Why were the Phoenicians important?

The Phoenicians were very skilled sailors, traders and shipmakers, who, in their haste of management and pursuit of efficiency, gave the world one of its greatest gifts: The modern alphabet system. read more

The island city of Tyre and the city of Sidon were the most powerful states in Phoenicia with Gebal/Byblos and Baalbek as the most important spiritual/religious centers. Phoenician city-states began to take form c. 3200 BCE and were firmly established by c. 2750 BCE. read more

The Phoenicians were the first to use an alphabet, which means that each letter makes a sound- not block characters or picture symbols, like earlier civilizations. This made writing more simple, and therefore more likely to be used by more people. read more