Phoenicians

The Phoenicians were an ancient people who lived on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of ancient Canaan, in parts of what today is Lebanon and Syria. The term "Phoenician" comes from the Greek name for their people, phoiniki. Historians believe that the Phoenicians were ethnically identical to the Canaanites that lived to their south, and that the Phoenician language was one of the Canaanite languages. They were excellent maritime traders who provided the Cedars of Lebanon mentioned in the Bible which were used in King Solomon's Temple. The Phoenicians established many prosperous colonies including Tyre, Sidon, and Carthage. Perhaps most importantly, the Phoenicians invented a new alphabet of 22 letters which became the basis for all western alphabets. The Persian Empire, under Cyrus the Great conquered Phoenicia in 539 BC, leading to their downfall.