The Phoenicians “ Great Sailors of the Mediterranean Sea!” 1100 B.C. – 300 B.C.

Silk Road

Purple – The color of ROYALTY

Propaganda!

I.Brief History of the Phoenicians A.Phoenicians come from the lands of the eastern Mediterranean called Phoencia B.Become the “traders of the Mediterranean” and establish trading cities all over such as Tyre and Carthage. C.As they travel, they bring goods and also spread ideas - religion + inventions + news. D.Gained wealth through trading glass, timber and PURPLE DYES!

A.As the Phoenicians traveled and traded, they spread their simplified alphabet which only had 22 letters that each stood for one sound. B.This ABC writing style was easy to understand and became widely used everywhere in the Mediterranean region and becomes the basis of our alphabet today! II.Sing it! A,B,C,D,E,F,G…

III.Other things to know… A.Their city-state of Carthage becomes incredibly powerful and eventually battles Rome for dominance of the region B.Their trading of purple dyes from shells in the sea leads to purple becoming the color of royalty since it was expensive to produce – only royalty can afford it! C.They were the spreaders of knowledge and goods across the Mediterranean Sea and their travels allowed for the spread of thoughts and ideas from one culture to another during this time!