History Extra podcast The Phoenicians: everything you wanted to know
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Sep 13, 2025 Josephine Quinn, a historian and Professor of Ancient History at the University of Cambridge, dives into the fascinating world of the Phoenicians. These ancient seafarers left a profound legacy, including the development of the alphabet and the establishment of Carthage. Quinn unravels their complex identity and the reasons they’ve been overlooked in history. She highlights their maritime mastery and trade innovations, while also addressing the challenges of understanding their influence amid Greek and Roman narratives. The Phoenicians’ contributions to concepts of ethnicity and heritage are also explored.
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Rise After Bronze Age Collapse
- Phoenician power rose after Bronze Age empires collapsed and city-states could act independently.
- Their golden era in the eastern Mediterranean ran roughly 1000–500 BCE when maritime trade expanded dramatically.
Westward Shift To Carthaginian Power
- Western Phoenician focus shifted to colonies like Carthage which grew wealthier than the eastern mother cities.
- This created a western Mediterranean Phoenician world centred on Tunisia, Sardinia, Sicily and Spain.
Local Origins, Cosmopolitan Colonies
- Original Phoenician city populations were local to the Levant rather than recent foreign settlers.
- Western colonies became highly mixed and cosmopolitan as people from across the Mediterranean settled there.
