Before the Late Bronze Age Collapse, the Minoans were the dominant traders in the Mediterranean. This Minoan fresco was excavated on Knossos.

Chapter 1

Trade Before the Phoenicians

The Phoenicians revolutionized trade in their time, but they were not the first major traders in the ancient world. In the early Bronze Age, regional trade arose in the Mediterranean, Near East, and China. Increased trade helped establish trade routes that would eventually become the legendary Silk Road and would bridge the Roman Empire and the Far East. In the Mediterranean, the Minoans established a network that gave way to the Phoenicians’ routes, connecting Egypt to Greece and the Levant to Sicily. In the Middle East, trade led to the growth of the Assyrian Empire, which became one of the strongest empires of its time. Smaller-scale trade also spread across China and India, eventually reaching Egypt and west Africa.

What set the Phoenicians apart from the trade routes and merchants who came before them was their ability to overcome a few common barriers. The Phoenicians developed a type of ship that featured a curved hull, which helped them withstand the rough waters of the Mediterranean Sea. They were also able to use their small size to their advantage. Phoenicians also lacked imperial aspirations and made lasting peace with neighboring civilizations that might otherwise have sought to conquer them. Although the Persians eventually did set out to dominate the Phoenicians (and they ultimately succeeded), for centuries Phoenicians were able to build wealth through trade as few mercantile civilizations had before. In this chapter, we will learn about some of the significant traders before the Phoenicians and what obstacles the Phoenicians mastered before becoming the leading traders of their time.

Major Trade Networks

Before the Phoenicians, Mediterranean trade was dominated by the Minoans of Crete. Little is known about this civilization due to a lack of decipherable language. However, we do know that the Minoans established the earliest civilization in Europe and built the continent’s first palace at Knossos. The Minoans are believed to have emerged around 3650 BCE and flourished for the next two thousand years.

The Minoans established a large network of trade throughout the Mediterranean Sea, stretching from Greece to Egypt to the Near East. Their trade routes were similar in scope to the Phoenicians’, including land and sea routes. These routes also allowed the Minoans to influence cultures throughout the ancient world. Along with goods like copper, saffron, and papyrus, the Minoans influenced ceramic arts and jewelry. They also facilitated the exchange of culture and ideas between Egypt and Greece. In turn, the Minoans saw those two powerful civilizations’ influence on the island of Crete, where the power of the Minoans was focused.

This 1741 map shows the Mediterranean at the time of the ancient Greeks. Phoenicia lies along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean.

Between 1700 BCE and 1100 BCE, natural disasters and the rise of the Greeks brought about the end of the Minoan period. It is believed that earthquakes in 1700 BCE and 1450 BCE led to widespread destruction from which the Minoans didn’t recover. Shortly after 1450 BCE, in around 1420 BCE, Mycenaean Greeks conquered Minoan strongholds and castles. Despite continued existence in some city- states, the Minoan civilization declined until it is believed to have ended completely in 1100 BCE.

In the East, caravan routes were established to facilitate trade throughout China around 2000 BCE. These routes were primarily used to trade precious stones, such as jade. There is also evidence that trade was possible with civilizations as far west as Egypt, where Chinese silk has been found. In the Middle East, the Assyrians were the dominant traders of the region. They set up trading posts in Anatolia during the twentieth century BCE, where they traded tin, copper, and clothing in exchange for gold and silver. Karum Kanesh, one of the trade cities established by the Assyrians, grew to be one of the most important centers of commerce in its age. The city fed wealth back to the growing Assyrian Empire. Trade with Anatolia, which is now modern Turkey, also provided the Assyrians with iron to fashion weapons. The empire flourished in part due to its complex banking system, which was established to help manage the wealth it gained through trade.

These sculptures sat at the entrance to the Assyrian palace of Khorsabad. The Assyrians were a Middle Eastern empire to which Phoenicia paid tribute.

The Assyrians also traded frequently with Iran, or Persia, maintaining their trade routes until around the fourteenth century BCE. Then rival traders challenged their dominance in the Mediterranean and the rivers to the Persian Gulf. During this time, India traded primarily with China to the east and with west Africa to the west and did not develop a significant maritime trade presence until around 600 BCE.

Obstacles to Trade Before the Phoenicians

Trade was widespread and complex for around one thousand years before the Phoenicians became prominent. Yet there were many dangers and concerns that made trade difficult. Mastering these obstacles was part of what allowed the Phoenicians to become so powerful and for their trade routes to become stable enough to spread goods, services, and culture.

The first concern was the Mediterranean Sea itself. The rough waters of the Mediterranean were dangerous and unpredictable, putting trade ships and the goods they carried at risk. But the Phoenicians developed ships that could stand up to the choppy waters, featuring curved hulls, back-heavy designs, sails that could be shifted to catch changing winds, and protected spaces for delicate and valuable cargo. They also sailed close to the shore and during the day, which gave rise to the number of colonies and trade posts that eventually grew into cities in their own right.

The second obstacle the Phoenicians overcame was war. The city-states that made up the Phoenician civilization were located in a small area along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean, with major empires on all sides. Yet the Phoenicians leveraged their trade to build alliances and establish themselves as useful, making the idea of conquering them less appealing. Although they had some conflicts with the Greeks in the northern Mediterranean, the Phoenicians were largely able to work out arrangements with all their neighbors that allowed them to carry out their important trade without threat. This is due in part to the value of what they traded, be it dye and copper or wood and tin. These were goods that were not available through other means, making the Phoenicians crucial middlemen.

Sargon the Great

Sargon the Great was one of the early kings of Assyria. Under his rule the civilization began its journey toward becoming an empire. He conquered ancient Mesopotamia, becoming one of the first rulers to control an empire with centralized power. Little is known for sure about Sargon the Great. There is not much textual evidence about his reign, and a number of legends that he and his successors built around him make it difficult to separate out the truth from his boasts. We do know that he claimed power in a possible coup, established or rebuilt the city of Akkad, and from there raised a military that he used to create his empire. He held power from 2334 BCE to 2279 BCE. During that time he used the stability of his empire to expand trade. Sargon is believed to have established the first agreements to set up karum, or trade posts, in Anatolia. The wealth provided by trade with Anatolia helped strengthen the Assyrian military and government, giving rise to complex banking systems and trade practices. Under Sargon the Great, measures were made uniform for use in trade and a postal system was established. According to legend, ships may have also made contact with India. The central strength of Assyria under Sargon the Great was what allowed for such expansion, and trade was what gave the empire stability.