2006-09-26 12:00:27 · 2 answers · asked by Vane 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
They were a nation of seafarers and traders and therefore a great ethnc mix, although they were classified as Canaanites. They also had colonies in North Africa. They were delicate craftsmen and famous for their purple dye.
2006-09-26 12:08:30 · answer #1 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't know so much about the whole ethnic mix deal, because they originally came from the area of Lebanon, and genetic studies prove they are still there, though you are right about settlements in North Africa. The great city-State of Carthage traces it's history back to the Phoenicians who settled there.
They were only different in so far as they dedicated themselves to shipbuilding and created huge advances in that area, letting them travel farther than other peoples of the day, and allowing them to become the greatest traders of the time. Being located at the center of the known world along trade routes to Europe, Asia and Africa helped a bit too.
2006-09-27 15:58:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋