Storiascopio · Era 4 of 12 · primary year 4
The Phoenician alphabet
about 1050 BC · Byblos (now Lebanon)
In short
The Phoenicians used an alphabet of 22 letters, all consonants, written from right to left. One of the oldest inscriptions is carved on the coffin of Ahiram, King of Byblos. Being good merchants, they carried this way of writing to every port they visited. From it came the Greek alphabet, then the Latin one and finally the one we use.
Why it matters The letters you are reading this sentence with have a Phoenician ancestor.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Phoenician alphabet”
Where we are in the era “Sea civilisations”
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about 2000 BCEvent 12 of 25about 500 BC
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/the-phoenician-alphabet/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class