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The Phoenicians - Master Mariners
Driven by their desire for trade and the acquisition of such commodities as silver from Spain, gold from Africa, and tin from the Scilly Isles, the Phoenicians sailed far and wide, even beyond the Mediterranean's traditional safe limits of...

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Phoenician Oblelisk from Cyprus
The finely carved inscription on this obelisk dates to the 4th century BCE. The obelisk was set up in a cemetery at the Phoenician colony of Kition in Cyprus by a certain Arish in memory of his parent; his father Parz, who is said to have...

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Greek Alphabet
Modern version of the Greek alphabet.

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Arslan Tash Amulet
Dated to the 7th century BCE, the Arslan Tash amulet (AT1) was discovered in Arslan Tash, Syria and contains the writing of Phoenician, magic incantations. The limestone plaque includes a variety of features: incantations perceived to prevent...

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Carthaginian Religion
Carthage was founded by the Phoenician city of Tyre in the 9th century BCE, and along with many other cultural practices, the city adopted aspects of the religion of its founding fathers. Polytheistic in nature, such important Phoenician...

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Aramaic Alphabet written in Cuneiform Signs
This is a classroom experiment. As Babylon grew, the language spoken on its streets changed. This remarkable tablet captures interaction between the age-old cuneiform writing for Babylonian Akkadian and the alphabetic Aramaic that ultimately...

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Monument to Armenian Alphabet at Oshakan
Mesrop Mashtots (c. 362-440 CE) is credited with the creation of the Armenian alphabet around 405 CE. Originally, the Armenian alphabet had 36 letters, but it presently has 39. It is read from left to right, and it is one of the older alphabetic...

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Etruscan & Phoenician Inscriptions
Gold sheet plaques from Pygri, the port of Etruscan Cerveteri. In both the Etruscan and Phoenician alphabet they describe the separation of a space dedicated in the temple there for Astarte. c. 500 BCE (Museo di Villa Giulia, Rome)

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Mesrop Mashtots
Mesrop Mashtots (360/370 - c. 440 CE) invented the Armenian alphabet in 405 CE. Besides greatly increasing levels of literacy in the country, the language permitted ordinary people to read the Bible for the first time, thus helping to further...

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Greek and Phoenician Colonization
Both the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians extensively colonized vast areas of Europe, along the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts. In doing so, they spread their culture, which strongly influenced the local tribes. For the Greeks, this is...