. Through
their constant travel of their trade routes, the
Phoenicians encouraged cultural exchange between
various civilizations. This helped to hasten
the spread of science, philosophy, and other
ideas throughout the ancient world. The Phoenicians
have even been incorrectly credited with
inventing such important technologies as glass;
nevertheless, they certainly were vital in the dissemination
and improvement of that technology
through the known world.
Background
The Phoenicians had established trade routes
that used both land and sea. There is strong evidence
that all of western Asia was served by land
caravans led by Phoenicians. Phoenicia was involved
in trade with most known cultures, and
those they could not reach by land, they traveled
to by sea.
There is little evidence that remains regarding
Phoenician land trade. It is theorized by
scholars that the extent of Phoenician trade
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