Phoenicia: Lebanon and neighbors hold the roots of the Greek alphabet

Fas: Greek alphabet
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Phoenicians spread the alphabet (or abjad) from which all major modern phonetic alphabets are derived.

Phoenicia was an ancient Semitic Canaanite civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent and centered in Lebanon, says Wikipedia.

The major Phoenician cities were on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BC to 300 BC.

The Phoenicians used the galley, a man-powered sailing vessel, and are credited with the invention of the bireme.[3] They were famed in Classical Greece and Rome for their monopoly on the precious purple dye, used, among other things, for royal clothing.