Phoenician Monarchs and Monarchies1) Zakarbaal and the Cedar Trade

The Journey of Wen-Amon, 43: "And the prince [Zakarbaal] rejoiced and he detailed 300 men and 300 beasts and appointed supervisors over them that they should fell the trees. Therefore they cut them down and they were there in the second season."

2) Evidence for Hereditary Kingship

Phoenician Royal Inscription, Torrey 1902: The king Bad- 'As tart, king of the Sidonians, grandson of the king Esmun 'azar, king of the Sidonians; reigning in Sidon-on-the-Sea, High Heavens, [and} the Resep District, belonging to Sidon; who built this house like the eyrie of an eagle; (he) built it for his god, Esmun, the Holy Lord.

KAI = 14: In the month of Bul, in the fourteenth year of the royalty of King Eshmunazar, King of the two Sidons, son of King Tabnit, King of the two Sidons, King Eshmunazar, King of the two Sidons, said as follows….

KAI 13: I Tabnit, priest of Astarte, king of the Sidonians, son of Eshmunazar, priest of Astarte, king of the Sidonians, lie in this coffin.

KAI 15 = King Bod-Ashtart king of Sidon, grandson of King Eshmunazar king of Sidon; ruling over Sidon-on-the Sea, High Heavens, and Reshuf Land, (districts) of Sidon; who was a builder, and who walled Sidon; this temple he built to his god Eshmun Holy Lord.

3) Evidence for the Importance of the Queen Mother

ANET 662: "In this sarcophagus I, Batno 'am mother of Ozbaal, king of Byblos, son of Pillet-Baal, priest of Baalat, do lie; garbed in a gown and headdress with a gold plate covering my mouth, in the same apparel as all royal persons before me." -

4) Evidence for the Importance of Hereditary Kingship to the Phoenicians

Diodorus Siculus. 17.47.1-4: "The former king [of Tyre], Straton, was deprived of his throne because of his friendship for Dareius, and Alexander invited Hephaestion to nominate as king ofTyre any personal guestfriend whom he wished. At first he favoured the host with whom he found pleasant lodging, and proposed that he should be designated master of the city. He was prominent among the citizens in wealth and position, but not being related to those who had been kings he would not accept the offer. Hephaestion then asked him to make a choice from among the members of the royal family, and he said that he knew a man of royal descent who was wise and good in all respects, but he was poor in the extreme. Hephaestion nevertheless agreed that he should be given the royal power, and the one who had been given the choice went off to find the man he had named, bearing with him the royal dress, and came upon him drawing water for hire in a garden, dressed in common rags."

5) The King as High-Priest

KAI, no.13: "I, Tabnit priest of Astarte, King of Sidon, son of Eshmun 'azar, priest of Astarte, King of Sidon, am lying in this sarcophagus".

6) The Construction and Restoration of Temples (ANET = 502)

I am Yehawmilk, king of Byblos, the son of Yehar-ba '1, the grandson of Urimilk, king of Byblos, whom the mistress, the Lady of Byblos, made king over Byblos.

I have been calling my mistress, the Lady of Byblos, [and she heard my voice]. Therefore, I have made for my mistress, the Lady of Byblos, this altar of Bronze which is in this [courtyard}, and this engraved object of gold which is set in a (semiprecious) stone, which is upon this engraved object of gold, and this portico with its columns and the [capitals] which are upon them, and its roof I, Yehawmilk, king of Byblos, have made (these things) for my mistress, the Lady of Byblos, as I called my mistress, the Lady of Byblos, and she heard my voice and treated me kindly.

May the Lady of Byblos bless and preserve Yehawmilk, king of Byblos, and prolong his days and years in Byblos, for he is a righteous king. And may [the mistress,] the Lady of Byblos, give [him} favour in the eyes of the gods and in the eyes of the people of this country and (that he be) pleased with the people of this country.

[Whoever you are,] rule and (ordinary) man, who might [continue} to do work on this altar and this engraved work of gold and this portico, my name, Yehawmilk, king of Byblos,[you should put with} yours upon that work, and if you do not put my name with yours, or if you [remove] this [work and transfer this work .from its foundation} upon this place an[. .. , may} the mistress, the Lady of Byblos, [destroy} the man and his seed before all the gods of Byblos.

7) Phoenician Kings as Gods

Ezekiel 28.1-2The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,'Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre, "the lord Yahweh says this:Being swollen with pride,You have said: I am a god,I am sitting on the throne of God,surrounded by the seas.Though you are a man and not god,you consider yourself the equal of god" ... '

8) The King as Supreme Naval Commander

Diodorus Siculus. XIV, 79: "There also came to Canon ninety triremes, ten of them from Cilicia and eighty from Phoenicia, under the command of the lord of the Sidonians"

Herodotus, 7.67: "When (Xerxes) had arrived and taken the chair, the tyrants of his peoples and the commanders of the galleys, summoned by him, came and were seated each of them at the rank attributed by the King; at the first rank the king of Sidon, then of Tyre, then the others"

9) Evidence For the Separation of Administrative and Military Duties

ANET 661: "A coffin made [It]toba '!, son of Ahiram, king of Byblos, for Ahiram, his father, as his eternal <dwelling-> place. If there be a king among kings, and a governor among governors and an army commander up in Byblos who shall uncover this sarcophagus, let his judicial staff be broken, let his royal throne be upset! May peace flee from Byblos, and he himself be wiped out ....

10) The Constitution of Carthage

Aristotle, Politics, 3.11: "The Carthaginians are also considered to have an excellent form of government, which differs from that of any other state in several respects, though it is in some very like the Spartan. Indeed, all three states---the Spartan, the Cretan, and the Carthaginian---nearly resemble one another, and are very different from any others. Many of the Carthaginian institutions are excellent. The superiority of their constitution is proved by the fact that the common people remain loyal to the constitution. The Carthaginians have never had any rebellion worth speaking of and have never been under the rule of a tyrant. Among the points in which the Carthaginian constitution resembles the Spartan are the following: The common tables of the clubs answer to the Spartan phiditia, and their magistracy of the Hundred-Four to the Ephors,· but, whereas the Ephors are any chance persons, the magistrates of the Carthaginians are elected according to merit---this is an improvement. They have also their kings and their Gerousia, or council of elders, who correspond to the kings and elders of Sparta. Their kings, unlike the Spartan, are not always of the same family, nor that an ordinary one, but if there is some distinguished family they are selected out of it and not appointed by seniority---this is far better. Such officers have great power, and therefore, if they are persons of little worth, do a great deal of harm, and they have already done harm at Sparta.

Most of the defects or deviations from the perfect state, for which the Carthaginian constitution would be censured, apply equally to all the forms of government which we have mentioned. But of the deflections from aristocracy and constitutional government, some incline more to democracy and some to oligarchy. The kings and elders, if unanimous, may determine whether they will or will not bring a matter before the people, but when they are not unanimous, the people decide on such matters as well. And whatever the kings and elders bring before the people is not only heard but also determined by them, and any one who likes may oppose it; now this is not permitted in Sparta and Crete. That the magistrates of five who have under them many important matters should be eo-opted, that they should choose the supreme council of One Hundred, and should hold office longer than other magistrates (for they are virtually rulers both before and after they hold office)---these are oligarchical features; their being without salary and not elected by lot, and any similar points, such as the practice of having all suits tried by the magistrates, and not some by one class of judges or jurors and some by another, as at Sparta, are characteristic of aristocracy.

The Carthaginian constitution deviates from aristocracy and inclines to oligarchy, chiefly on a point where popular opinion is on their side. For men in general think that magistrates should be chosen not only for their merit, but for their wealth: a man, they say, who is poor cannot rule well---he has not the leisure. If, then, election of magistrates for their wealth be characteristic of oligarchy, and election for merit of aristocracy, there will be a third form under which the constitution of Carthage is comprehended,· for the Carthaginians choose their magistrates, and particularly the highest of them---their kings and generals---with an eye both to merit and to wealth. But we must acknowledge that, in thus deviating from aristocracy, the legislator has committed an error. Nothing is more absolutely necessary than to provide that the highest class, not only when in office, but when out of office, should have leisure and not disgrace themselves in any way; and to this his attention should be first directed. Even if you must have regard to wealth, in order to secure leisure, yet it is surely a bad thing that the greatest offices, such as those of kings and generals, should be bought. The law which allows this abuse makes wealth of more account than virtue, and the whole state becomes avaricious.

For, whenever the chiefs of the state deem anything honorable, the other citizens are sure to follow their example,· and, where virtue has not the first place, their aristocracy cannot be firmly established. Those who have been at the expense of purchasing their places will be in the habit of repaying themselves; and it is absurd to suppose that a poor and honest man will be wanting to make gains, and that a lower stamp of man who has incurred a great expense will not. Wherefore they should rule who are able to rule best. And even if the legislator does not care to protect the good from poverty, he should at any rate secure leisure for them when in office. It would seem also to be a bad principle that the same person should hold many offices, which is a favorite practice among the Carthaginians, for one business is better done by one man.

The government of the Carthaginians is oligarchical, but they successfully escape the evils of oligarchy by enriching one portion of the people after another by sending them to their colonies. This is their panacea and the means by which they give stability to the state. Accident favors them, but the legislator should be able to provide against revolution without trusting to accidents. As things are, if any misfortune occurred, and the bulk of the subjects revolted, there would be no way of restoring peace by legal methods. "

11) Evidence of a Citizen Assembly

Arrian, 2.15: "Alexander now resumed his advance from Marathus. Byblos and Sidon both surrendered to him - the people of Sidon, who hated Darius and the Persians, actually invited him to enter their city. He then proceeded in the direction of Tyre, and was met on the way by representatives from the town, who had been sent by its government to say that they had determined to abide by any instructions Alexander might give. The envoys were men of the best families in Tyre and included the son of the Tyrian king, Azemilcus, who himself was at sea with Autophradates,· Alexander thanked them for their communication and directed them to return to Tyre and tell their people that he wished to enter the own and offer sacrifice to Heracles."