\paperw5400 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \qr \f1 \fs22 The territory of Phoenicia, squeezed between the mountains of Lebanon and the sea, did not permit an intensive dev
elopment of agriculture. Vines, olives, figs, and date palms were the most widely grown shrubby crops, but the Phoenician cities always suffered from a shortage of cereals, which they had to import from the nearby kingdoms of Juda and Israel. Exploitatio
n of the cedar, pine, and cypress forests was of great importance to the Phoenician economy, allowing them to export valuable timber to the surrounding countries and to develop the shipbuilding industry of which the Phoenicians were undisputed masters. T
he Phoenicians were also famous among the peoples of antiquity for the manufacture of textiles, and in particular the dying of cloth. They also developed great skills in the working of glass, metal, and ivory.\par
