From 8th century BCE
North Africa and the western Mediterranean
Phoenician colonization established a network of coastal trading posts, provisioning stations, and later colonies across North Africa and the western Mediterranean. Tyre was the principal early colonizing city, while settlements such as Utica, Carthage, Lepcis, Hadrumetum, Hippo, Lixus, and Siga connected maritime trade with Iberia and other western regions. Carthage eventually became the dominant western Phoenician power.
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The Story
Phoenician activity in North Africa was initially organized around maritime commerce rather than large settler colonies. Trading posts and victualling stations were commonly placed on islands and peninsulas, where ships could reach them easily and land-based interference was more difficult. The network supported trade with southern Spain, especially the metal-producing region known to Greek writers as Tartessos.
Tyre was the principal colonizing city. Gades served as an early western foundation, while Utica was established on the North African coast to protect and supply the route between Phoenicia and Iberia. Other settlements attributed to Tyre included Lepcis, Hadrumetum, Carthage, Hippo, and Lixus; archaeological evidence also identifies Siga and a settlement on Mogador, although the latter was abandoned at the end of the sixth century BC.
The chronology remains uncertain. Ancient writers assigned very early dates to Gades and Utica, but excavation at Utica, Carthage, Lixus, and other western sites has not produced evidence securely earlier than the eighth or seventh centuries BC. The Phoenician presence nevertheless became extensive, linking North Africa with Sardinia, western Sicily, Malta, Iberia, and Atlantic routes.
From 8th century BCE
North Africa and the western Mediterranean
Phoenician colonization established a network of coastal trading posts, provisioning stations, and later colonies across North Africa and the western Mediterranean. Tyre was the principal early colonizing city, while settlements such as Utica, Carthage, Lepcis, Hadrumetum, Hippo, Lixus, and Siga connected maritime trade with Iberia and other western regions. Carthage eventually became the dominant western Phoenician power.
Continue exploring
The Story
Phoenician activity in North Africa was initially organized around maritime commerce rather than large settler colonies. Trading posts and victualling stations were commonly placed on islands and peninsulas, where ships could reach them easily and land-based interference was more difficult. The network supported trade with southern Spain, especially the metal-producing region known to Greek writers as Tartessos.
Tyre was the principal colonizing city. Gades served as an early western foundation, while Utica was established on the North African coast to protect and supply the route between Phoenicia and Iberia. Other settlements attributed to Tyre included Lepcis, Hadrumetum, Carthage, Hippo, and Lixus; archaeological evidence also identifies Siga and a settlement on Mogador, although the latter was abandoned at the end of the sixth century BC.
The chronology remains uncertain. Ancient writers assigned very early dates to Gades and Utica, but excavation at Utica, Carthage, Lixus, and other western sites has not produced evidence securely earlier than the eighth or seventh centuries BC. The Phoenician presence nevertheless became extensive, linking North Africa with Sardinia, western Sicily, Malta, Iberia, and Atlantic routes.
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