четверг, 5 марта 2020 г.

News update 05/03/2020 (76)


Even in very distant times, the Phoenicians organized world trade. Around 2500 BC e. they provide for the exchange of goods with Egypt through Levkos Limen and Koptos and organize trading posts in Memphis and Koptos; in addition, through the Gulf of Suez they sail to Hieropolis, and then along the channel that went from there to the Nile, they reach the Nile delta.

The area occupied by the Phoenicians at a later time, namely Canaan, which had Asian and African lands as land borders, and the waters of the Mediterranean and Red Seas as sea borders, in its geographical position favored the development of trade relations. Although it is impossible to find harbors that meet modern requirements along the entire coast, there was no need for them at that time for shallow-draft and relatively small ships, for which a small number of bays were quite enough. The export of the Phoenicians from Lebanon consisted of copper and iron, cedar and cypress, that is, an excellent shipbuilding material, hemp, etc.

According to legend, Phoenician navigation began with fishing. Probably, the Phoenicians were especially eager to catch purple shells, which were used to dye purple fabrics, which in ancient times were considered very beautiful and distinguished privileged persons, which is why purple fabrics were rare and highly valued. On land, the Phoenicians were engaged in the dressing and dyeing of these fabrics, the production of glass and other industries. Purple shells contained only one drop of coloring liquid, so the demand for them was very high. Possessing outstanding abilities for navigation, the Phoenicians, even in very remote times, built large ships from gigantic Lebanese cedars and sailed on them in the open sea to Cyprus, which was rich in copper at that time, from which it got its name, then along the southern part of the Asia Minor coast to Rhodes , to the Greek Archipelago and to Greece, and from there to the Black Sea.
From the 13th century BC e. they were, however, gradually driven out of these waters by the so-called "peoples of the sea" (among whom, probably, were the ancestors of the Greeks), who surpassed them in their military forces. Then they moved the area of ​​their trade to the western part of the Mediterranean Sea: to Sicily, Tunisia and further beyond the Pillars of Hercules (Strait of Gibraltar) to the Atlantic Ocean, where they founded around 1100 BC. e. the city of Gades (Cadiz), and to the north of it, at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, Tartessus, rich in silver. In their further voyages, they reached the south-west of England (Cornwall), from where they exported the tin mined there, the demand for which was very high, since it was necessary for the preparation of bronze, which was used to cast various statues. England, however, was by no means the only place from which tin was exported to the Mediterranean. The oldest tin mines were in Central Anatolia, but they were practically depleted around 2000 BC. e. A recent find near Cape Ulu Burun (Asia Minor, Lycia) sunk around 1300 BC. e. a Canaanite ship with a cargo of tin and copper ingots may allow the location of other tin mines. An analysis of the metal of the ingots showed that they do not come from England (Cornwall), Spain or Eastern Europe, anyway. It is possible that at that time tin could be supplied to the Eastern Mediterranean from Iran or Central Asia. Analysis of copper ingots from the Uluburun ship and from another Canaanite ship that sank near Cape Gelidonia (southern coast of Asia Minor) around 1200 BC. e., testifies to their origin from about. Cyprus.
South of Gibraltar, the Phoenicians reached Cape Verde and probably reached Sierra Leone. The area of ​​​​their navigation, however, was not limited to this area - they went along the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, the Malabar coast and Ceylon, and south along the African coast they reached Zanzibar and, very likely, the Zambezi. Taking into account their courage and endurance, one cannot but consider implausible the legend that, on behalf of King Necho, around 600 BC. e., that is, 2600 years before Vasco de Gama, they circumnavigated Africa in three years and returned home via Gibraltar. Sailing usually along the coast, they risked walking in familiar waters into the open sea, navigating at night by the polar star. In areas closer to their homeland, with which they maintained constant relations, it was along the entire coast of the Mediterranean and Black Seas that they founded a number of colonies, up to Gades and Mogador (in Morocco), but only in the form of trading stations and trading posts.

Commerce, which serves as an intermediary in the exchange between people and nations, is almost as old as humanity. The propensity to acquire through reciprocity lies in human nature. In ancient times, trade was not of such great importance as it is now, when it can rightly be said that it reigns over the world, but nevertheless, even at that time, trade, although its area was limited only to the Mediterranean countries and India, served as a source of wealth, and significance it has increased with the development of culture.

The organization of trade at a time when there were no fast means of transportation and there was not even a post office was sharply different from our modern one. In trade with uncultured peoples, except for the Hindus, Chaldeans and Egyptians, the Phoenicians used approximately the same methods that are used in our time in trade relations with the Negro tribes of inner Africa and the savages of the Southern Archipelago. These savages, who do not produce anything themselves, are driven to barter by vanity and the temptation of ornaments and shiny things in the form of beads, colorful scarves, etc. In the tropics, nature supplies man, without requiring his assistance, with her gifts in the form of fruits, rubber, ivory bones, etc.; in temperate climates, such as the Mediterranean coast, and in more severe regions, such as Britain and Scythia, the inhabitants had to take care of warm clothes, housing, weapons for hunting, fishing and war. For a long time no nation is able to be satisfied with the works of its own country, especially when they have become acquainted by trade with the works of other countries; trade relations promote development in all those areas with which they come into contact. The exchange of goods can also take place among nomadic peoples, but real trade begins only with the beginning of the settled life of the people and the beginning of arable farming. At the same time, barter trade continues until both parties have a certain unit of value or a coin. Initially, a wide variety of objects served as such a coin, such as: cattle, furs, shells, salt, iron, golden sand, etc., later money of a certain form made of precious metal came into circulation, first in the form of pieces with a state stamp, and then minted. The monetary unit of Phoenicia and the peoples of Palestine, Syria and Arabia was the shekel, that is, "weighted" (11.2-12.2 g of silver). Joseph was sold for 20 silver shekels to an Ishmaelite caravan bound for Egypt.

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