The ancient Phoenicians were the first of the navigators. Sea travel of the Phoenicians

Phoenicia is one of the oldest countries, which was located on the Mediterranean coast, on the territory of modern Syria, Israel and Lebanon. The population of the country managed to build a powerful civilization, the basis of which was maritime trade and craft.

Culture of Ancient Phoenicia

Also very high level the culture and science of the ancient Phoenicians were developed: they had their own alphabet, which was eventually adopted by the Greeks. The peak of the heyday of the Phoenician civilization dates back to about 1 thousand BC. AD

In ancient Phoenicia, there were no good fertile lands, the constant rains, due to the climate of the Mediterranean, also did not allow the Phoenicians to engage in agriculture. The only way out for the inhabitants of the country was to engage in navigation, which significantly expanded trade relations with other peoples, and the abundance of forests allowed them to build ships on their own.

Navigation and trade relations

The Phoenicians built very durable ships that were not afraid of either storms or storms. It was the Phoenicians who first modeled and built ships with a keel, equipped with sheathing on the sides of the vessel - this significantly increased their speed.

Also, their ships were equipped with special compartments for the transport of cargo, which were located above the deck. Due to the strength of their ships, the Phoenicians had the opportunity to go to the Atlantic Ocean, which at that time was not available to many sailors in the Mediterranean.

The maritime strategy of the Phoenicians was striking in its thoughtfulness: they built special bays along the coast so that in the event of a storm, ships could remain safe. With the help of navigation, the ancient Phoenicians were able to establish their colonies in places where their ships could reach.

One of the most famous cities colonized by Phoenician navigators was Carthage, which eventually became the center to which all Phoenician colonial cities obeyed. Naturally, the title of the best navigators at that time was identical to the title of the best merchants.

What did the Phoenicians trade?

The Phoenicians sold in other countries what their country was rich in: first of all, red fabrics (the Phoenicians learned to extract red paint from shellfish thrown ashore by a storm), transparent glass produced by Phoenician artisans, Lebanese cedar wood, grape wine and olive oil. butter.

The Phoenician navigators did not return home empty-handed either: in Egypt they bought grain and papyrus sheets, in Spain - silver and copper.

Also, the main goods of the Phoenicians were slaves, which they bought in other countries and sold at home in order for them to build new ships. Also, shackled slaves were used by Phoenician sailors for rowing.

Sometimes the seafarers of Phoenicia did not hesitate to rob: as soon as opportunity, they captured other people's ships and robbed small port cities.

Forced out of the sea by the Greeks

However, as a result of internal strife and a significant shortage of material for the construction of new ships, the Phoenicians were forced out of the trade and maritime business by the Greeks, who also learned how to build durable and more advanced ships.

Phoenicia is a narrow strip of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, bounded in the east by the Lebanese Range.

O Phoenicians first told by Homer. From the end of the 2nd to the beginning of the 1st millennium BC, the Phoenicians were engaged in maritime trade, at the same time they founded settlements throughout the Mediterranean (the most significant of them was Carthage). Like all seafarers of antiquity, they never own will did not move away from the coast beyond its visibility, never sailed in winter and at night.

When the Phoenician society became slave-owning, it increasingly began to need an influx of new slaves, and this further strengthened the desire to sail to overseas countries.

So, no later than 15 centuries BC The Phoenicians began to visit Crete. Moving from there to the west, they marked the beginning of the opening of the Central Mediterranean Basin. From the islands of the Aegean Sea, the Phoenicians crossed to the southern shores of the Balkan Peninsula, crossed the Strait of Otranto and rounded Apulia and Calambria. Simultaneously with the Cretans, or somewhat later, they discovered the island of Sicily, and then discovered and colonized Malta in the 8th century BC. Having crossed the Strait of Tunis, they moved west and traced almost 2000 km coastline Northwest Africa, opening the mountainous country of Atlas to the Strait of Gibraltar. Coming to the strait, the Phoenicians for the first time got a correct idea of the length of the Great Sunset Sea (3700 km).

Simultaneously with the penetration to the west, the Phoenicians began to explore the African coast and in eastbound. They opened the bays of Hammamet, Little Sirte with the islands of Kerkenna and Djerba and Greater Sirte.

According to ancient Greek authors, the Phoenicians were the first to enter the Atlantic Ocean. They opened the entire western coast of the Iberian Peninsula, entered the mouths of such rivers as the Guadiana, Tagus, Douro, Minho. There is a possibility that the Phoenicians got acquainted with the shores of the Bay of Biscay up to the Brittany Peninsula.

The Phoenicians built ships for expeditions organized by their neighbors, who owned the shores of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, and entered their service.

AT 600 BC Egyptian pharaoh Necho ordered a group of Phoenician merchants to go to sailing around africa. About this voyage, 150 years later, the historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt, told, and with such details that he himself considered incredible. But it is these details that confirm the authenticity of the event. So, Herodotus, who had no modern idea of the globe and solar system, that part of the story seemed implausible, which said that when the Phoenicians went around Africa from the south, moving from east to west, they had the sun from right side, that is, in the north. For us, it is clear that it is this circumstance that confirms that the Phoenicians really crossed the equator, sailed through the waters of the Southern Hemisphere and circled Africa from the south. They went around Africa for three years, which is quite plausible, given the capabilities of the shipping technology of that time, as well as the fact that they stopped for 2-3 months every year to sow and harvest grain.

Around 850 BC, the Phoenicians founded Carthage - the greatest shopping center that time. In 500 BC, Carthage, having arisen as a Phoenician colony, already began to look for colonies. To this end, the Carthaginians organized a large sea expedition led by the Carthaginian admiral Hanno. He led a flotilla consisting of 60 ships, on which there were 30,000 colonists.

Along the way, Hannon founded cities and in each of them left a part of people and ships.

This journey of the Carthaginians was reflected in the “Periplus” (description of the voyage) of the naval commander Hanno, from which we learned that, having passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, they followed the Atlantic coast of Africa for two days, founding cities along the way. They rounded Cape Zeleny and soon entered the mouth of the Gambia River. A few days later, the travelers reached the bay, which they called the Western Horn (probably Bissagos Bay), then the South Horn (now Sherborough Bay in Sierra Leone) and finally landed on the coast of present-day Liberia.

Thus, Gannon reached Equatorial Africa. As far as is known, he was the first inhabitant of the Mediterranean to visit West Africa and described her.

The results of his outstanding voyage were used only to a minimal extent: the Carthaginian merchants went through it to Kerna and organized the “Golden Road” (gold trade) with the deep regions of West Africa.

The discovery of the Azores is also attributed to the Carthaginians, but there is no indication in the literary monuments that they visited these islands. But in 1749, the Swede Johan Podolin reported the discovery of a treasure trove of ancient coins on the island of Kovru, among which were Carthaginian ones.

Simultaneously with Hanno, another navigator of Carthage - Himilcon- made a great voyage along the western coast of Europe and, apparently, reached the southwestern tip of England (the Isles of Scilli).

Thus, Phoenicians and Carthaginians were the first peoples of antiquity who swam in the open sea and ocean without a compass. Undoubtedly, their voyages should have enriched the Phoenicians with many information regarding physical properties ocean, but nothing from their area of \u200b\u200bknowledge has come down to us. Apparently, they were of the opinion that the Atlantic and Indian oceans form one continuous water surface.

>>History: Phoenicia - the land of seafarers

Phoenicia - the land of seafarers

1. Conquerors of the sea.

Approximately four thousand years ago, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea settled tribes, which the ancient Greeks called the Phoenicians, and their country Phoenicia. It is assumed that Phoenicia means purple. The Phoenicians extracted from sea mollusks bright paint- purple, which was used for dyeing fabrics. Purple was considered the color of kings.

The Phoenicians were known as the best seafarers of the Ancient World. They knew how to build strong ships that were not afraid of storms and storms. In the holds of these ships were chained rowing slaves. Phoenician ships sailed all over the Mediterranean Sea, even went out into the Atlantic Ocean, reaching the northern lands of Europe and the western coast of Africa. They were the first in the world to make about 600 BC. e. sea voyage around Africa. The Phoenicians used the art of navigation not only for good purposes. Among them were sea robbers, pirates who robbed other people's ships.

2. Merchants and city builders.

Phoenician merchants led a lively and very profitable trade throughout the Mediterranean. Together with the merchants, the Phoenician cities also grew rich. The Phoenicians borrowed even the rulers of other states. The Phoenicians were creditors respected in ancient world. At the same time, they did not hesitate to acquire wealth by any means. Rumor called the Phoenicians greedy and cunning, able to deceive people.

The Phoenicians were not only fearless seafarers, successful traders, but also excellent city builders. Their cities Ugarit, Tire, Sidon, Byblos were located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in places convenient for the mooring of ships. These were port cities with well-equipped harbors and powerful fortifications. Magnificent palaces were erected in them.

Skilled artisans lived in the Phoenician cities. They knew how to produce and dye fabrics. Purple-dyed fabrics were especially highly valued. Jewelers made fine jewelry from gold, silver and precious stones, which were willingly bought by the local rich and strangers. Carvers created expressive figurines and products from Ivory.

Phoenician craftsmen invented transparent glass by melting it in special furnaces from a mixture of white sand and soda. Incense vessels and vases were blown out of this glass. Glass mass was used to create the famous Phoenician masks. Such masks covered the faces of the dead during burial.

The city of Byblos maintained trade relations with Egypt. In this city, the Greeks bought Egyptian material for writing - papyrus (in Greek, byblos). Hence the name of the holy book of Christians Bible, meaning "books", as well as the word "library".

In places convenient for life, where their ships reached, the Phoenicians founded colonies. A colony is a settlement based on someone else's territory. The most famous colony of the Phoenicians was Carthage, founded in northern Africa in the 9th-8th centuries BC. e. people from the city of Tyre. Gradually, Carthage turned into the richest city, which became the center of a powerful state. Not only other Phoenician colonial cities obeyed him, but also some peoples living in Africa and Spain.

At the beginning of the 13th-12th century BC. e. the "peoples of the sea" began to attack the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. They seized the lands south of the Phoenician cities. These were the Philistines.

From the name of these peoples came the name of the country they conquered - Palestine. Phoenicia had a complex relationship with Palestine. There were wars and reconciliations between them, negotiations and trade were conducted.

3. Gods of the Phoenicians.

The Phoenicians worshiped the god Baal. His name means "master, lord". He was considered the god of thunder and lightning, storms, war, but also the patron of the state. The Phoenicians made human sacrifices to their gods: they threw babies into the open mouth of a huge idol, in which fire burned.

The main goddess of the Phoenicians, Astarte, was similar to the ancient Babylonian goddess Ishtar. Astarte is the goddess of love, fertility and war.

During the excavations of the Phoenician city of Motsia, a ritual cemetery was discovered, where hundreds of clay vessels with the charred remains of sacrificed babies were buried. Small steles were erected over the graves with images of the Phoenician gods, to whom these sacrifices were made.

4. Phoenician alphabet.

Initially, the people of Phoenicia adopted the cuneiform script from the peoples of Mesopotamia, adapting it to their language. But for keeping trade records and calculations, the cunning Phoenicians eventually simplified cuneiform to the utmost. There were 22 consonant sounds in the Phoenician language. So they came up with 22 letter signs. The Phoenicians did not designate vowels in writing. The lines were not written from left to right, as we are, but from right to left.

The Phoenicians arranged the letters in a certain order. Got an alphabet. The first letter of the alphabet was the letter aleph, or a; the second is "bet", or "b". "Aleph" originally meant "bull's head", and "beta" - "house". The ancient Greeks borrowed the alphabet from the Phoenicians, who also introduced letters that denoted vowel sounds. The Romans adopted the alphabet from the Greeks. The Slavic and then the Russian alphabet was built on the basis of the Greek alphabet. Thus, having learned to read and write, we find ourselves in direct connection with the ancient Phoenicians.

To the Phoenicians, we may owe the name of our continent - Europe. That was the name, according to the myth of the ancient Greeks, the daughter of the Phoenician king. One day, young Europe was playing on the seashore. God Zeus, admiring her beauty, took the form of a white bull and bowed to the girl, offering her a ride. Europa climbed onto the back of an affectionate animal, but suddenly the bull rushed into the sea and swam swiftly from the shore. He sailed to the island of Crete, where Europe became the wife of Zeus and bore him three sons. The name of Europe began to be called part of the Western Mediterranean, and then the entire continent. The abduction of Europa has become one of my favorite stories artists .

IN AND. Ukolova, L.P. Marinovich, History, Grade 5
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The location of Phoenicia was not suitable for agriculture, but contributed to the development of other areas. One of these, which brought world fame to the Phoenicians, is shipbuilding. Without it, navigation would not have been possible.

The main material for the construction of ships was the Lebanese cedar, which grew in the territory of Phoenicia. The wood was of excellent quality, making the ships very strong and resistant to severe storms. In addition, the Phoenicians were the first of the ancient peoples to apply new principles in shipbuilding:

the body was made up of thick boards, the edges of which were fastened with large oak spikes;
the transverse ribs of the hull began to be covered with sheathing;
great attention was paid to the quality of the keel (the ships were not flat-bottomed);
cargo compartments were fenced.

From the 12th century BC e. the Phoenicians created capacious merchant ships with good carrying capacity. Guardrails protecting the cargo were fixed on the sides, and two large oars for maneuvers were attached to the stern. A straight sail (usually purple in color) was attached to a mast equipped with yards. The rowers were often slaves.

The Phoenicians built strong shelters for ships along their coasts, protecting ships during storms.

Rice. 1. Phoenician trading ship.

The Phoenicians are considered the creators of the trireme. This is a military (combat) ship with three rows of oars, common in the Mediterranean since the 8th century BC. e. The oars were placed in a checkerboard pattern, and the rows were placed on top of each other. The ships could reach 40 meters in length, were supplied with an iron ram (rarely wooden).

Navigators' achievements

The Phoenicians originally used ships for fishing. Later, the main goal of navigation was the development of trade: it was necessary to sell their goods and acquire others as cheaply as possible for their own use and for sale. Phoenician products made of metal, ebony, ivory and valuable fabrics, especially purple (such paint was made from shellfish in Phoenicia), were very popular.

The state had free access to the Mediterranean Sea, and high-quality ships made it possible to explore the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, the Phoenician navigators were able to explore different directions. They sailed the entire Mediterranean Sea, on the islands of which they founded their colonies (Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, Cyprus, Crete); reached the Atlantic coast of England, Spain and the Canary Islands.

by the most famous navigator believed to be Hanno. He led an expedition in a trireme to the shores of Africa. At the request of the Egyptian ruler Necho ΙΙ in the 6th century BC. e. The Phoenicians entered the Red Sea, then reached the Strait of Gibraltar and returned to Egypt, thus bypassing along the entire coast of Africa. This journey lasted about three years.

It is the Phoenicians who are considered the first navigators who managed to get around on their ships around the African continent.

It is known that Pharaoh Neho (612-576 BC), for the organization of foreign trade and navigation, turned to the services of the Phoenicians, whose state was located on the forest-rich territory of modern Lebanon and Syria, and whose numerous fleet also served as a support for for the Egyptian pharaohs.

Phoenicia had very favorable natural conditions for the construction of the fleet: convenient bays and estuaries on the sea coast, which could serve as a refuge for the fleet in stormy weather; an abundance of ship timber - forests grew near the Mediterranean coast on the slopes of the Lebanese mountains, and the famous Lebanese cedar and oak, as well as others, dominated in them valuable breeds trees. The heyday of shipbuilding and maritime glory of Phenicia is marked in the history of the Mediterranean in the period 1200-700. BC. According to a lot of historical evidence, the Phoenician maritime empire relied on the developed coastal infrastructure of its seaports and fleet supply bases, and military and merchant ships plying between them had an unlimited navigation area. The Phoenicians can rightfully be judged as great navigators - they had colonies along the entire Mediterranean coast, they were known far beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, including on the English Isles and even beyond the Cape of Good Hope. [Kurti, 1977].

Phoenician merchant ship. Like the Viking boats, the larger Phoenician ships were also able to keep a lag to the storm surge in the passive mode of navigation. In this mode, the pitching is damped by the collapse of the frames at the extremities, and the large lateral stability of the hull allows you to track the surface of the wave with a very sharp side roll, which ensures non-flooding in the middle part of the hull

In close navigation, the Phoenicians used mainly light merchant ships that had oars and a straight rake sail. Vessels intended for long-distance navigation and warships looked much more impressive. Large merchant ships had watertight decks.

On the warships of the Phoenicians, the use of a bow underwater bulb was noted, which testified to the ability of these ships to keep moving without surfacing on the wave, with increased flooding of the bow decks. The size of high-speed ships - galleys - sometimes allowed the use of two or three rows of oars (biremes and triremes), which made the navy truly all-weather and capable of active maneuvering in dangerous coastal fairways. Since that time, in all the languages of the Mediterranean peoples, a generalized definition of a high-speed rowing vessel as a galley has been fixed.

The maritime fame of the Phoenicians speaks of the good seaworthiness of their ships and merchant ships, which is quite sufficient for long-distance navigation. Enriched at the expense of their colonies, the Phoenician, Carthaginian navigators began to gradually go far beyond the Mediterranean Sea. During this heyday of the Phoenician and Carthaginian navigation sea route becomes a means of communication between the three continents of the Mediterranean and more distant countries that were outside of Gibraltar.

Exceptional courage was required in those days, so that, having passed the Pillars of Hergules, as the Strait of Gibraltar was called in ancient times, to leave the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean, climb into the stormy Bay of Biscay, and sail further north from there. It must be borne in mind that through the Strait of Gibraltar, the depth of which exceeds 300 m, from Atlantic Ocean a strong surface current flows into the Mediterranean Sea, because due to the more intense evaporation of water, the level of the Mediterranean Sea is constantly lowered, so that only the influx of water from the Atlantic allows it to stabilize it. The matter is more complicated. AT Strait of Gibraltar there is also a deep current directed to the ocean. How amazed were the tribes then inhabiting the Western European coast, when ships of unprecedented size, having removed their purple sails, anchored near their settlements. Men descended from them who traded in such luxury goods that made the hearts of not only women beat faster. In return, they asked for tin, which was very valuable at that time, provisions and young blondes, since, among other things, these people replenished the harems of their trading partners from the East. By exchange, they also received on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean the amber that was so valued at that time, delivered here by land from the Baltic. Carthaginian sailors also repeatedly sailed along the western coast of Africa. The description of one of these sea expeditions of the brave Carthaginian navigators is also known to us in Greek translation. This is the voyage called Hanno's voyage, dating from about the 6th or 5th century. BC. Although the expedition of the Carthaginian sailor is described as an entertaining adventure novel, nevertheless, all of his information, according to authoritative historians, is true. It is possible to trace the path of the expedition step by step on the map, comparing the data about this journey with what we know about the geography of the western coast of Africa. Using the help of the Egyptians, and sometimes Israel and Judea, the Phoenician cities sent sea expeditions not only to the northwest and southwest, but also to the then less accessible south. In this case, the Phoenician ships through the Red Sea reached, probably, even indian ocean. One of these sea voyages is well written in the Bible, which tells of an expedition to the gold-rich country of Ophir, organized by Hiram, king of Tyre, and Solomon, king of Israel. But the most grandiose enterprise must be considered the sea expedition of the Phoenicians, which they carried out on behalf of the Egyptian king Necho at the end of the 7th century. BC. Within three years they circled Africa and returned through the "pillars of Melqart", having accomplished this outstanding feat more than two thousand years before Vasco da Gama.

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