The Ancients The Phoenicians
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Mar 12, 2026 
Josephine Quinn, a Cambridge professor who studies Phoenician identity and Mediterranean history, guides a lively tour of ancient seafaring life. She explores Levantine port cities, long-distance navigation, trade networks from Tyre to Carthage, the spread of the alphabet, and how origins and myths were invented and reused across the Mediterranean.
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Look To Metals To Explain Phoenician Trade
- Focus on what Phoenicians bought not just what they left behind to understand motives.
- Quinn urges attention to metals like Iberian silver and technological transfers (wine, vineyards) that motivated long-distance trade.
Cedars Fueled Early Phoenician Power
- Lebanon cedar timber underpinned early eastern trade with Egypt, establishing Phoenician maritime importance.
- Quinn notes Byblos supplied cedar to Egypt for ships and buildings and that timber shaped early city wealth.
City States Varied From Kings To Republics
- Political systems varied: eastern Phoenician cities had kings, western settlements were often republics, and Carthage later asserted hegemony.
- Quinn explains settlers typically founded republics while mother cities retained different regimes.
