The Phoenician EmpireThe Mediterranean Sea has given rise to many civilizations throughout history. The Phoenicians, who originated around 1200 BC, are an example of this. Despite the rather small size of this civilization, its impact on our world has been considerable. As a maritime nation, the Phoenicians founded colonies throughout the Mediterranean area, including the present-day cities of Carthage and Tripoli. As important traders, they shared cultures with many nations, which allowed their invention of the alphabet to spread throughout Eurasia. The Phoenician Empire continued to evolve until its incorporation into the Persian and Macedonian empires around 400 BC. Phoenicia is an ancient region located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Empire reached its peak around 1000 BC and developed until around 700 BC. Phoenicia, now known as Lebanon, Syria and Israel, was naturally isolated from other civilizations by the mountains of Lebanon to the east and the great sea to the west. The small region stretched about 320 kilometers long and about 25 kilometers wide. This geographic isolation gave the Phoenicians enough protection to evolve into a strong nation, while also giving them the freedom to trade and explore across the Mediterranean. Although little is known about the ancient civilization, it is known that the government was, at least in part, a monarchy. Kingship was considered a matter of divine descent, so kings could not be chosen from outside the royal family. Merchant families also held a lot of power in Phoenicia, thanks to their great influence in public affairs. Although the name Phoenicia implies that the civilization was a unified state, the nation consisted of separate city-kingdoms. Each Phoenician city was considered independent of each other and was ruled by its own king. The Phoenicians were known as the most illustrious maritime traders and merchants of the ancient world. In fact, they called themselves Kena'ani (or Canaanites), which in Hebrew means "Merchant". They established trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean Sea, including Carthage, Simira, Sarepta, Byblos, and Tire (Sur). Maritime trade also reached as far as the Atlantic Ocean as far as England. Some of the goods traded included glass, dyes, metals, horses, ebony and ivory, linen, coral, honey, spices, oil, and precious stones. Maritime trade would not have been possible for the Phoenicians without developed nautical technology. The Phoenicians were known for having extremely advanced ships and navigation. The ships were built with a keel hull, which allowed them to travel on the open sea.