The main economic activity of the Phoenicians was trade. Due to commercial business, the Phoenicians developed maritime navigation techniques, becoming the greatest navigators of antiquity. In this way, they traded with a large number of peoples and in various parts of the Mediterranean, keeping the sea routes they discovered secret.
A considerable part of the products sold by the Phoenicians came from their artisan workshops, which were dedicated to metallurgy (bronze and iron weapons, gold and silver jewelry, religious statues). to the manufacture of colored glass and the production of dyeing fabrics (purple fabrics are worth mentioning). In turn, they imported products such as metals, aromatic essences, precious stones, horses and cereals from various regions. Tire was the main city dedicated to the slave trade, acquiring prisoners of war and selling them to the rulers of the Near East.
Expanding their commercial activities, the Phoenicians founded several colonies that, at first, served as mercantile bases. We find Phoenician colonies in places like Cyprus, Sicily, Sardinia and southern Spain. In North Africa, the Phoenicians founded the important colony of Carthage.
Phoenician Civilization