This text reviews the history and culture of a people who played an increasingly important role in the Near East and Mediterranean world between the Late Bronze Age (1600-200 BC) and the Persian period (500-330 BC). Credited with the invention of the first western alphabet, the Phoenicians yet remain somewhat shadowy in many people's minds. In this wide-ranging book, Glenn Markoe sets out what is known of their complex history, culture, trading and political relationships, art, religion and language, drawing on recent and excavations whch are gradually revealing more about this people of the past.