The appearance of an alphabetic letter in Phenicia (century)

This ancient civilization is almost forgotten today, because it left very few traces on the ground. But it radically changed the course of history, determined the development of culture and science for several centuries to come. The appearance of an alphabetic letter in Phenicia is considered the main achievement of a small, but very powerful at one time sea power. But first things first.

Location on the map

As is known to many, an alphabetic letter appeared in Phenicia. But that's where this country was located, not everyone knows. Ancient civilization occupied a small strip of land along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Her land was cut off from the rest of the territories by the Lebanese mountains, which almost came close to the water. If we compare the Phoenician state with other civilizations of the ancient world - Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Greece or Rome, it seems like a real Lilliputian. But its inhabitants visited all the ports of the Mediterranean region. Her ships carried an important commodity, and the merchants themselves beat welcome guests in many royal palaces. It was not accidental that the letter appeared in Phenicia. After all, an effective and simple system was needed for accounting.

The Phoenicians - who are they?

Today we know for sure that we invented the alphabetic letter in Phenicia. When it appeared - also a sufficiently studied question. But that's what the inhabitants of the sea state were - historians do not know. Their ancestors lived in these lands already in the third millennium BC. True, the state as such they did not have, there were separate cities in which life was boiling. They called themselves by the name of the settlement (the Tyrians, the Sidonians), and they also said that their home was the land of Canaan. Semitic language, close to the modern Arabic, the ancient languages of the Assyrians, Akkadians, Egyptians, was their native.

According to many ancient authors, Phoenicians from the islands in the Persian Gulf happened. Their ancestral home, probably, they left at the end of the fourth millennium BC. By the same time archeologists attribute the first traces of their civilization to the Mediterranean coast.

The name of the country

The alphabet in Phenicia appeared in the distant years, at the dawn of the development of human civilization. It was their alphabet, which contained only twenty-two letters, became the prototype of the writing systems of the ancient world. It is interesting that there are several versions of the origin of the name of the state. The first - the most common, claims that Phenicia is translated from the Greek language as "Purple Country". After all, it was here that we extracted rare paint for expensive fabrics. But you can translate the name and as the "Country of the Phoenix," a fairy creature that can regenerate from the ashes. Phoenix appeared from the east, where the Phoenicians lived. The third version is the most probable. According to her, the name of the state comes from the Egyptian word, meaning the builder of ships.

How the Phoenicians lived

The alphabet in Phenicia appeared in the fifteenth to the thirteenth century BC. Until that time the people lived on a fertile and fertile land. Although it was not enough, it allowed to grow dates, olives, grapes, to breed cows and sheep. It was not necessary to irrigate the soil artificially, since the rains were watered generously. The sea gave fish and other underwater inhabitants. Not surprisingly, already in the middle of the III millennium BC. E. Small villages grew into cities. The largest of them were Bibl, Arvad, Tire, Ugarit, Sidon, Lagish. Almost all of them were surrounded by massive walls, and in the central part there were temples and houses of rulers. The usual Phoenicians huddled in small huts of clay or brick. The streets were equipped with drainage ditches.

The alphabet in Phenicia (century 13-15 BC) appeared much later. But even then, the townspeople felt a lack of space. Because of this, they first poured artificial dams, expanding the islands, built multi-storey houses. Very closely built up and Carthage - the most famous and largest colony, which managed for a long time to compete with Rome itself. The walls were adorned with ornaments from geometric figures and ribbons of different colors. Characteristic was the presence of a long corridor and patio. Of household items, the Phoenicians had low tables and chairs, large chests, flat beds.

Merchants overseas

The appearance of the alphabetic letter in Phenicia is caused by the lively trade of merchants with the whole world. But what was the inhabitants of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean? The cities of conquerors of the seas were very rich, archaeologists have found many such confirmations. The source of the Phoenician treasures was trade: the roads from the Near East, from the north and south converged precisely in this place. Fruits of the earth were barely enough for food, but there was more than enough wood. And this material was very popular in desert Egypt. Beeble supplied to the market cedar, oak and cypress, which were widely used in shipbuilding. Of valuable wood, sarcophagi were made for the Egyptian nobility and pharaohs.

They traded wine, olive oil, and, of course, purple fabrics. From a special kind of mollusc they extracted paint, which colored woolen and linen fabrics in a noble purple shade. These fabrics could afford only very rich people. Production was so massive that there was a shortage of locally produced fabrics. Therefore, merchants brought cheap goods (unpainted) to Phenicia, and already here it was cultivated and transformed. Also products of local craftsmen from silver, bronze, glass were in demand. And mediation between the west and the east was also conducted.

Ancient letters: versions of origin

So, the alphabet in Phenicia. When it appeared, we already mentioned. But scientists agree with the hypothesis that there was an even more ancient alphabet, which served as the basis for the Phoenicians. They call it West Semitic or Proto-Sinai, but so far this system has not been deciphered.

The first inscriptions, made by the Phoenician system of writing, are dated to the thirteenth century BC, shortly before the beginning of the Trojan War. If you believe the researchers, the inhabitants of Phenicia made thematic records on different sciences, and they were engaged in philosophy, literature, history. Unfortunately, most of their works were lost, and to this day only small passages and quotes in the records of ancient authors have come down.

There are also suggestions that the alphabet in Phenicia (the date of appearance is approximate) came from Egyptian hieroglyphs. They could be brought to Canaan by the Jews after they returned from captivity from the land of the pharaohs. Perhaps they were that part of the population that was not in captivity, but stayed at home. Who knows?

System Features

As mentioned above, the appearance of an alphabetic letter in Phenicia was caused by the needs of society. Now let's talk about the system and its features. The Phoenicians used the consonant principle, that is, only consonant sounds were fixed on paper. Vowels were not recorded, but thought out by the reader, leaving the context. Wrote from left to right.

In its development, the writings of the ancient Phoenicians passed through three stages of development:

• The first or Phoenician period lasted from the time of the birth of the alphabet (the second half of the second millennium BC) to the conquest of the country by Alexander the Great.
• The Punian period begins with the founding of Carthage (9th century BC) and ends with the destruction of the city by the Romans.
• Novopunyisky, which lasted until the fifth century AD.

Gradually, the alphabet goes from epigraphic to italic. At the same time, the letters lengthened and narrowed, acquiring a final look.

Achievements of the Phoenicians

The appearance of an alphabetic letter in Phenicia is not all achievements of the local population. The proven fact is that it was the sailors from this state who first rounded Africa. Swimming took more than three years. First the travelers went to the Red Sea, rounded the Black Continent and entered Gibraltar. And they also set up trade between the west and the east, laid the foundations of naval craft. And this is very much for that time.