The Phoenicians and the West: Politics, Colonies and Trade

by Maria Eugenia Aubet , Translated by Mary Turton

• ISBN13: 9780521795432
• ISBN10: 0521795435
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-10-15
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Between the eighth and sixth centuries BC, the Phoenicians established the first trading system in the Mediterranean basin, from their homeland, in what is now Lebanon, to colonies in Cyprus, Tunisia, Sicily, Sardinia and southern Spain. The Phoenician state was able to maintain its independence, despite the territorial expansion of the Assyrians, in return for tribute provided by its western colonies. Archaeological research over the past decades, and still ongoing, has transformed our understanding of these colonies and their relationship to local communities. This updated version of Maria Eugenia Aubet's highly praised book, The Phoenicians and the West, originally published in English in 1993, incorporates more recent research findings, an expanded bibliography, and an appendix on radiometric dating. It will be welcomed by scholars and students of Mediterranean history and archaeology, and anyone interested in early trading systems.

Table of Contents

List of figures	vi
List of tables	xi
Preface	xiii
Introduction	1	(5)
Who were the Phoenicians?	6	(20)
Phoenicia during the Iron Age	26	(44)
The bases for the expansion in the Mediterranean	70	(27)
Phoenician trade: exchange mechanisms and organization	97	(47)
The great political institutions: the palace and the temple	144	(15)
The routes of Phoenician expansion in the Mediterranean	159	(35)
The Phoenicians in the west: chronology and historiography	194	(18)
The Phoenician colonies in the central Mediterranean	212	(45)
The colonies of the far west	257	(48)
The colonies in the west	305	(42)
Concluding thoughts	347	(35)
Appendices
I The journey of Wen-Amon to Phoenicia	356	(7)
II Oracles against Tyre	363	(9)
III Radiometric datings	372	(10)
Bibliography	382	(44)
Index	426