The Shifting Leadership of Phoenicia in the Iron Age

Abstract

Of all of the trading civilizations of the ancient world, perhaps none are more intriguing than that of the Phoenicians due to being significantly ahead of its time as a maritime trading power. The different Phoenician city-states, while collectively a huge force in the economics of the Iron Age, were not equally influential. The reasons for these developments are numerous and variable. Most notable might be the utilization of colonization by Tyre and possibly Sidon and the resulting increase in both supply of needed goods and demand for exports. Yet another was destruction caused by conquest or revolts against various overlords, which frequently altered the balance of power in the region despite its effects being reversed over time by the predictions of the Solow growth model. Yet another factor was likely geography, motivating three of the four Phoenician city-states to develop a navy and allowing Carthage to seize control of the Mediterranean. All of these represent good examples of the impacts of external factors on a country's economic state.