The Phoenicians and the West: Politics, Colonies and Trade by Maria Eugenia Aubet

by María Eugenia Aubet

Excellent Book

Genres: History, Archaeology, Ancient History, Nonfiction, Textbooks

Paperback

First published August 27, 1993

Reviews

[AskHistorians]

A fantastic book. A good portion of her book is dedicated to the colonies, with emphasis on the colonies along the Andalusian coast, and uses lots of archaeology to back up literary sources when available.

[Michael Joosten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere between a textbook and a survey, I'm really just being swept along by two things I love: the DISTANCE of the late Bronze Age from Biblical/Greek Iron Age, and how the former lurks behind the latter at an ever-perceptible remove. Put that in the front half of your book (explaining the Tyre that explains what the Phoenicians are reacting to in expanding suddenly across the Mediterranean to Iberia) and you've got my attention.

Add to THAT being my first real introduction to Phoenician/Antique Gadir: a metropolis on the far edge of the known world, and its control of Atlantic trade, and put into my head the idea of Lixus, a name that now sounds magical and distant, and, well, this book has given me a window into a corner of history I did not really know and which now I want to know more. The western end of the Mediterranean seems impossibly far from the ancient civilisations of the Levant, and yet here they are going beyond. It's world-building fodder, and yet it's the real world.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used parts of this book for a research paper; I did not finish the whole book. What I read, I did enjoy. I thought it was informative and easy to read and understand. It did hold my interest, what with the limited amount of pages that I read (in order to finish my paper).

I used the book to look into the commerce and industry of the Phoenicians, as well as some of the culture's overall history as well as the history of some specific Phoenician cities (mainly Tyre, Sidon, and Arvad). I also used it to look at how the Phoenicians were described as interacting with other cultures, nations, and peoples.

I could see myself coming back and finishing this book at a later date.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thorough and nuanced read on Phoenician colonization, and on Tyrean politics and trade in the near East.


The impact on the environment in the last section seemed a bit tacked on. This was a bit surprising since up to that point the book was so well thought out. The topic could have been expanded upon more. It also felt a bit unbalanced compared with what the Phoenicians brought to the indigenous people (and unfair as there was no counterfactual presented).

[Riq Hoelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Spanish author goes into more depth than anyone on the details of trade, trade routes and everything else. Even dives into the rarely discussed topic of currents within the Mediterranean. The maps are very good. There is even one showing which parts of the Mediterranean are beyond the sight of land, a tricky problem when one considers hills and mountains. Origins of names including Phoenicians are discussed. Best of all is the detail on the nature of the Phoenician colonies, their dates and purposes. There are a few translation problems, such as when the Barcids are called the Barcidas, but they are minor. 2001 Revised Edition reflects the latest archaeological findings. Chapters:
(1) Who were the Phoenicians?
(2) Phoenica during the Iron Age
(3) The bases for the expansion in the Mediterranean
(4) Phoenician trade: exchange mechanisms and organization
(5) The great political institutions: the palace and the temple
(6) The routes of Phoenician expansion into the Mediterranean
(7) The Phoenicians in the west: chronology and historiography
(8) The Phoenician colonies in the central Mediterranean
(9) The colonies of the far west: Gadir and the silver trade
(10) Concluding thoughts
(I) Phoenician Iron Age archaeology
(II) The Journey of Wen-Amon to Phoenicia
(III) Oracles against Tyre
(IV) The settlements of the central Mediterranean

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

But I am neither an archeologist nor a historian, so it may be much better than my rating. It is clearly written and fairly interesting, even for a novice.