Phoenician Expansion into the Western Mediterranean

Timeline

1. c. -800–-750Lebanese coast · LevantAssyrian pressure and competition in eastern Mediterranean trade drove Phoenician merchants to open westward routes and establish the first trading bases along the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily.
2. c. -750–-650Western Mediterranean coast · Western MediterraneanThe Phoenicians established colonies such as Carthage in North Africa and mined silver deep in southern Spain, forming a network of trade routes and colonies spanning the eastern and western Mediterranean.
3. c. -650–-600Carthage · TunisiaThe Phoenician alphabet, shipbuilding, and dyeing techniques spread with colonization throughout the western Mediterranean, and Carthage gradually replaced its mother city as the dominant regional power.