Phoenicians

Chapter 5

In order to establish a time-frame for the other important city-states, I stepped

back and examined the invaders of this land before the other cites grew in
prosperity, beginning with the Amorites, Phoenicia’s 1st recorded invaders.
The Amorites’ as we know them today, really had no solid ethnic origin, whereas
some say they “might” have had European roots. It has been found that in Egypt
they were represented on their monuments with fair skin, light hair, blue eyes,
curved or hooked noses, and pointed beards – and presented as people with great
stature.
It is believed that the term Amorites refers to a Semitic speaking people who
occupied the middle Euphrates region from the 2nd half of the 3rd millennium BCE
(1900 BCE – around the time of Abraham), remember that the general reference of
“Semitic” terminology does not mean that the people in this category were related
through blood, in other words it is not correct to lump them into a similar “ethnic”
group, only that they spoke a similar language --- a comparison today would be the
speakers of the English language in the United States, similar but not having the
same ethnic relation. It is written that a certain individual by the name of “Ludwig
Schlozer” first coined the phrase “Semite” for the languages used by the Hebrews
in the “Repertorium” written by “Eichhorn”.
Some very strong references by some influential writers have been laid against
the Bible and in its role as presenting the status of Noah’s children in making the
Amorites related to the Canaanites, as a fictional account --- going on to state that
the Amorites were not immigrants from the Arabian peninsula. Specifically,
because of their strong western European appearance, or at least from the northern
mountains beyond what is now modern Iraq or around the Caspian Sea.
They were fierce “tribal clansmen” who forced themselves into the land they
required to graze their herds. Although they are classified as herdsmen, they were
not a group of peaceful shepherds – they twice conquered Babylonia (end of 3 rd and
the beginning of the 1st millenniums’). Their most famous incursion was during the
decline of the Sumerian language in “Mesopotamia”, and inscriptions and tablets of
the early Babylonians indicate they occupied sections of Syria around 1900 BCE.
 As most kingdoms fall from the inside, in the beginning they were just a minor
irritant to the empire of the Ur, eventually they had so sown the seeds of discord
making the position of the last king of Ur – “Ibbi-Sin” very weak and to that point
they were able to create a revolution by his subjects.
Their language overall is unknown, although it is believed their original or
“acquired” tongue was a northwest-Semitic dialect – only one word of their
language has survived, their name for Mount Hermon, “Shenir”. The main sources
are words that have survived in non-Amorite text, whereas many of these names
are similar to the later Biblical Hebrew names, and in this it is not known whether
the Hebrews “borrowed” their names or visa-versa.
Although references point to the inconsistencies in the Biblical story of Noah, the
Bible does provide some vague hints of history and, albeit, the material presented
should be examined with some caution. With regard to the population of the
Canaanite region, Professor R.B. Dixon in his “Racial History of Man-1923” mentions
that in the period 2500-1500 BCE it was mainly made up of Mediterranean and
Caspian people. The Amorite land was “east” of the Jordan, whereas “Arnon” is
between the Moab and the Amorites, the land of the Amorites reaching from “Arnon
to Jabbok1” had been taken away from the Moab by “Sihon”, who constructed
Heshbon as his residence, before the immigration of Israel. The Bible mentions the
Amorites as dwelling in “Jazar”, where it states that they “which dwelt beyond the
Jordan”. It appears that they originally occupied the land stretching from the region
west of the Dead Sea to Hebron, embracing “all Gilead and all Basham”, with the
Jordan valley on the east of the valley --- known as the land of the “two kings of the
Amorites”, Sihon and Og (meaning giagantic).
Og is reported to have lived in “Bashan” (1 st mentioned in Genesis 14:5), and at
the time of Israel’s entrance into the “Promise Land”, he attacked them in
defending his domain – it is written in the Hebrew scripts that he was defeated. Og
is said to have been a man of large statue, whereas the standard Hebrew cubit was
17.5 inches, his size is estimated at well over 12 feet, but this is based solely on the
legend of the size of his bed, which was 13 feet by 6 feet. Legend also puts him on
Noah’s Arc as a stowaway. The Torah places his demise during the battle with
Joshua at “Edrei” about 18-miles southeast of “Ashtaroth”, within the text found at
1
Jabbok, "poring out", is a river on the east side of the Jordan River, one of the so-called torrent valleys. Its modern Arabic
name, Zarka, means "the blue river". It may also have this name because the river in its course touches the fortress of Zarḳa on
the route between Damascus and Mecca.
Ugarit presents reference to the term normally associated with him being at
Ashtaroth and Edrei. A fact that “may” provide confirmation of the traditions and
existence of the royal dynasty of Og.
Bashan, as a district contained “Argob”, which became one of Solomon’s
districts, is an island of rock rising above the table-land of Bashan and is measured
as 20 miles by 30 miles (600 square miles/1554 Square Kilometers) and 20 (6
meters) or 30 feet (9 meters) above the
plain. An extremely rugged region it
contained 60-walled cites, which were
ruled over by Og. It is said that even
today the remains of this region still bear
the footprint relating to the “land of the
giants” under the giant Og, where the
architecture is ponderous and massive with the walls a solid four feet thick (1.22
meters), the roofs are enormous slabs of basaltic rock, the doors and gates of stone
are 18 inches thick (.46 meter), secured by huge bars. Many of the houses of
ancient Bashan (now called “Lejah” and in the New Testament referred to as
“Trachonitis”) are perfect, as if only finished yesterday, with the walls sound, the
roofs unbroken, and even the window-shutters still in place. It is written that these
cities of antiquity probably contain the very oldest specimens of domestic
architecture found anywhere in the world.
The cities of Basham were then taken by Hazael 2, but were soon after re-
conquered by Jehoash3, who won three battles over the Syrians, this according to
the predictions of Elisha. From this time forward, Bashan almost disappears from
history, finding only references to the wild cattle on its rich pastures, the oaks of its
forests, and the beauty of its extensive plains --- soon after the conquest of Jehoash
the name “Gilead” is given to the whole country beyond the Jordan, and after the
Exile --- Bashan is divided into four districts. And the Amorites ride off into the
history of the region – one other note, it is said that there existed a sort of peace
between them and the Israelites during the reign of Samuel.

2
Hazael (Hebrew Hazael, meaning "God has seen") was a court official and later an Aramean king who appeared in the Bible.
He was first referred to by name in 1 Kings 19 when God told the prophet Elijah to anoint him king over Syria.
3
Jehoash (‫)יהואש המלך‬, was the king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and the son of Jehoahaz, (2 Kings 14:1; compare 12:1;
13:10). When he ascended the throne, the Kingdom of Israel was suffering from the predations of the Arameans; Hazael "was
cutting Israel short."
 What does any of this have to do with Tyre? As mentioned previously the
mountains of Lebanon protected the Phoenicians from most of the conflicts
occurring east of their location, but during the early days of Tyre they apparently
were attacked by the Amorites, the Sidonian colony destroyed and abandoned after
their attack, sometime between 2300 – 1900 BCE. Later on it is said to have been
destroyed by the “Elamites” (sometime between 1850 BCE and 1712 BCE) it was re-
colonized in 1191.
The invasion that had a profound effect on the Phoenicians was that of the “Sea
Peoples”, who it is said had a terrific impact on their abilities and skills to develop
a large trading empire across the waters of the world.
The earliest mention of the “Sea Peoples” is in inscriptions found in Ahat-Aton,
and in the Canaanite Megiddo4 and Beit-Shean, related to the Egyptian dynasty over
Canaan, mentioning the “People of the Sea” as settlers from Kafftor (now
considered the Island of Crete) as mercenaries as the royal guard of Rameses II.
They are later found mentioned in the Great Karnak Inscription of Pharaoh
Merneptah (1213 – 1203 BCE). The section dealing with them is where the
inscription describes their invasion of Egypt in the 5th year of his rule (1208 BCE) by
the chief of Libya who had allied with foreign troops.
Isolated references to individual groups of sea raiders do occur earlier, for
example, the Denyen5 during the reign of Amenhotep, and the Shardana6, who were
defeated by Ramesses II in his Year-2, in a sea-battle off the Mediterranean coast
and then conscripted into the Egyptian army for the Battle of Kadesh. Merneptah
states that he defeated the invasion, killing over 6,000 soldiers and taking 9,000
prisoners
The Sea Peoples, very possibly related to the early settlers of Knossos7, leaving
the island they invaded southeastern Asia Minor, then south along the shores of
Canaan (Phoenicia) as far as Egypt – having in mind complete conquest --- they met
with such resistance by the Egyptians (Merneptah and his fleet), that several groups
of them settled on the shores of southern Phoenicia subsequently conquering Gaza

4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Megiddo_%2815th_century_BC%29
5
The Denyen are one of the groups associated with the Sea Peoples, raiders associated with the Eastern Mediterranean Dark Ages who attacked
Egypt during the reign of Rameses III. After their defeat by the Pharaoh they are believed to have been taken to Egypt, and subsequently settled
with the Philistines and the Tjekker, along the coast of Palestine to guard the "way of the Philistines" between Egypt and Syria.
6
The Shardana or Sherden sea pirates are one of several groups of "Sea Peoples" who appear in fragmentary historical records (Egyptian
inscriptions) for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them.
7
is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete, probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan civilization and culture.
and Askelon8, and bringing to an end, the Egyptian hegemony (authority) over
Canaan. They also caused the eventual fall of the “Hittite Empire”, and the
conquest of Aram and Mithene by Assyria --- made the practical distribution of
Hittite iron throughout the Middle East, in fact introducing the Iron Age to the
region.
In later records they are commonly known as the “Philistines” (biblical Phishtim),
whereas they were divided into multiple groups, the Crete’s, the Pletes (in the
south), the classical Phishtim (Gaza) and the D’acarians (north) – still later there
were grouped together again and known as the “Ashdodians” named for “Ashdod”,
one of their capital cities.
Ramesses III (Ramses – Reign March 7th, 1183/1182 to April 16 th, 1152/1151
BCE) who was the 2nd Pharaoh in the 20th Dynasty and is considered to be the last
great New Kingdom king to have any substantial power over Egypt, was forced to
deal with another invasion of the “Sea Peoples”. At his “Medinet Habu” mortuary
temple, in Thebes, he describes how despite the fact that “no land could stand
before”, the forces of the Sea Peoples who destroyed the ancient civilizations of
Anatolia, Cyprus and the Levant ---- he defeated them in a combined land and sea
battle. The names of the people he did battle against, as he had noted, are the
Peleset, the Tjeker, the Shekelesh, the Denyen, and the Weshesh. Remember that
during the invasion during Merneptah’s reign only the “Shekelesh” invaded. The
sudden and abrupt end of several civilizations in the decades traditionally dated
around 1175 BCE have caused many scholars of ancient history to speculate that
the Sea Peoples may have been instrumental in their disappearance.
The American Hittitologist, Gary Beckman, writes, “A terminus ante quem for the
destruction of the Hittite empire has been recognized in an inscription carved at
Medinet Habu in Egypt in the 8th year of Ramesses III. This text narrates a
contemporary great movement of peoples in the eastern Mediterranean, as a result
of which ‘the lands were removed and scattered to the fray. No land could stand
before their arms, from Hatti, Kode, Carchemish, Arzawa, Alashiva – on being cut
down.’”
In general this time-frame and their large-scale revolts are more than likely a
direct result of the assemblage of people into the invading forces of the Sea

8
"Askelon was one of the proudest satrapies of the Philistines; now there is not an inhabitant within its walls; and the prophecy of Zechariah is
fulfilled: ‘The king shall perish from Gaza, and Askelon shall not be inhabited’" Zechariah 9:5.
Peoples, people from lands that had been effected by famine, and other hardships
caused by their economic collapse and political instability that was occurring across
many of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean, and as later finds were to
surface across most parts of Europe. Under Pharaoh Ramses II (3rd ruler of the 19th
Dynasty, born in 1302 BC, his father Seti I, ruled from 1279 – to 1213 BCE (67
Years, had 100 to 200 offspring – primary wife “Nefertari”) he battled the “Hittites”
at Qadesh (he arrived at the battle site via the Beqaa Valley) on the Orontes in
northern Syria, and barely got away with his life (although “his” records showed a
resounding victory, naturally, he was the Pharaoh), after battling with the Hittites
for 15-years a peace treaty was endorsed, one that is known as the earliest treaty9
of its kind in history, he endorsed it with Hattusili III, as part of the agreement
Ramses II married one of his daughters. Egypt assumed control of most of the
coastline of Levant, it is also believed that he exchanged emotions and discussions
with Moses10, although this is in serious dispute as there are “no” records or lists to
be found in the entirety of Egypt that reference anything at all about Moses. Modern
researchers now understand the manner in which the Egyptians recorded
everything, also understanding the Hebrew and their “borrowing” legends from
other races, especially when it comes to the Old Testament or Torah. One of the
controversial arguments is that of Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman, it
considers the entire Old Testament, up to the exile, as a narrative “constructed”
during the puritanical religious reform of King Josiah (639-609 BCE).
The timeframe 1211-1209, is noted for Pharaoh Merneptah’s11 campaigns
against the people of Canaan, a carving made in 1207 BCE contains the “earliest”
reference to “the” people called “Israel”, who numbered “among” the enemies he
fought in Canaan. Merneptah, in year five of his reign did battle against the Libyans
and the Sea Peoples, who were threatening Egypt from the west. He led a six-hour
battle against them at the ancient city of Perire, his victory is found described in
prose on a wall beside the 6th pylon at Karnak.

9
The treaty that was established was inscribed on a silver tablet, of which a clay copy survived in the Hittite capital of Hattusa, in modern
Turkey, and is on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. An enlarged replica of the Kadesh agreement hangs on a wall at the headquarters
of the United Nations, as the earliest international peace treaty known to historians. Its text, in the Hittite version, appears in the links below. An
Egyptian version survives in a papyrus.
10
Ramses II ruled during the 19th Dynasty (1279-1212 BC). He was the third ruler during this time period. Being powerful and ambitious, he
would expand Egypt’s empire a vast deal and would construct many temples all of which overshadow many of the others before him. Although
known for expansion and building structures, he also remains an important Pharaoh to the story of Exodus.
11
fourth ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, he was 60 years old when he assumed the leadership, he ruled from
July/August 1213 BCE to May 2nd, 1203 almost ten years.
 In and around 1200-1000 BCE is when the “Sea Peoples” appear invading and
conquering the cities along the coast – among these raiders were the “Philistines” of
the Bible who challenged the Israelites’ claims to some of their land, but they did
trade with them – regardless. It is noted by some that it was the “Philistines” who
introduced iron tool-making into the region – where Iron was traded with the
Israelites for the limestone available only in the hill country which the tribes of Israel
controlled.
The Mediterranean/European (1200 – 900 BCE) world during this time entered
into a grand depression, where the Egyptian and Hittite empires were weak, and the
Mycenaean city-states in Greece were collapsing. Greece was entering into what is
referred to as the “Greek Dark Ages12”, from which it did not emerge until around
750 BCE.
As early as 1330 BCE there were signs of a growing fear all over Greece,
whereas archaeological remains found demonstrate them fortifying walls in almost
every Mycenaean city. They saw trouble coming! Beginning in 1250, the time Troy
was sacked (as said by some), every Mycenaean palace was systematically burned
or otherwise demolished --- and after 1100, the art of stone masonry disappeared
from Greece and did not reappear for several centuries along with metallurgy. The
population of Greece was said to have diminished by 90%, where they went is still
today debated by the scholars and researcher – “Sea Peoples”-? Keep in mind also
that during this time period the weather across Europe and the Mediterranean
changing from a fairly warm climate to much cooler patterns and drought was
prominent across the regions.
“Ammurapi” (last King of Ugarit – 1191-1182 BCE) received a letter from the
Hittite king “Suppiluliuma II” warning him about the “Shikalaye who lived on boats”;
note the link between them and the “Shekelesh” noted on the earlier
Merneptah/Rameses inscriptions. Shortly after receiving this letter, “Ammurapi”
was overthrown and the city of Ugarit sacked, never to be inhabited again.
1186 – 1154 BCE, Ramesses III repelled a naval attack by the “Sea Peoples”
during the 8th year of his reign, and he also made war against the Libyans.

12
1100 BC–750 BC) refers to Greek history from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean civilization in the 11th century BC to
the first Greek city-states in the 9th century BC.
 1020 – 1000 BCE is considered the dating of the reign of King Saul, the 1st
Hebrew King. Also, during the 11th century BCE the camel is introduced into
Palestine and Syria by the invading “Midianites13”.
This introduction of camels are mentioned in Genesis 24, adding fuel to the
argument for the relatively “late” authorship of the first book of the Bible – whereas
these references are among the earliest historical records of the widespread use of
this animal ---camels came late to Egypt in the 7th century AD by the conquering
“Assyrians” and spread across northern Africa during the Muslim conquests during
the 7th century.
Research on the origination of the camel, interestingly enough, is traced back to
their development around 1 million years ago to the North American continent,
whereas they tripped back across the Asian continent (some say across that
superhighway – The Bering Strait Bridge).
In 1955, Mikesell, indicated that they were an animal labeled the Protylopus, that
occupied the N American landmass in the Eocene period and that the Camelidae
disappearance from N America is part of the mystery surrounding the extinction of
the North American Pleistocene mammals. Fossil evidence shows that the
Camelidae were in China, Siberia, and Russia during the Pliocene and Pleistocene
periods and later found in Rumania, Palestine and North Africa extending as far
west as the Atlantic coast and as far south as northern Tanzania.
The North African stock, however, later became extinct and the camel was re-
introduced as the “dromedary” in later years. The dromedary (single-hump), their
name is derived from the Greek word “dromados”, meaning running, is thought to
have evolved from the two-humped Bactrian species based on the embryological
evidence showing that during pre-natal development the dromedary fetus actually
has two-humps.
The Bactrian (two-humped) is in general a long-haired sturdy animal, powerfully
built and adapted to cold climates, very capable of marching in snow-covered
mountains and are found in Turkestan and throughout central Asia and in the
extremely cold northern deserts. Scholars suggest that the species developed in

13
Midianites were a people dwelling south and east of Palestine, in the desert north of the Arabian Peninsula. The most accurate
accounts of Midian are Biblical. Midian was the fourth son of Abraham by Keturah (Genesis 25:1, 2), apparently one of the
children shipped to the east with gifts from Abraham so not to interfere with Isaac. According to the Arab account by El,
Makreezee, Khitat, "Medyen are the offspring of Shu'yeb, and are the offspring of Medyan (Midian), the son of Abraham, and
their mother Kantoora, the daughter of Yuktan (Joktan), the Canaanite." "Medyen is the city of the people of Shu'eyb," who is
"generally supposed to be the same name as Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses," though some deny it.
the Bactriana part of Afghanistan, from where it spread through Asia, China,
Turkestan and Russia, they also conclude that the first homeland of the Bactrian
was the border of Iran (Khorasan) and the USSR (Turkemanistan). Tracing the story
of domestication, it is estimated to be around 2500 BCE.
The Dromedary is sometimes referred to as the Arabian camel, after the area in
which it is thought to have been domesticated and found in great numbers, some
suggest that it was domesticated in southern Arabia around 3000 BCE, However,
the evidence as to where, when and why these animals were first domesticated
remains inconclusive?
1000-922 BCE, is the dates established for the “pinnacle” of Hebrew power
under Kings David and Solomon14 – the 1st Jewish temple dates to Solomon’s reign
(961-922 BCE), after his death the Kingdom of Israel is carved in half – and the
Hebrews holdings beyond their borders began to slip away (almost immediately).
Which brings us back to Tyre – When Hiram I came to power (969-936 BCE) he
inherited a small unimportant port on the Mediterranean coast, when he died it was
the most important port on that same sea. It was Hiram I who laid the foundations
for the great “Tyrian Sea Empire” that knew no equal in ancient history, whereas
the “Golden Age” of Phoenicia/Tyre flourished during his reign, but it wasn’t all his
doing. As you have read, he was assisted by the waning power of Egypt, by the
defeat of the Philistines (as some believe by David) in 975, and by the unification of
Israel. Israel, due to his political skills – some say, was a friendly neighbor, and one
which had few ships, and a large market for Tyre’s trade, and in addition access to
land trade routes with Mesopotamia.
For a strategic purpose he built the main part of his empire on an island of rock,
whereas food and water had to be imported --- this ”no big deal” for the inventive
people he commanded. For centuries this isolated construction provided a degree
of security unknown to their immediate neighbors – and in symbolic terms, the sea
seems to have been central to the religious beliefs of the people, whereas their
principle gods were connected to the sea. The worshipped the sea god, “Melqart”

14
What emerges from the portrait of Solomon is that he desired to be a king along the model of Mesopotamian kings. He built a fabulously
wealthy capital in Jerusalem with a magnificent palace and an enormous temple attached to that palace (this would become the temple of
Jerusalem). He took 700 wives and over 300 concubines, most of whom were non-Hebrew (in the book of Judges , Yahweh forbids all male
Hebrews to marry non-Hebrews). All of this building and wealth involved imported products: gold, copper, and cedar, which were unavailable in
Israel. So Solomon taxed his people heavily, and what he couldn't pay for in taxes, he paid for in land and people. He gave twenty towns to
foreign powers, and he paid Pheonicia in slave labor: every three months, 30,000 Hebrews had to perform slave labor for the King of Tyre. This,
it would seem, is what Samuel meant when he said the people would pay dearly for having a king.
(son of Poseidon), and “Baal” (son of the fish-god Dagon, earlier reference I noted
found him as the grain-god?).
Baal, as the son of Dagon, was a patron deity of mariners, being depicted as
having the horns of a bull, symbolism which links him to the notorious “Quinotaur”
that is reported to have fathered the race of “Merovingians15”. Baal was so central
to the “Sea Peoples” that his name was often attached to the names of their city-
states, for instance “Baal-Tyre”, “Baal-Sidon”, “Baal-Hazon”, and his consort
“Asarte” was known as “our lady of the sea” – it is her cult that is thought to have
been transported onto the “Mary” cult of Southern France. Interestingly, history
records seven or eight crucified “messiahs”, all born of virgin births, and each
having a mother name “Mary” (or some derivation thereof).
Hiram following his father, and followed by his son (Baal-User) and his grandson
(Abdastratus) completed the longest rule of any one family over Tyre; there were
17-Kings who followed until the rule of Tyre came under the “judges”.
The Assyrian, “Tiglat-Pileser” (1114-1076 BCE), received tribute from all the
major Phoenician cities, but none from Tyre --- and in trade relations with Egypt
(1075-1060 BCE), Byblos was the most important, followed by Sidon --- Tyre is
shown having a secondary status. The island population, while small, had to rely on
shipments of water from “Ushu” its sister city on the mainland (later to tap and
undersea spring) – and its food from any of the other mainland communities.
Hiram I brought massive changes to his island kingdom, where he had installed
cisterns and other engineering works to catch and store rainwater (1st known in
history), he joined the two islands together with landfill from the mainland (bringing
it to about 40 acres (16 Hectare’s), built 150 foot (46 meters) defensive walls
around the city, and used some of the landfill to enclose (on three sides) the harbor
of the north side of the islands where he built large shipyards. He built the royal
palace along with massive temples to “Melkart” and “Astarte”, which were world
famous hundreds of years later – as “Herodotus” wrote of them, and when
Alexander the Great wanted to worship in the temple of “Melkart”.
The construction of the primary marketplace, “Eurychoros” (or) Broad Place, was
created by him --- and to the end of trade itself, his efforts to establish concrete
trade relations with the Palestinians was successful.
15
The Merovingians were a dynasty of Frankish kings who ruled frequently fluctuating areas, within the region largely corresponding to ancient
Gaul, from the fifth to the eighth century. To the south, once they had absorbed the kingdoms of Burgundy and of Arles or Provence, their
borderlands with the Lombards in Italy and with Septimania remained fairly stable.[