c. 1050 BCEReputable sourceWell documented
The First Alphabet
On the timeline · around c. 1050 BCE ·
What happened
The Phoenicians, a seafaring trading people of the eastern Mediterranean, spread an alphabet of about 22 signs, each representing a single consonant sound. Far simpler than the hundreds of signs of cuneiform or hieroglyphs, it could be learned by ordinary merchants, not just professional scribes.
Why it matters
The Phoenician alphabet was the ancestor of most alphabets used in the world today. By reducing writing to a couple of dozen easily learned signs, it made literacy possible for far more people and carried writing across the Mediterranean.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. The Phoenician Alphabet & Language · Reputable source