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The Phoenician race is a great race, with a long and rich history of power, domination and prosperity during ancient times. They were originally Semitic people or Canaanites, who were called Phoenicians by the Greeks, mainly due to the phoinikies or the purple dye that the Phoenicians sold to make a living. The Phoenicians were the original and earliest inhabitants of Lebanon, and made their home in Lebanon for many centuries.
The Phoenicians were the earliest examples of a world wide empire, a world encompassing economy and rule. They had a great culture, and their dominance was spearheaded by their power at sea, in sea trade and naval warfare.
The Phoenician race in Lebanon flourished mainly through trade relations with the dominant Egyptian race. The trade relations with the inhabitants of the Nile valley was a main factor in the prosperity of the Phoenician race in Lebanon. Products which were easily available or producible in Lebanon such as wine, cedar oil, and cloves and spices were exported to Egypt, and the Phoenicians imported gold and other materials which were easily available in the Nile valley from the Egyptians.
Later, Lebanon was incorporated into the Egyptian empire, and the Phoenicians lost their independence. With time, though, the Egyptian empire weakened, and the Phoenicians regained their rule. Then, for a long period of time encompassing about three centuries, the Phoenicians in Lebanon had a time of freedom and independence, coupled with great prosperity, until their kingdom was overtaken by the Assyrian race.
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