History of Lebanon Part One: The Phoenicians

I'm a huge fan of my new white sweater but I noticed after filming this I had little titties sticking out but never fear dear viewer I have since dieted and my titties are already halved.

Also, please enjoy the first in our eight(ish) part series on Lebanon. I know we already released two videos but this is the first that will align to become a feature length one at the end. Hence, the first.

This video was made possible thanks to our incredible Patreon subscribers: &pointer, adam lenk, Akasha Yi, Alex Gewanter, Alex Papageorgiou, Alex The Magical Cat, Alexander Reilly, Alexandru Pîntea, Alf Einar Solberg, Alice Bardos, Alice LWatson, Alopax, Ammobunny, Andres Rama, Andrew, Andrew, Andrew Beals, Andrew L, Anina Shaorandra, Antoine Cribellier, Austin Cousineau, bajr, Barrett, BattleGoat Studios, BeanoTheElder, Ben Hewitson, Ben Yarrow, Benkei Paczek, Blaise, Bob Dai, Bradley Brown, Brenna and Peter, Brian Miller, Brian ONeel, Brian Perkins, Bryan Schmidt, Bullseye89, Catherine Berry, Chieftom, Chris, Christoph Hotep, Christopher Perrin-Porzondek, Christopher Simpkins, Cody Schneider, Cole Skelton, Colin Miskowitz, Colton Creasey, Connie, Cullen McFater, Curtis Shimamoto, Cynical Rhys, Daniel Sierra Matus, Daniel Tyler, Dario Gosu, David Badilotti, David James McConnell, David Shrimpton, David V, Dinotrakker, Douglas Danger Manley, Dykam, Edward Sykes, Einar Holmedal, Elsilan, Emma, Eric Floehr, Eugene Pakhomov, f1r3w4rr10r, fadingnebula, feo, Friedrich Hunstock, Gabe Sockie, Giulian Fava, Goose, Gregory Kintz, Hanyang, herman, Immanuel Manohar, J Neko, JackWhoWanders, Jake Capoun, Jamey Brady, Jan Vilhuber, Jay, Jeff Mullins, Jenn Herron, Jeremy Impson, Jeremy Wheelis, Jessica Mayberry, jmoggr, John and Tanya Hug, John Goff, Jonathan Lonowski, Josh Hoppes, Juan Coronado, Julia, Julian Fiander, Justin Thomson, Kameron Stroud, Karol Pilat, Karthi Balasubramaniam, Kenny Coulter, Kyle Hammer, Kyle Hofer, Lady Sixa, larry82, Lars Flöer, Lars Sturm, Lee, Lepidus, Lexi, Lilith Berkana De' Anu, Lillian Mark, Lorentz, Louis Lenders, Lukáš Bandura, Luke Tomkus, Mad Sumac, Matt, Matthew Campuzano, matthew joseph klein, Matthew Springer, Melanie Sumner, Michael, Michael Amesse, Michael E Resseguie, Michael Reavey, Miguel Martínez Chapa, Mike Frysinger, Mondoria, Ms Tek, Muncorn, MysticCobra, Nancy Reid, Nathaniel Feldberg, Nick Grippo, NiordSir, NM, NoPantsMagicDance, Nuno Balbona Perez, Oliver Frommeier, Oliver 'Kannik' Bollmann, Pablo D Lopez, Paul Bartholomew, Peter Gravelle, Petr Doležal, Pjotr Bekkering, Remi Steele, Ricardo Machado, Robbie Mills, Robert Velten, Roger Hoffmore, Roger L. Basler de Roca, Ron Warris, Ronen Finegold, RustyJuiceTin, Ryan Breaker, S Heutink, Sam Collins, Sam Rossetti, Sam Wolski, Sean Dennis, Sean McCool, Sensen, Sethzard, Shaeeyaa, Shaventreebeard, Shawn Wang Williams, Shikyo, Simon Bohnen, Simon Hannus, smaz ruby, Space_Chickun, Stephen Bourne, Steve Williamson, Svein Ove Aas, Tedd, Teo Cherici, Theo Davis, TheRmbomo, Thomas, Tibor Galbács, Tim Barrett, Tobias B, Traxys, Ubikwitus, Varun Perumal, Vítězslav Houžva, Viktor Lundell, Vitali Perchonok, Wes Mills, Wheelietron3000, Whitefang, Will Mullins, Xenonfrenzy, Ylva Trimonyte, Zach Preston, ZitronenLord, and ZZ. We love you guys!

Thanks for watching! You're clearly one of the good ones.

[RareEarthSeries]

This series is thanks entirely to you:

[kikivoorburg]

It was a nice pay-off to realise "Lebanon is a Phoenix" wasn't just poetic language, but also refers to the Phoenicians. Amazing work as always!

[FireAngelZero]

These documentaries are gold, the final evolution of all those documentaries we watched in class…

[TheWhiteDragon]

Slight correction: the dye isn't made of the crushed shell, but out of a gland from the snail. You do, however, need to crack open the shell in order to get it.

[firewalkwithjuno]

This video was honestly more digestible/interesting than a lot of comparable channels I'm subbed too, glad I found out from Forehead Fables

[Arnisboy]

(Edit:) Evan, the work you and Kata do deserves all the praise it gets, and much more. Every time I finish one of your video essays, I feel a little bit wiser, and a little bit more connected to humanity.

[SimonGameing]

So excited for this season after your long-form video on the arrest.

[LiluBob]

I love the fact that you are waxing more and more with lyrical pros and some form of analogy in your writing. It is showing such an eloquence of not only the written, but the spoken word as well. Truly an lost art. I look forward to the next seven installments. ❤

[TXB]

We were a loose federation of city-states....fast forward to 2024, we still are "frenemies"... It has always been the case, others see us as phoenicians or Lebanese while we fail to forge a common identity of what makes us Lebanese...
Only a Lebanese will understand this lol
That said, i love your series, thank you so much Sir

[mikerouch]

I think the reason the Lebanese secret police took so long giving you back all your equipment was because they were watching all the documentary stuff on their country.

[killerrabitofcaerbannog]

"If heaven were a place on earth, we would know it as Lebanon." - My Grandfather

[theSpiritScribe]

As an author i HIGHLY appreciate the wonderful prose. Such well-written texts make my heart open up, and i have wanted to learn about the Phoenicians for so long! THANK YOU!

[TIWNGAF]

At 1:55 you made a mistake. Lebanon is derived from a semitic root L-B-N, meaning white, and not sumerian. The region got this name because of the white snowy mountain tops. In modern arabic the word for yogurt is derived from the same L-B-N root and called laban.

[matthewgillies]

A bit of a detour here, but as a historian I wanted to pass this along:
There is a fascinating book by Andrew Lambert called "Seapower States". It details the history of a multitude of historical societies that fit the definition of "Seapower". The Minoans are depicted as one, but the truth of that claim remains to be determined, as often a successor state will claim lineage or influence from another to rationalize their existence. Phoenicia, was seen by Athens as being a successor in that regard to the Minoans as a true sea power, which Athens itself aspired to become---until Sparta said no. The success or failure of a Seapower depends on the neighbours that exist around them, as their principle enemies are invariably the large land empires. The author distinguishes between "Seapower State" and a state having sea power (ie: a powerful navy). The latter is just a manifestation or projection of military might upon the sea, as an extension of the terrestrial and territorial aims of that state. Whereas with a Seapower State everything is about the sea--the sea is their lifeblood, it is the source of their wealth, it is the source of their power and influence, and the whole society is invested and dependent upon it. Sea power is extremely expensive to maintain, and as such these states must have large fleets but often no large armies.
The enemies of Seapower States are, as you state in this video, the aggressive and expansionist empires on the mainland. The city of Tyre by being originally an island, maintained some of its independence and maintained its cultural longer than other major cities conquered prior to Alexander's decimation of that city. The Persians needed the Phoenicians as master mariners to project their power abroad across the Mediterranean, and to aid their invasions of Greece. Alexander did not need them.
The downfall of Seapower states occurs in several ways: 1. Outside Conquest; 2. Collapse of their Markets or Resource Depletion; 3. Social Disruptions and Changes that undermine their identity and investment in sea power. The author distinguishes several political and national entities that fit the definition of a Seapower, and within the book details what caused their collapse, and largely focuses on Phoenicia, Athens, Carthage, Venice (and some discussion of Genoa and Pisa), Portugal, The Netherlands, and Great Britain. There is also discussion of the mighty trading empires and thalassocracies in what is today modern Indonesia and India, and Japan's halting attempts to become one (and how they undermined this effort by invading mainland Asia). Most of these Seapower States were brought down by external factors, being either invaded or carved up by their neighbours, while Venice lost its power slowly due to the shifting trade markets and were thus eclipsed long before Napoleon finished them off. Whereas the one that collapsed peacefully, Britain, did so because it had shifted into terrestrial domination and bankrupted itself with mainland conflicts, and the final blow occurred when social changes necessitated the cuts to the military to provide healthcare and social services to their society post-WWII.
As an aside, despite its massive navy and status as a global superpower, the USA is not considered a Seapower State.

[JeffAllison]

Once again, you pull emotions out of history. Please, never stop.

[unclejoeoakland]

They gave him a hassle thinking he was an israeli spy and hes giving them eight of these gems. The lebanese government SHOULD hand him a big sack of cash.

[jbos]

War is so evil, and it's almost always because we want what doesn't belong to us. I look forward to the rest of this series. Thank you. Oh and you look fine in your sweater.

[KnightToD]

Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems you said Carthage was destroyed 200 years after Pompey conquered the East. Carthage fell in 146 BC. Pompey was born in 106 BC.

[koalamanjoe]

Such a complex and beautiful, yet marred and violent history of this country. Even today the tailings of these once great empires can be found all over the place. I recall summers in Lebanon exploring the wadis and finding ancient pottery and coins all over the place. Unfortunately Lebanon today is not a country of uniform, progressive ideals and my heritage is what granted me the privilege to explore those places, a privilege that my people would never be willing to grant to foreign historians and archaeologists. And so the history slowly dwindles and withers, like a dying ember being trampled upon by ignorance. My people are not malicious at heart, but they live their days in a state of desperation, and when they can gatekeep ancient history to be able to sell those artifacts and keep food in their children’s bellies, the idealism of historical preservation is not even an afterthought to them.

[AbdoSouraya-vtpn]

As a diaspora Lebanese, looking forward to this! Thanks for mentioning the oft-overlooked (arguably stolen) foundational influence of our people on the West. Subbed and excited for more.