The Phoenician alphabet is a 22‑letter consonantal script (abjad) used primarily by the peoples of Phoenicia and their colonies during the early to mid–1st millennium BCE; it is written from right to left and records consonants without independent vowel letters. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, it developed from the North Semitic script and is the likely ancestor of the Greek alphabet and, indirectly, of most Western alphabets. Britannica. (britannica.com)

Origins and chronology

The script arose from earlier Proto‑Canaanite/Proto‑Sinaitic traditions attested in the Late Bronze Age and crystallized in the Iron Age Levant. Britannica dates the earliest securely attested Phoenician inscriptions to the 11th century BCE, with the Byblian royal inscriptions—especially the epitaph on the Ahiram sarcophagus from Byblos—displaying the fully developed letter forms. Britannica. (britannica.com)

The Ahiram inscription, discovered in 1923 and curated today at the National Museum of Beirut, is often cited as the earliest lengthy text in the mature script. While exact dating is debated, it is widely placed in the 10th–11th centuries BCE. Wikipedia: Ahiram sarcophagus; UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Byblos. (en.wikipedia.org)

Structure and orthography

Phoenician employs 22 consonant signs, written right to left; letter names follow the traditional Semitic acrophonic pattern (e.g., ʾālep “ox,” bēt “house,” gīml “camel”). Britannica notes that despite the external variation of letter shapes across regions and periods, the inventory and phonetic values remained those of a 22‑consonant Semitic system without independent vowel letters. Britannica. (britannica.com)

Standardized names and order are reflected in modern encodings; the Unicode names list enumerates letters U+10900–U+10915 (ALEF through TAW) and includes dedicated signs for numerals (1, 10, 20, 100) and a word separator. Unicode Names List; Unicode Code Chart. (unicode.org)

As with other early Northwest Semitic scripts, vowels were normally unmarked; late varieties, especially in North Africa (Punic/Neo‑Punic), increased the use of matres lectionis (consonants used to indicate vowels). Britannica; Wikipedia: Mater lectionis. (britannica.com)

Geographic reach and variants

From core Levantine cities such as Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos, Phoenician traders transmitted the script around the Mediterranean. Britannica distinguishes mainland Phoenician from colonial variants: Cypro‑Phoenician (10th–2nd centuries BCE), a Sardinian variety (c. 9th century BCE), and the Punic and Neo‑Punic scripts of Carthage, the latter continuing into the 3rd century CE. Britannica. (britannica.com)

Early extra‑Levantine attestations include the Nora Stone in Sardinia, dated paleographically to the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. Wikipedia: Nora Stone. (en.wikipedia.org)

Relationship to neighboring scripts and languages

• –Greek: Britannica describes the Greek alphabet (standardized from the 8th century BCE) as derived from the Phoenician script, with Greeks adapting certain letters to represent vowel phonemes and standardizing left‑to‑right writing by the Classical period. Britannica – Greek alphabet; Britannica – Greek language: The Greek alphabet. (britannica.com)
• –Aramaic and Hebrew: The earliest Aramaic writing uses Phoenician letter forms; the Aramaic alphabet (10th/9th centuries BCE onward) subsequently became a major conduit to scripts of the Near East and beyond. Early (Paleo‑)Hebrew letter shapes closely resemble Phoenician, while the later Square Hebrew (Jewish) script derives from Imperial Aramaic alphabet. Britannica – Aramaic alphabet; Britannica – Hebrew alphabet. (britannica.com)
• –Latin and others: Through the Greek alphabet (and Etruscan), Phoenician ultimately influenced the Latin alphabet; Britannica characterizes Greek as the “direct or indirect ancestor of all modern European alphabets,” underscoring the Phoenician script’s pivotal role. Britannica – Greek alphabet. (britannica.com)

Materials and corpus

Phoenician inscriptions survive chiefly on durable media such as stone, metal, and pottery; perishable writing on papyrus or parchment is presumed but scarcely preserved. The Byblian royal inscriptions and monumental texts in Phoenicia proper and in colonial contexts (e.g., Cyprus, Sardinia, North Africa) form the core corpus used in paleographic study. Britannica. (britannica.com)

Decipherment and modern study

European scholars established the reading of the script in the 18th century. Abbé Jean‑Jacques Barthélemy’s 1758 analysis—drawing on Greek‑Phoenician bilinguals such as the Cippi of Melqart and published corpora from Cyprus—identified most letter values and set the basis for subsequent Phoenician epigraphy. Wikipedia: Jean‑Jacques Barthélemy; Wikipedia: Cippi of Melqart;

en.wikipedia.org

Lebanon’s “Phoenician Alphabet” dossier was accepted to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2005, recognizing the documentary heritage value of key inscriptions curated in Beirut. UNESCO Silk Roads Programme. (en.unesco.org)

Digital encoding and standards

The script is encoded in the Unicode Standard as the “Phoenician” block U+10900–U+1091F, first released in version 5.0 (July 2006), with later additions in 5.2. The block covers Phoenician proper along with closely related Paleo‑Hebrew and early Aramaic varieties; code points include letters ALEF–TAW, numerals, and a word separator. Unicode Code Chart; Unicode Names List; ScriptSource – Unicode status. (unicode.org)

ISO 15924 assigns the four‑letter script code “Phnx” (numeric 115) to Phoenician; the official registry is maintained by the Unicode Consortium. ISO 15924 codes (official registry); ISO 15924 FAQ. (unicode.org)

Legacy

Through adaptation by Greeks in the 8th century BCE and diffusion via Aramaic in the Near East, the Phoenician script stands at a central node in the family tree of Eurasian alphabets, linking the literate cultures of the eastern Mediterranean with later scripts used from Europe to South and Central Asia. Britannica – Development and diffusion of alphabets. (britannica.com)