## the Levant > Canaan > Phoenicia > Carthage Phoenicia was an ancient Semitic-speaking thalassocratic (maritime) civilization that originated in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon. They developed an expansive maritime trade network (see also: [[Phoenician trade]]that lasted over a millennium, becoming the dominant commercial power for much of [[classical antiquity]]. Phoenician civilization was organized in city-states, similar to those of ancient Greece, of which the most notable were Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos. Each city-state was politically independent, and there is no evidence the Phoenicians viewed themselves as a single nationality. Carthage, a Phoenician settlement in northwest Africa, became a major civilization in its own right in the seventh century BC. They were a part of the Caananite religion and spoke the Punic language. [[Dido]] (probably) left the Phoenician city-state of Tyre in order to found the colony of Carthage in Northern Africa. ## Additional References - <a href="https://www.livius.org/articles/place/carthage/">Livius Article</a>