diplomacy in antiquity

the Phoenicians succeeded during its apogee between 2750-2300 B.C, and following a major crisis
during invasions from the Mesopotamian plain, notably Aleppo and Mari, again in 1800BC-600BC,
in a socio-economic expansion in the Mediterranean. In 850 B.C., Tyre resoundingly whipped the
Assyrian navy, establishing itself along with Byblos as the military and commercial strongholds of
the Canaanites. The Mediterranean unified the Phoenicians jointly; common political institutions
among the port cities hardly existed. Eugenia Aubet (1996) then attributes the Phoenician expansion
to a mixture of territorial reduction, overpopulation, agricultural shortfall and demands for its
manufactured goods, international trading circuits, relations with Assyria, and the infrastructure of
long-distance trade. The relationship between the mother cities and the commercial diasporas varied
according to the customs of the home city-state – all colonies had to contend with the presence of
the native population. The scattered nature of the enterprise often meant those farthest afield closer
resembled the center than those in proximity. The Phoenician’s place in history as a great trading
nation conditioned by the relationship with the Assyrian hinterland ultimately failed to escape the
role of power politics. It fell victim to its success, even though the Canaanite venture lived on in the
cloak of the Carthaginians. Carthago caused a shift in the ball balance of power in the
Mediterranean as of 550 B.C., long after the demise of Assyria-Babylonia – the central demand
centers of Phoenician goods - and stands out as the more enduring satellite state, initially dueling
with Greek merchants before it came close to finish off Rome before the latter’s emergence as the
superpower of the Mediterranean was even contemplated. The Phoenicians were virtually absorbed
and entered a permanent decline as a people when invaded by the Muslim armies only in the sixth
century.
Ancient Greece started by invading Troy of Minor Asia. This set the scene for the Greek’s epic
battle to attain independence and maintain the integrity of their civilization. They were departing
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