LITERATURE.--Works on Oriental History mentioned on p. 42. Tiele, _Babylonisch-assyrische Geschichte_ (1888); Kaulen, _Assyrien und Babylonien_ (5th ed., 1899); Rogers, _History of Babylonia and Assyria_ (1901); Goodspeed, _History of the Babylonians and Assyrians_ (1902); King, Articles _Assyria_ and _Babylonia_ in the _Encyclopedia Biblica_; Sayce, _Babylonians and Assyrians: Life and Customs_ (1899); Schrader, _The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament_; Jastrow, _Religion of Babylonia and Assyria_ (1898); Perrot & Chipiez, _Histoire de l'art dans l'antiquité_, vol. ii., _Chaldèe et Assyrie_. CHAPTER III. THE PHOENICIANS AND CARTHAGINIANS. PHOENICIA.--A narrow strip of territory separates the mountains of Syria and Palestine from the Mediterranean. Of this belt the northern part, west of Lebanon, about one hundred and fifty miles long, varies in width from five to fourteen miles. In some places the cliffs approach close to the sea. This belt of land was occupied by the first of the great maritime and commercial peoples of antiquity, the Phoenicians. Their language was Semitic, closely akin to Hebrew. COMMERCE AND PROSPERITY OF THE PHOENICIANS.--The most important of the Phoenician cities were Sidon--which was the first of them to rise to distinction and power--and Tyre, which became more famous as a mart, and comprised, besides the town on the coast, New Tyre, the city built on the neighboring rocky island. In New Tyre was the sanctuary of the tutelary god, _Melkart_. The spirit of trade stimulated ingenuity. The Phoenicians were noted for their glass, their purple dyes, their improved alphabet, and knowledge of the art of writing. In mining and in casting metals, in the manufacture of cloth, in architecture, and in other arts, they were not less proficient. From their situation they naturally became a seafaring race. Not only did they transport their cargoes of merchandise to the islands and shores of the Mediterranean, conveying thither not merely the fruits of their own industry and skill, but also the productions of the East: they ventured to steer their vessels beyond the Strait of Gibraltar; and, if they did not procure amber directly from the North Sea, they brought tin either directly from Cornwall or from the Scilly Islands. Through the hands of Phoenician merchants "passed the gold and pearls of the East, the purple of Tyre, slaves, ivory, lions' and panthers' skins from the interior of Africa, frankincense from Arabia, the linen of Egypt, the pottery and fine wares of Greece, the copper of Cyprus, the silver of Spain, tin from England, and iron from Elba." These products were carried wherever a market could be found for them. At the instigation of Necho, king of Egypt (610-594 B.C.), they are said to have made a three years' voyage round the southern cape of Africa.