Phoenician city-states

Phoenician city-states was a state in Levant (Middle East) that lasted from c. 1200 to 332 BCE, about 868 years. Its people spoke Semitic languages (Akkadian, Amorite, Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician, Ge'ez, Amharic, Tigrinya).

Seafaring cities of the Lebanese coast that spread the alphabet and planted colonies across the Mediterranean, including Carthage. Alexander's siege of Tyre in 332 BCE ended their independence.

See Phoenician city-states on the interactive timeline

Facts

Dates

c. 1200 to 332 BCE

Duration

868 years

Type

State

Region

Levant, Middle East

Language family

Semitic

Capital

Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, Arwad

Came from

• Byblos c. 2800 to 1200 BCE

Events in Middle East during its time

• 1177 BCE Late Bronze Age collapse
• 1050 BCE Phoenician alphabet
• 853 BCE Battle of Qarqar
• 722 BCE Assyria conquers Samaria
• 612 BCE Fall of Nineveh
• 587 BCE Destruction of Jerusalem
• 539 BCE Cyrus takes Babylon

Neighbours in Middle East

• Neo-Assyrian Empire 911 to 609 BCE
• Hittite Empire (New Kingdom) c. 1400 to 1180 BCE
• Achaemenid Empire 550 to 330 BCE
• Empire of Alexander the Great 334 to 312 BCE
• Kingdom of Saba c. 1000 BCE to 275 CE
• Greek cities of Asia Minor c. 1050 to 129 BCE
• Middle Assyrian Empire 1365 to 912 BCE
• Kassite Babylonia c. 1595 to 1155 BCE
• Middle Elamite period c. 1500 to 1100 BCE
• Kingdom of Judah c. 930 to 587 BCE

Elsewhere in the world at the same time

• Carthage c. 814 to 146 BCE, North and West Africa
• Shang dynasty c. 1600 to 1046 BCE, East Asia
• Roman Republic 509 to 27 BCE, Europe
• New Kingdom of Egypt c. 1550 to 1069 BCE, North and West Africa
• Greek city-states c. 800 to 338 BCE, Europe
• Athens 508 to 322 BCE, Europe
• Empire of Alexander the Great 336 to 323 BCE, Europe

Questions