Expedition and Settlement

The Phoenicians in the Iberian Peninsula

As Phoenicians made the islands of the western Mediterranean as their stations while spreading in the West, their main settlement station was the Iberian Peninsula which includes Spain and Portugal. The Phoenicians started to settle in Iberia in the late XIIth century BC, as attested by historical texts and archaeological discoveries. Their aim was first to control the Pillars of Hercules – Melqart, i.e. the strait of Gibraltar, and second to exploit the mines of silver, gold and tin that this area is known for.

The Historian Diodorus of Sicily mentions that “the Phoenicians who practiced trade for long years made fortunes and established many colonies in Sicily and the surrounding islands, as well as in Libya (Africa), Sardinia and Spain”. The Greek historian Strabo, however, asserts that they occupied the largest part of Iberia before Homer, i.e. before the IXth century B.C., and that the majority of its cities, whose number us over two hundreds, according to the estimation, were inhabited by Phoenician people in his days, i.e. the Ist century A.D.. Strabo recounts, as mentioned by the inhabitants of Gadeira and Cadix islands, that they came from the city of Tyre through three migrations, with the aim of controlling the strait which separates the Mediterranean from the Atlantic.

Phoenician Trader and Merchants

Before the foundation of Cadix, the Phoenicians established Lixus colony on the coast of Morocco facing Cadix, and that was further evidence of their planning to control the maritime routes inside and outside the Mediterranean. It should be noted that the Greeks did not implement their colonial expansionist strategy till the VIIIth century B.C.

The Latin historian Paterculus mentions that after 80 years of the fall of Troy, i.e. around 1100 B.C., the fleets of Tyre, which dominated the seas at that time, established the city of Cadix at the southwestern part of Spain, on an island surrounded by the ocean, and separated from the land by a small strait. The city of Cadix is considered the oldest and the most important Phoenician colonies in Iberia. It was called by the Phoenicians “Gadeira”, i.e. “the fortress” or “fortification”, and they built therein a prestigious temple for Melqart whom the Greeks call Hercules, on the western part of the island facing the Ocean. The temples that the Phoenicians built were considered as important sites that guided the sea traders and symbolized divine protection and a kind of safety can be considered as a main center for supervising and controlling the area of Tarsis, rick with the silver mines.

Throughout their journeys to Spain, the Tyrians introduced to the Ancient World and the East Tarsis, the country of silver as it was called by the Prophet Jeremiah. The ships of Tarsis mentioned in the Old Testament became a byword. The prophet Ezekiel mentions the Tyrian trade “Tarsis was trading for the abundance of all riches, therefore, it used to exchange commodities with silver, iron, tin and lead”.

Researchers estimate that Tarsis, which had totally disappeared, was situated on the land facing Cadix Island, at the southwest of Iberia. It is worth noting that Cadix Island was subsequently attached to Spanish land and turned into a peninsula. Based on historical references from the VIth century B.C., Tarsis was a well-known city in Iberia and its name derived from the name of “Guadalquivir” river, which has been called before “Tarsis”. This river flows from the “Mountain of Silver” and sweeps on its way huge amounts of silver, gold, and tin. Then the Tarsis River splits into two branches at its estuary, so that Tarsis city becomes like an island between the two branches. No doubt that the establishment of Cadix next to Tarsis was due to the commercial relations that the Phoenician Tyrians had with the population of Tarsis.

Phoenician Sarcophagus in Cadiz, Spain (Cadix)