Phoenician Colonial Network

Timeline

1. c. -1000–-800Phoenician coast · PhoeniciaCity-states such as Tyre and Sidon, relying on advanced shipbuilding and seafaring techniques, established trading stations in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean, exporting purple dye, glass, timber, and metal goods, forming an early commercial network.
2. c. -800–-600Carthage · TunisiaThe Phoenicians established colonial cities and trading ports in North Africa (Carthage), Spain (Cádiz), Sardinia, Sicily, and Malta, forming a chain of outposts covering the western Mediterranean, with the alphabet spreading along trade routes.
3. c. -600–-500Sicily · SicilyCompetition intensified between Greek colonies (such as Magna Graecia in Sicily and southern Italy) and Phoenician outposts; eastern Mediterranean mother cities were struck by Assyria and Neo-Babylonian pressures, western Mediterranean dominance gradually passed to Carthage, and the original colonial network entered a period of reorganization.