Born To The Purple 3 Advent Calendar [18] Quiz

Answer:

Historians today are still debating the origins of the Phoenicians. Some sources say they were Canaanites, a mixture of Semitic and Hittite peoples. Others say they originally migrated from the area of modern day Bahrain - which was entirely possible, as the Dilmun Civilization flourished there from approximately 2200-1600 BC. Perhaps the people migrated to the eastern Mediterranean as the Dilmun Civilization was collapsing, around 1750 BC. Some historians disagree with that theory, citing evidence of a very long period of existence in the eastern Mediterranean that dates back to approximately 3200 BC.

The Phoenicians founded a loosely-tied confederation of four city-states in approximately what is Lebanon today - Beirut, Byblos, Tyre, and Sidon. Tyre, with the best harbor, became the leader of the group. They are mentioned in ancient Egypt as producers of the famous cedars of Lebanon; the Egyptians also relied on the use of Phoenician harbors for military campaigns. Phoenicians also appear on Akkadian and Babylonian tribute lists, and King Solomon of Israel used their craftsmen and artisans for his various projects. The Persians even stole some of their ships in order to establish their own naval fleet!

Although all the Phoenician city-states founded colonies along the Mediterranean Sea, Tyre was the one that founded the "new city", or Carthage in 814 BC as a colony. Located in modern Tunisia, the colony thrived due to its great harbor on the Gulf of Tunis. Really more of a bigger bay, the Gulf of Tunis is 39 miles long, and the Carthaginian position there really was so advantageous that it led to their control of the entire Mediterranean Sea. The shape of the gulf gave them shelter from violent storms, as well as easy access to trade routes. In addition, the rocky terraces of the peninsula that jutted out into the gulf made the city easy to defend, as it was built on the inmost point of the Gulf of Tunis.

Carthage was also located across from the Strait of Sicily, a trading route that connected the eastern and western Mediterranean. Located between Sicily and Carthage, the strait helped to funnel trade toward the colony.

About 650 BC Carthage became the most powerful member of the Phoenician confederation; by that time the power of the other city-states had been waning for quite some time. The Assyrians conquered the area called Phoenicia in 850 BC, the Chaldeans invaded in 612 BC, and the Persians came in 540 BC. The city of Tyre fell to Alexander the Great in 333 BC. Carthage was able to establish its hold on all the other Phoenician colonies that had been established along the Mediterranean to create its own empire as a thalassocracy, or rule by the sea.

The Iberian peninsula's position as the western edge of the Mediterranean was very important for trade and also for natural resources, especially silver, lead, copper, and iron ore. Carthaginian naval strength was enough to insure that they would be able to maintain their monopoly on the tin trade, along with the fact that merchants were able to keep the location of the tin mines a secret. That meant, of course, that they were the only makers of bronze objects in the region.

Another secret that was well kept among all the Phoenicians was the making of the special Tyrian purple dye that was used to enhance the colors of the different cloths that were produced. This secret was taken to Carthage, and archaeological evidence indicates a quite large, booming dye-manufacturing business.

The Carthaginians also traded with Africans to the south of the city, acquiring all kinds of exotic goods like salt, gold, ebony, and ivory. And - their trade routes even reached to the spice trade in India, as well as amber from Scandinavia.

It makes sense, however, that over time there would be rivals who wanted control of the Mediterranean routes, and the Romans proved to be the first formidable force that could present a challenge. The conflict began over control of trade on the island of Sicily, and grew into three Punic Wars that took place from 264 BC-146 BC. At the end of the Third Punic War, the Romans razed the mighty city, killing the men, enslaving the women and children, and plowing salt into the soil. While the extent of this destruction is still debated among historians today, one thing is for certain. The Romans did return to the site and rebuild a new Roman city called Colonia Julia Carthago; Julius Caesar sent colonists to the region, and by 29 BC the area had become a Roman province. The ruins of the city can be seen today in the suburbs of Tunisia's capital, the city of Tunis.

As you can see, while Tyrian purple might have contributed to the early success of Carthage, as they were "born to the purple", it was not the only commodity of trade that made the people wealthy and powerful. And - I haven't forgotten about their achievements in agriculture. That will be the topic of another quiz!