The Levant: part 1 Canaanites and Phoenicians

The Levant: Canaanites and Phoenicians

The Levant: Canaanites and Phoenicians

The Levant: Canaanites and Phoenicians The Levant is the region that includes present day Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon , and Syria.

The Levant: Canaanites and Phoenicians The Canaanites: they settled along the Mediterranean coastline. they had strong trade relations with Ancient Egyptians. as they got wealthier and more powerful they invaded lands belonging to the Egyptians ( Nile Delta). in Egypt they started a dynasty called “the Hyksos” means the “shepherd kings”. during the Hyksos period they developed the first pictographic alphabet system known to man.

The Levant: Canaanites and Phoenicians The Canaanites: the Egyptians drove the Hyksos out of the Delta region, and then all the Canaanite region came under the Egyptian rule. the weakened Canaanites fled from the Egyptians and lived in the hills.

The Levant: Canaanites and Phoenicians The Phoenicians: they were direct descendants of the Canaanites. Their name refers to the rare purple colored dye they used to produce expensive textiles. They regained their power when Egyptians got weak. they settled in Lebanon and became more than just farmers as they built ships out of cedar wood and sailed to other places where they traded all around the Mediterranean sea.

The Levant: Canaanites and Phoenicians The Phoenicians: they traded copper and tin (for making bronze) – wood from cedar forests and cedar oil which was exported to Egypt for preserving dead bodies (mummies). they exported papyrus from Egypt then traded it with other places. they were specialized in crafts such as ceramics, jewelry, cosmetics, and perfume oils, they were well known for their skill of weaving and embroidery.

The Levant: Canaanites and Phoenicians the Phoenicians: good sailing and trading skill helped them to set up colonies from north Africa to Sicily and Spain. they exported the first to know transparent glass. they used the Sumerian alphabet but then used a simpler form of it of 22 letters and no longer looked like pictograms.