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.
• An English language synthesis of archaeological and historical data on the Phoenicians published in English • Original version, published by CUP in 1993 had 1000 hardback sales, and the paperback (1996) had 3500 sales • Author is the leading contemporary authority on the Phoenicians in Iberia
Contents
List of figures; List of tables; Preface; Introduction; 1. Who were the Phoenicians?; 2. Phoenicia during the Iron Age; 3. The bases for the expansion in the Mediterranean; 4. Phoenician trade: exchange mechanisms and organization; 5. The great political institution: the palace and the temple; 6. The routes of Phoenician expansion in the Mediterranean; 7. The Phoenicians in the west: chronology and historiography; 8. The Phoenician colonies in the central Mediterranean; 9. The colonies of the far west; 10. The colonies in the west; 11. Concluding thoughts; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.
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