Phoenicia

Phoenicia was an ancient civilization located along the eastern Mediterranean coast, roughly corresponding to modern Lebanon and parts of Syria and Israel. Flourishing around 1500 to 300 BCE, the Phoenicians were renowned as skilled traders and sailors who established widespread trading networks and colonies, including Carthage. They developed the alphabet that became the basis for most modern alphabets, and their craftsmanship in glass, purple dye, and jewelry was highly valued. Although they eventually fell under the control of larger empires like Persia and Greece, their cultural and technological innovations significantly influenced the Mediterranean region’s history.