afoi.

CHAPTER VII

THE PHOENICIANS

THE PHOENICIAN PEOPLE

=The Land.=--Phoenicia is the narrow strip of country one hundred and
fifty miles long by twenty-four to thirty wide, shut in between the
sea of Syria and the high range of Lebanon. It is a succession of
narrow valleys and ravines confined by abrupt hills which descend
towards the sea; little torrents formed by the snows or rain-storms
course through these in the early spring; in summer no water remains
except in wells and cisterns. The mountains in this quarter were
always covered with trees; at the summit were the renowned cedars of
Lebanon, on the ridges, pines and cypresses; while lower yet palms
grew even to the sea-shore. In the valleys flourished the olive, the
vine, the fig, and the pomegranate.

=The Cities.=--At intervals along the rocky coast promontories or
islands formed natural harbors. On these the Phoenicians had founded
their cities; Tyre and Arad were each built on a small island. The
people housed themselves in dwellings six to eight stories in height.
Fresh water was ferried over in ships. The other cities, Gebel,
Beirut, and Sidon arose on the mainland. The soil was inadequate to
support these swarms of men, and so the Phoenicians were before all
else seamen and traders.

=Phoenician Ruins.=--Not a book of the Phoenicians has come down to us,
not even their sacred book. The sites of their cities have been
excavated. But, in the words of the scholar sent to do this work,
"Ruins are not preserved, especially in countries where people are not
occupied with them," and the Syrians are not much occupied with ruins.
They have violated the tombs to remove the jewels of the dead, have
demolished edifices to secure stone for building purposes, and
Mussulman hatred of chiseled figures has shattered the sculptures.[37]
Very little is found beyond broken marble, cisterns, wine-presses cut
in the rock and some sarcophagi hewn in rock. All this debris gives us
little information and we know very little more of the Phoenicians than
Greek writers and Jewish prophets have taught us.

=Political Organization of the Phoenicians.=--The Phoenicians never
built an empire. Each city had its little independent territory, its
assemblies, its king, and its government. For general state business
each city sent delegates to Tyre, which from the thirteenth century
B.C. was the principal city of Phoenicia. The Phoenicians were not a
military people, and