Table of Contents

Preface Introduction PART ONE: PHOENICIA BEFORE 1200 1. The Prehistory of Phoenicia (around 70,0000-3200) 2. Byblos and Egypt (3200-1500 BCE) 3. The Other Proto-Phoenician Cities (3200-1500) 4. The Small Vassal States of the Near East (1500-1200) PART TWO: THE PERIOD OF PHOENICIA'S INDEPENDENCE (1200-883) 1. The Emergence of Phoenicia (around 1200) 2. Egypt's Loss of Influence in Phoenicia (1200-1000) 3. Early Assyrian Exploration towards the West (1100-1000) 4. Dynastic Crises in Byblos (1000-900) 5. The Development and Expansion of the Phoenician Cities (1000-883) PART THREE: PHOENICIA UNDER ASSYRIAN DOMINATION (883-610) 1. The Beginnings of Assyrian Expansion (883-745) 2. The Conquest of the West by the Assyrians (745-721) 3. Domination of Phoenicia by the Sargonids (721-610) PART FOUR: PHOENICIA UNDER BABYLONIAN DOMINATION (610-539) 1. Phoenicia between Egypt and Babylonia (610-605) 2. The Peak of the Babylonian Empire (605-562) 3. The Decline of the Babylonian Empire (562-539) PART FIVE: PHOENICIA UNDER PERSIAN DOMINATION (539-332) 1. The Establishment of the Persian Empire (539-479) 2. The Evolution of the Persian Empire (479-404) 3. The Persian Empire in Turmoil (404-333) 4. The Fall of the Persian Empire (333-330) Conclusion Bibliography Maps Chronological tables Index

About the Author

Josette Elayi is a historian and researcher with degrees in Hebrew, Aramaic and Akkadian, and is an unrivaled expert on Phoenicia. She has taught at the Lebanese University in Beirut and Mustansiriye University in Baghdad and currently continues her research as an honorary researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research. She is the author of nearly forty books, including Sargon II, King of Assyria (2017), The History of Phoenicia (2018) and Sennacherib, King of Assyria (2018). She has developed a new pluridisciplinary historical method combining epigraphy, numismatics, archaeology, economics and sociology.