A distinctive CCR contribution to civilizational historiography has been the argument that Phoenicia and Punic Carthage, not Greece or Rome alone, supplied the empirical carrier of Western formation. The argument, developed across v78 and v81, treats the Phoenicians as the agents of Bronze Age “embryonic” Western civilization (alphabet, maritime trade, cultural exchange across the Mediterranean) and of Iron Age exploration, mercantilism and cultural diffusion. Punic Carthage extends this through further contributions in the West: Atlantic exploration, the development of the Atlantic facade of Europe, and the early “quickening” of Western civilization.

The argument runs counter to accounts centered on Greek philosophy or Roman law, and complements discussions of the European Middle Ages as a civilizational space distinct from the Islamic and Byzantine worlds.

Source summaries:

  • v78 (Spring 2018) — “The Phoenicians and the Formation of the Western World” traces the contribution through Bronze Age Phoenicia and Embryonic Western Civilization, Iron Age Exploration, Mercantilism, and Cultural Diffusion in the West, and Punic Carthage. (v78)
  • v81 (Fall 2019) — Reissued and expanded as “The Bronze Age: Phoenicia and Embryonic Western Civilization,” “Iron Age: Exploration, Mercantilism, and Cultural Influence in the West,” “Development of the Atlantic Façade of Europe,” and “Punic Carthage: Further Contributions in the West.” (v81)