We may add that civilization owes to the Phœnicians the invention of the alphabet; and, probably, that of the well-known weight of ancient Greece, the mna, or mina, which is found on certain lion-weights from Nineveh, bearing bilingual legends in Assyrian and Phœnician, their value being expressed in the latter tongue:[107] they also discovered the Cynosure (called after them, Phœnice), the last star in the Little Bear, which, as nearly identical with the Pole Star, gave superior fixity to their observations;[108] while they are said to have noticed at Gades the connection between the moon and the oceanic tides.[109]
Cause of prosperity.
It is not difficult to discern the principal causes of the success and prosperity of these Phœnician traders, which we may be sure did not rest, as some writers[110] have supposed, on an extensive system of piracy. This, and other evils of a similar character, may have existed among them, as elsewhere, for a certain period; but they would not have ruled the maritime commerce of the world, had not their power rested on foundations far more firm than those of robbery and plunder. No nation has ever become great merely by lawless acts. We believe their success was chiefly due to the practice of dealing with any one who was willing to deal with them, and to the encouragement they invariably gave to perfect freedom of intercourse. Nor must it be forgotten that they largely imported the raw materials of other countries, assorting their various products to suit the demand, and transporting them when thus assorted, together with their own manufactures, to all parts of the world.
Their practice, indeed, was as perfect as their policy was wise. The merchants of Tyre were the first to establish the system of factories or agencies, where they were able not only to dispose of their several cargoes to the best advantage, but to collect the produce of other lands so as to be ready for shipment on the arrival of their fleets. Every nation was, in fact, their merchant; just as every nation is, at the present moment, manufacturing or producing something for England.
Again, to the Tyrians belongs the credit of the establishment of the first regular colonies; some of which, as Carthage, probably far surpassed in wealth and power those of the mother city—nay, what is more, they succeeded in planting their colonies on terms so liberal as to retain through all time an affectionate remembrance from their children; for we know that, as Tyre refused the aid of her fleet to Cambyses when he wished to attack Carthage[111] so Carthage offered a refuge to the inhabitants of Tyre when besieged by Alexander.[112] Thus, without the aid of conquering armies, this remarkable people spread over the remotest parts of the then known world, establishing the arts of peace among nations previously buried in darkness and barbarism, and making the “solitary places of the earth to rejoice.” No commercial nation of either ancient or modern times presents a history, so far as we can trace it, more worthy of imitation than that of Phœnicia. Liberal, by comparison, in its policy, and enlightened in its intercourse with other peoples, it offered, in the plenitude of its power, an example to the ancient world of what industry and a sound policy could effect—a course worthy of imitation, even now. All nations “were merchants of Tyre;” that is, all nations found it to their advantage to be on good terms with such a people; and it would be well if some of the nations of our own times could be persuaded to act on Tyrian principles, and if, instead of checking free intercourse by the imposition of high protective duties, they would do as Tyre did 2600 years ago, invite all nations to be their merchants.[113]
Carthage.
Utica.
Of all her colonies, Carthage was the one of which Tyre had the best reason to be proud. Situated on a peninsula, in Lat. 36° 55´ N., 10° 20´ E., with a long narrow neck of land westward, forming a double harbour for ships of war and commerce, it is believed to have been founded between B.C. 878 and B.C. 826, the Roman writers, as a rule, assuming Carthage to have been only a collection of huts till Dido[114] came. On the other hand, Utica[115] is distinctly stated from Phœnician records to have been in existence two hundred and eighty years before Carthage. As, too, it was earlier in date, so did it long survive the greater city, being, according to Strabo, in his time, the metropolis of Northern Africa. Utica appears also as an independent power in the treaties between Carthage and the Romans.
The headland first occupied by the Tyrians, near the harbour now called the Goletta, is exactly the kind of place Thucydides[116] says the Phœnicians always selected; a promontory easy of defence and commanding an adjoining port. Modern travellers have recognized in the “Hill of St. Louis,”[117] the site of the ancient Byrsa (itself a genuine Phœnician word, meaning fortress).
Commercial policy.