Phoenicians founded Tyre and Sidon and were famous merchants, traders and navigators, who taught the Greeks their alphabet. The Phoenicians were Canaanites whose god was Baal. Canaan was a son of Ham, and a brother of Cush (Ethiopia), Mizraim (Egypt) and Phut (Libya--north Africa) of Genesis 10. Carthage was the home of Hannibal, the military genius, who crossed the Alps and the Pyrenees mountains with war elephants to invade Italty, harrassing it for 15 years, before being recalled home to defend it from counter-attack by Scipio Africanus. "Punic" was their language, (short-hand for "Phoenician") and 3 "Punic Wars" were fought with Rome. Augustine of Hippo, Father of Theology, was among the last of the great Punic speakers, which language is now extinct. Simon of Cyrene, who was compelled to bear the cross of Christ, was also from this region of North Africa.
