Description: This medal is a part of my French medals offer Visit my page with the offers, please. You will find many interesting items related to this subject. If you are interested in other medals, related to this subject, click here, please. France, related to Religion; Saints Numismatic Medals This contemporary French medaille has been minted to commemorate the tetradrachm of the Phoenicians in Sicily, minted in Entella (c.320-300 BC). This SILVER medal has been designed minted in 100 pieces and 400 in bronze. This one has the number EE/500 on the rim. For the sake of simplicity historians and archaeologists tended to call the merchants that came from the Lebanon in the first millenium BC all Phoenicians and their home country Phoenicia. However the merchants did not come only from the Lebanon and Phoenicia could hardly be called a state or country. Along the coast of what is now part of Israel, Lebanon and Syria there were a number of towns and cities; Arwad, Byblos, Beirut, Sidon, Sarepta and Tyre (Sor), each more or less independent citystates until Tyre outgrew them in importance in the tenth century BC and became the most important citystate of them all. The merchants came from all these towns and cities that can be considered part of a wider Syrian-Palestinese area. The demand for silver by the Assyrians, at that time in power in Mesopotamia, was one of the reasons for the expansion westward. Tyre started sending expeditions to the south of Spain to retrieve this precious metal. The trading routes were by then already known to the Phoenicians and the Cypriots before them. The theory on the Phoenician trade expansion is that on the one hand the silver trade was important, but on the other hand it was the trade in luxury goods that made it possible for the Phoenicians to penetrate and get a foothold in local trading circuits in the western Mediterranean. The first permanent settlements in the west were ports of trade or ports of call, like Pithekoussai (Ischia), where next to the Phoenicians also the Greeks, in particular the Euboians, traded their goods. Such a port of trade could well have been Motya (Mozia), an island in front of the Sicilian coast. The Phoenicians did not aspire territorial possessions and therefore did not found colonies like the Greeks would do in Sicily and Southern-Italy. Tanit was a Punic and Phoenician goddess, the chief deity of Carthage alongside her consort Ba`al Hammon. She was also adopted by the Berber people. Tanit is also called Tinnit and Tannou. The name appears to have originated in Carthage, though it does not appear in local theophorous names. She was equivalent to the moon-goddess Astarte, and later worshipped in Roman Carthage in her Romanized form as Dea Caelestis, Juno Caelestis or simply Caelestis. In today's Tunisia it is customary to invoke "Oumek Tannou" (Mother Tannou) the years of drought to bring rain; just as we speak of "Baali" farming, for non-irrigated farming, to say that it only depends on god Ba`al Hammon. diameter – 60 mm, (ca 2½”) weight – 171.00 gr, (6.05 oz) metal – SILVER, authentic patina In Roman times that antagonism was not much different with the three Punic wars waged against the North-African city. Still it is just as impressive how much traces the Phoenicians and after them the Punics have left in Sicily 1. Their presence was however limited to western Sicily, to what now are the provinces of Trapani and Palermo. But where did these Phoenicians come from and where did they decide to establish themselves in Sicily? Phoenician settlements in Sicily Phoenician presence has been more disturbed and covered by later building than for example in Sardinia and therefore more difficult to excavate. The settlement believed to have been the most important is that of Motyathat thanked it's prominence to the excellent relations with the Elymians and the vicinity of Carthage on the other side of the sea. Thucydides names other settlements like Panormus (Palermo) and Soloeis (Solunto) in the north of Sicily and traces of Phoenician presence have also been found on the island Pantelleria off the Sicilian coast. Whether, like Thucydides states, the Phoenicians had settled in other parts of Sicily before the arrival of the Greek colonizers has not yet been confirmed by archaeological research. The most important sanctuary in West-Sicily, dedicated to Astarte which is a Phoenician deity, was located on the mountain of Eryx in the territory of the Elymians. It is known that the Phoenicians frequented the sanctuary and the goddess eventually would become known by her Phoenician-Punic name, which the Greeks called Aphrodite and the Romans the Venus of Eryx. The oldest finds in a settlement of Phoenician origin is usually considered the founding date of the colony by archaeologists. In particular this is valid for the finds in the oldest necropolis of Motya, on the island of San Pantaleo, which could be dated to the 8th century BC. During the 7th and 6th century BC the settlement grew into a flourishing town. The oldest finds in the tophet, the open air sanctuary ascribed to the Phoenicians, and those in the sanctuary of the Cappiddazzu can be dated to the 7th century BC. Tophet and the temple are considered important features of urbanization. At Palermo archaeological excavation has not yet uncovered any finds dating earlier than the 7th century and of Soloeis (thought to be located near roman Solunto) still no evidence has been found that could point to an early Phoenician settlement.
Price: 474.9 USD
Location: European Union
End Time: 2024-09-21T07:13:01.000Z
Shipping Cost: 12 USD
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Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Composition: Silver
Type: Medal
