What journeys did the Phoenicians make? What journeys did the Phoenician sailors make? Travels of famous navigators

Phenicia is a very interesting state, which was one of the first to prove the importance international trade. Occupying only a narrow strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Lebanese Mountains, without rich land resources, arable fields and pastures, the Phoenicians managed to become one of the most influential states in the region through trade. Unable to properly engage in agriculture and cattle breeding, the Phoenicians grew grapes and olives on the slopes of the Lebanese mountains. Wine was made from grapes, and fragrant oil was made from olives. The Lebanese mountains were also rich in timber, which served as material for the creation of a powerful merchant and military fleet.
The Phoenicians began to trade with neighboring countries wine, oil, building timber, glassware and purple-dyed fabrics. Developing sea trade routes, the Phoenicians sailed further and further along the northern and south coast Mediterranean Sea. On their way to the coast, they founded small settlements that served as trading posts and staging posts for Phoenician ships. So the Phoenicians founded colonies on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea - Cyprus, Sicily, Sardinia and Balearic Islands. Phoenicians colonized north shore Africa and the southern coast of modern Spain. In those days, ships usually sailed not on the open sea, but along the coastline. The location of the colonies allowed the Phoenicians to control all maritime trade.
Enriching themselves at the expense of their colonies, Phoenician sailors gradually began to go far beyond the Mediterranean Sea. They came up with the design of a ship with a keel, which made it more stable, maneuverable and fast in sea conditions. The speed and capacity of their ships gave them an advantage when attacking small settlements and stealing prisoners into slavery. Often, the Phoenicians did not even have to attack anyone, since they cunningly lured small children onto their ships, promising to give them beautiful gifts, and then immediately set sail. For one child you could get a bull or a silver jug. The slave trade brought huge profits. In search of new goods and slaves, the Phoenicians sailed further and further from their home.
The Phoenicians were the first of the Mediterranean peoples to reach the shores of what is now England and here they obtained tin, which was very valuable at that time. Through exchange, they also received on the Atlantic coast the amber that was so highly valued at that time, delivered here by land from the Baltic states. The Phoenicians reached west coast Africa and even made a probably successful attempt to circumnavigate the African continent. The most ambitious undertaking should be considered the maritime expedition of the Phoenicians, which they carried out on behalf of the Egyptian king Necho at the end of the 7th century. BC. Within three years they circumnavigated Africa and returned through the Strait of Gibraltar, accomplishing this remarkable feat more than two thousand years before Vasco da Gama.
During this period of heyday of Phoenician navigation, the sea route became a means of communication between Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as countries that were outside Gibraltar. Control of international maritime trade made Phenicia perhaps the very first maritime trading power.

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Sea travel Phoenicians

Enriching themselves at the expense of their colonies, Phoenician and Carthaginian sailors gradually began to go far beyond the Mediterranean Sea. During this period of heyday of Phoenician and Carthaginian navigation, the sea route became a means of communication between the three continents of the Mediterranean and more distant countries that were outside Gibraltar.

The Phoenicians were the first of the Mediterranean peoples to reach the shores of what is now England and here they obtained tin, which was very valuable at that time. Through exchange, they also received on the Atlantic coast the amber that was so highly valued at that time, delivered here by dry route from the Baltic States.

Carthaginian sailors, entering the ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar, which they called “the pillars of Melqart” (the supreme god of Tyre), also repeatedly sailed along the western coast of Africa.

The description of one of these sea expeditions of the brave Carthaginian sailors is also known to us in the Greek translation. This is a journey called Hanno's journey, dating from around the 6th or 5th century. BC e. Although the expedition of the Carthaginian sailor is described as an entertaining adventure novel, nevertheless, all his information, according to the judgment of authoritative historians, corresponds to reality. We can trace the expedition's route step by step on a map, comparing data about this journey with what we know about the geography of the west coast of Africa.

Using the help of the Egyptians, and sometimes Israel and Judea, the Phoenician cities sent sea expeditions not only to the northwest and southwest, but also to the then less accessible south.

In this case, the Phoenician ships probably even reached the Indian Ocean through the Red Sea.

One such sea voyage is well written about in the Bible, which tells of an expedition to the gold-rich country of Ophir, organized by Hiram, king of Tire, and Solomon, king of Israel.

But the most ambitious undertaking must be considered the maritime expedition of the Phoenicians, which they carried out on behalf of the Egyptian king Necho at the end of the 7th century. BC e. Within three years they circumnavigated Africa and returned through the "pillars of Melqart", accomplishing this remarkable feat more than two thousand years before Vasco da Gama.

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The location of Phenicia was not suitable for agriculture, but contributed to the development of other areas. One of these, which brought the Phoenicians world fame, is shipbuilding. Without it, navigation would not be possible.

The main material for the construction of ships was Lebanese cedar, which grew in Phenicia. The wood was of excellent quality, which made the ships very durable and resistant to strong storms. In addition, the Phoenicians were the first of the ancient peoples to apply new principles in shipbuilding:

the body was made up of thick boards, the edges of which were fastened with large oak tenons;
the transverse ribs of the hull began to be covered with sheathing;
great attention was paid to the quality of the keel (the ships were not flat-bottomed);
the cargo compartments were fenced off.

From the 12th century BC. e. The Phoenicians created capacious trading ships with good carrying capacity. Fencing bars were attached to the sides to protect the cargo, and two large oars for maneuvers were attached to the stern. A straight sail (usually purple in color) was attached to a mast equipped with yards. The oarsmen were often slaves.

The Phoenicians built strong ship shelters along their coasts to protect ships during storms.

Rice. 1. Phoenician trading ship.

The Phoenicians are considered the creators of the trireme. This is a military (combat) ship with three rows of oars, common in the Mediterranean since the 8th century BC. e. The oars were placed in a checkerboard pattern, with rows on top of each other. The ships could reach 40 meters in length and were equipped with an iron ram (less often a wooden one).

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The Phoenician fleet was actively used by the Egyptian rulers in their conquests, since triremes were very maneuverable.

Rice. 2. Phoenician trireme.

Achievements of seafarers

Initially, the Phoenicians used ships for fishing. Later main goal navigation was the development of trade: it was necessary to sell your goods and acquire others as cheaply as possible for your own use and for sale. Phoenician products made of metal, ebony, ivory and valuable fabrics, especially purple (such paint in Phenicia was made from shellfish), were very popular.

The state had Free access to the Mediterranean Sea, and high-quality ships made it possible to develop Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, Phoenician sailors had the opportunity to explore different directions. They sailed the entire Mediterranean Sea, on the islands of which they founded their colonies (Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, Cyprus, Crete); reached the Atlantic coast of England, Spain and the Canary Islands.

Hanno is considered the most famous navigator. He led an expedition on a trireme to the shores of Africa. At the request of the Egyptian ruler Necho ΙΙ in the 6th century BC. e. The Phoenicians went out into the Red Sea, then reached the Strait of Gibraltar and returned to Egypt, thus walking along the entire coast of Africa. This journey lasted about three years.

Phenicia - narrow strip east coast Mediterranean Sea, bounded in the east by the Lebanese Ridge.

ABOUT Phoenicians first told by Homer. From the end of the 2nd beginning of the 1st millennium BC, the Phoenicians were engaged in maritime trade, at the same time they founded settlements throughout the Mediterranean (the most significant of them is Carthage). Like all sailors of antiquity, they never voluntarily moved away from the shore beyond its visibility, never sailed in winter or at night.

When Phoenician society became a slave-owning society, it increasingly began to need an influx of new slaves, and this further increased the desire to sail to overseas countries.

So, no later than 15 centuries BC The Phoenicians began to visit Crete. Moving westward from there, they began the discovery of the Central Basin of the Mediterranean Sea. From the islands Aegean Sea the Phoenicians moved to southern shores Balkan Peninsula, crossed the Strait of Otranto and went around Apulia and Calambria. Simultaneously with the Cretans or a little later, the island of Sicily was discovered, and then they discovered and colonized Malta in the 8th century BC. Having crossed the Strait of Tunis, they moved west and traced almost 2000 km coastline North-West Africa, opening mountainous country Atlas to the Strait of Gibraltar. Coming to the strait, the Phoenicians for the first time received a correct idea of the length of the Great Sunset Sea (3,700 km).

Simultaneously with their penetration to the west, the Phoenicians began to explore the African coast and east direction. They discovered the gulfs of Hammamet, Little Sirte with the islands of Kerkennah and Djerba and Greater Sirte.

According to ancient Greek authors, the Phoenicians were the first to enter the Atlantic Ocean. They discovered the entire western coast of the Iberian Peninsula, entering the mouths of such rivers as the Guadiana, Tagus, Douro, and Minho. There is a possibility that the Phoenicians also became familiar with the shores of the Bay of Biscay all the way to the Brittany Peninsula.

The Phoenicians built ships for expeditions organized by their neighbors, who owned the shores of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, and entered their service.

IN 600 BC egyptian pharaoh Necho ordered a group of Phoenician merchants to go to sailing around Africa. The historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt, spoke about this voyage, 150 years later, with such details that he himself considered incredible. But it is precisely these details that confirm the authenticity of the event. Thus, Herodotus, who had no modern idea of globe and the solar system, the part of the story that said that when the Phoenicians skirted Africa from the south, moving from east to west, they had the sun on the right side, that is, in the north, seemed implausible. It is clear to us that it is precisely this circumstance that confirms that the Phoenicians actually crossed the equator, sailed through the waters of the Southern Hemisphere and rounded Africa from the south. They circumnavigated Africa within three years, which is quite plausible given the capabilities of the shipping technology of that time, as well as the fact that they stopped for 2-3 months every year to sow and harvest grain.

Around 850 BC, Carthage was founded by the Phoenicians - the greatest shopping mall that time. In 500 BC, Carthage, having arisen as a Phoenician colony, itself began to look for colonies. For this purpose, the Carthaginians organized a large naval expedition under the leadership of the Carthaginian admiral Hanno. He led a flotilla consisting of 60 ships carrying 30 thousand colonists.

Along his route, Hanno founded cities and left some people and ships in each of them.

This journey of the Carthaginians was reflected in the “Periplus” (description of the voyage) of the naval commander Hanno, from which we learned that, having passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, they followed for two days along Atlantic coast Africa, founding cities along the way. We rounded Cape Green and soon entered the mouth of the Gambia River. A few days later, the travelers reached the bay, which they called the Western Horn (probably Bissagos Bay), then the Southern Horn (now Sherborough Bay in Sierra Leone) and finally landed on the coast of what is now Liberia.

Thus, Hanno reached Equatorial Africa. As far as is known, he was the first inhabitant of the Mediterranean to visit West Africa and described it.

The results of his remarkable voyage were used only to a minimal extent: Carthaginian traders followed his route to Kerna and organized the “Golden Road” (gold trade) with the hinterland of West Africa.

The Carthaginians are also credited with the discovery of the Azores, but there is no indication in literary monuments that they visited these islands. But in 1749, the Swede Johan Podolin reported the discovery of a treasure of ancient coins on the island of Kovru, including Carthaginian ones.

At the same time as Hanno, another navigator of Carthage - Gimilkon- made a long voyage along the western shores of Europe and, apparently, reached the southwestern tip of England (Isles of Scilly).

Thus, Phoenicians And Carthaginians were the first peoples of antiquity to sail on the open sea and ocean without a compass. There is no doubt that their voyages should have enriched the Phoenicians with much information regarding the physical properties of the ocean, but nothing from their area of knowledge has reached us. Apparently they were of the opinion that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans form one continuous water surface.

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