20. Using Turner's theory, explain the economy of the Phoenicians.

Return to History 8 Near East Questions

The Phoenicians were a trading based country. "They produced the much prized purple dye so coveted by royalty, from the crushed shells of a saltwater snail species called Murex. Their trading ships called at every port of antiquity, and they traded overland with peoples of the interior of Africa, such as the Garamantes, Berbers, Numidians, Mauretanians and Ethiopians, and possibly with the mysterious Nok culture of central Africa. From the interior they obtained salt, which was highly prized in ancient times, the exchange rate being equal to gold." The Phoenicians also became skilled in many trades, such as glass making, as they expanded their trade routes farther than Greece in the Mediterranean.

Sources

http://phoenicia.org/puniceconomy.html

Manual

Nicolas Baumann