Die Phönizier: Das Pupurreich Der Antike

by Gerhard Herm

Saksa ajaloolase ja majandusteadlase Gerhard Hermi erihuviks on olnud Vahemeremaade kultuurid. Neist on ta loonud üle 30 dokumentaalfilmi ja kirjutanud raamatuid. Loomulikult ei saa ta mööda vaadata ka nii erakordsest rahvast kui seda olid foiniiklased.
Vahemere idaranniku kitsal kaldaribal, peamiselt praeguse Liibanoni territooriumil elanud muistne rahvas, kes teadaolevalt esimesena tegi julge sammu ja suundus kõrberadadelt mereavarustele, on pakkunud uurimis- ja mõtlemisainet läbi paljude sajandite. Foiniiklaste tegudest on kirjalikke jälgi juba Vana-Egiptuse ja Muinas-Kreeka allikates ning samuti Piiblis. Just tänu meresõiduoskustele hoidsid nad palju sajandeid enda käes ülemerekaubanduse monopoli. Nende järglased elavad Vahemere ääres ka tänapäeval.
Raamatus on rohkesti taustinformatsiooni, autori järeldused on põnevad ja leidlikud. Nii pakubki käesolev teos huvitavat lugemismaterjali mitte ainult antiikajaloost huvitatuile, vaid ka laiale lugejaskonnale. Seda võib võtta reisikirjana läbi kaugete maade ja pikkade sajandite.
Samade kaante vahelt leiate arvukalt fotosid, kaarte ja skeeme, mis käsitlust veelgi ilmestavad.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World History, Ancient History, Philosophy

269 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Gerhard Herm was born in 1931, studied in Munich and the United States and now lives near Munich. He has produced a number of documentary films for German television on Mediterranean civilisations and his most recent book, The Phoenicians (published in England in 1975), has been translated into twenty-four languages.

Reviews

[Kitap Yakıcı · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Phoenicians we learned about in grade school are a larger part of history than I would have first believed, and this approachable account attempts to set the record straight.

This loosely affiliated band of nomadic Semites provided cedarwood for the pharaohs of Egypt and learned mastery of the Mediterranean Sea, and with it, international trade. Later they had many of their coastal lands invaded by another upstart band of Semites called "Israelites" (who knew the Phoenicians as "Canaanites," the name Phoenicians used for themselves). Subsequently King Hiram of Tyre, one of the main Phoenician city-states, provided cedar and craftsmen for King Solomon's temple, and the two groups of Semitic peoples lived in relative peace under one or another empire.

Semitic gods and goddesses made their way east and were incorporated into the Greek pantheon: Aphrodite, Heracles, Adonis, Dionysus. Even the name Europe was derived from the name of a mythic daughter of a Phoenician king who was kidnapped and ravished by Zeus. Even as the Hellenes replaced the Phoenicians as the kings of trade and of the sea, they did so using the alphabet invented by their rivals. Alexander the Great was finally able to conquer Tyre before he went on to conquer much of West Asia by building a bridge from the land to the fortified island. Even with Tyre out of the picture, however, the Phoenicians were not done influencing the West.

Carthage, a city-state in North Africa, was founded by Phoenicians (Poeni or Puni in Latin), and the general who led elephants across the Alps to wage war on Rome had a Semitic name, Hanni-Baal. Although Carthage was destroyed utterly by the Romans at the conclusion of the Third Punic War, the Carthaginians/Phoenicians left their mark on the island nation of Malta, the only European nation with a Semitic official language.

This was a fascinating history of a fascinating people whose descendants still live in Lebanon and Syria, albeit without the fame and recognition one might think they deserve. It is also a much needed reminder that the world has always been smaller than it seems and that those in power today aren't guaranteed power and fame tomorrow.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written history of one of my favorite ancient cultures.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book on a people where the records are not definitively, let alone conclusively clear.

The Phoenicians are a people who initially, did not want to settle in a particular area which would in turn, historically invites attack. Yet, they still needed to be land-based (mainly in Tyre) to facilitate and grow what they were good at: trade, by sea. Consequently, they were known to be a ‘sea people.’ A hallmark of that trade was the purple dye, derived from snails which were a prized item on the trading market as purple is not color that is easily derived nor manufactured, along with their acumen to efficiently build and sail innovative ships at a time when most of their neighbors has no navies. The Phoenicians’ trading range was from Spain throughout the Mediterranean, North Africa to the Middle East. Later, in the book, it is outlined that the Phoenicians were also familiar with the course of West Africa long before the Europeans were, but that information ‘died’ with the Phoenicians.

However, the book outlines the inevitability in that what one is good at, there is bound to be subsequent envy. First, it was early peoples (Babylon and Assyria), then the Greeks and ultimately, the Romans, who wanted to build its empire; preside over, and control all resources. By that time, the Phoenicians were already at their decline: their trading wares were not the same (trees were long felled) and the allegiances from the early peoples who envied them, were shifting and changing – people sought allegiances out of convenience and/or protection from the growing Greek, Carthage, then Roman empire. However, the Phoenicians maintained their engineering prowess in dams and ships. Still, it does not take long for one’s enemies to understand and surpass one’s prowess in an area, and ultimately exploit and defeat it. The last chapters on Hannibal and his family in his impossible, yet fantastic feat to beat the Romans on their own turf is an illustration of resilience and resolve. Nevertheless, with the defeat of Hannibal, the Phoenicians’ time on the world stage ended …

… and by then, the Romans realized that what they did to the Phoenicians would ultimately consume them as well. In a world of decadence, the price for that decadence is the exhaustion of the resources that one wants to control in order to reinforce its prowess, with the expense to reinforce that prowess, over time and ultimately, exhausts and undermines the pillars of that prowess. Innately, the Romans knew, but often ignored, the realization that conquered/occupied people(s) soon learn to the worldview and technologies used to control the resources and peoples, and ultimately, in turn, revolt against the empire. The ultimate clash, determines who is remembered and how, and who is forgotten. That is the paradox of the Phoenicians: the sea people who didn’t want to incite envy, let alone subsequent attack, being good at something and nevertheless, attracting envy and political/social intrigue, to in turn, be attacked and undermined by growing kingdoms; being still, ‘remembered’ but barely, with what they left behind by those who envied and conquered them.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I'm not usually a fan of nonfiction but "The Phoenicians: The Purple Empire of the Ancient World" was a wonderful and vivid overview of the Phoenician people. It covers their history from their origins to Byblos to Tyre and finally to Carthage and the Punic Wars.

THINGS I LIKED:
Herm packs a lot of information in and gives a good overview for someone who doesn't have any background in ancient studies. I can tell as I read that he is a good creative/fiction writer, which he displays in imagery-full scenes. The style is easy to understand and follow, and overall is well researched and well written.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE
Like I said, there is a lot of information, which can be both a good and a bad thing. Despite his lovely style, there are a few times when he doesn't tell the story chronologically, rather starting with a story, carrying it on for a few paragraphs, then connecting it to something that historically happened earlier and circling back. I have no doubt that this is a journalistic style which is supposed to foster connection and keep readers engaged, but it did make it harder to follow at times.

[Jim D · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding history book to finish 2025 with . This is an older book, but is rich in detail and relevance. I never thought much about the Phonecians and their place in the ancient near east, so I was surprised to learn of their role in ancient politics and exploration. I did not know that Carthage was a Phonecian colony established in what is now Tunisia. I did not know that the Phonecians sailed out of the Mediterranwean and circumnavigated Africa. I did not know of their ties to ancient Israel. I did not know the origins and politics of the three Punic wars with Rome. This is definitely an academic book, but one that will give history lovers a wealth of new insight and understanding.

[Peppe Sercia · Rating 5 out of 5]

viaggio nel tempo della storia dei fenici che copre tutte le tappe principali, origini, nascita, sviluppo, decaduta, con precisazioni che descrivono in modo dettagliato le circostanze storiche e culturali dei diversi periodi, arricchendo il libro di preziosi particolari e accompagnando il lettore in un viaggio dove le parole di Herm diventano gli occhi e le mani che ci accompagnano delicatamente e saggiamente in questo viaggio storico che ho particolarmente apprezzato, date le mie origini mediterranee

[Jörg Schumacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eine gute Einführung in die Geschichte des antiken Händlervolkes. Das 1975 erstmals veröffentlichte Werk zeichnet die Geschichte der Besiedlung der Levanteküste durch semitische Völker seit der frühen Bronzezeit bis zum Untergang Karthagos. Es weckt auf jeden Fall die Neugier eine aktuelle Geschichte der Phönizier zu lesen.

[Legens · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book's chief merit is to expound the Phoenicians' connection to their better-known neighbors - Egyptians, Israelites, Greeks, Romans. Limiting itself to a linear history of events (rather than processes and structures) is a shame, though, and the author's cultural essentialism (both writing about the past and his present travels) is painfully dated.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpectedly chatty and enjoyable for a history book in translation.

[EmBe]

Populärwissenschaftliches Sachbuch, das ich als Jugendlicher gerne gelesen habe. Die Phönizier sind ein sehr interessantes Volk der Antike, ein Seefahrervolk, und das hat mich damals zusätzlich interessiert.
Heute würden mich solche Bücher nicht mehr reizen, ich würde sie zu kritisch sehen.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of ancient Phoenicia! Definitely a good read.