All Phoenician cities were independent of each other, and lived under hereditary royal governments. A new type of government emerged in the overseas colonies, however, and only a handful of elite families became the ruling power in the overseas colonies.
Gubla, a Phoenician city, had been a huge trading center when under Egyptian rule, especially for papyrus, which was the Egyptian writing material. All Phoenician trade centers dealt in coveted luxury goods and building materials. The other things that were sought after among trade were the Phoenicians' resources of tall timber, especia…
