The Phoenicians : the Purple Empire of the ancient world

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. The Phoenicians were the great mariners of the ancient world, and their thalassocracy (maritime realm) was organized into city-states akin to the Greeks. It is important to understand there was never a country or empire called “Phoenicia.” A possible origin of the historical name for this Semitic/Canaanite culture might have come from the ancient Greek Φοινίκη (Phoiníkē) meaning “Purple Land.” That is because the Phoenicians were famous in their own time for their dark purple dye—a rare and prized commodity. Inhabitants of the Phoenician city-states along the Eastern Mediterranean coast (like Sidon and Tyre) might have called themselves Kenaani (Canaanites); or with appellations relating to their particular city-states (e.g. “Sidonians” or “Tyrians”). THE PHOENICIANS Contents Illustrations The Bedouins of the Sea The City in the Cedar Grove The Coming of the Aryans Odysseus and Achilles— Ancestors of the Phoenicians They lived on Man-made Islands Establishment and Rise of the Firm of Baal, Sons and Co. Dealings with King Solomon Baal and Sons, and Israel The Tyrian Whore From the Lebanon to the Edge of the World The End of a Golden Age Admired and Hated by the Greeks The Rise of Carthage The Punic Empire of the Phoenicians No Empire for Carthage Then Came Rome The Phoenicians and Us Bibliography Index of Names and Places Examines The History, People, Culture, Civilization, And Achievements Of The Phoenicians, Whose Supremacy In Shipbuilding And Navigation Enabled Them To Be Masters Of The Ancient World For Three Hundred Years. Gerhard Herm ; Translated By Caroline Hillier. Translation Of Die Phönizier. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [273]-274.