The Social Structure and Political Institutions of the Western Phoenicians in the Western Extreme of the Mediterranean.

Resumen

In this paper we study the social structure of the western Phoenicians in the western extreme of the Mediterranean during the 1st millennium BCE based on written sources and archaeological information. This society was very complex and was made up of an aristocracy, free men and individuals in a situation of dependence. Furthermore, we study the historical data regarding the institutional organization of western Phoenician cities. To that end, we use references to eastern Phoenician institutions as well as those belonging to Carthage and other cities within its territory, comparing them with the data from historical and epigraphic sources from cities of the western Mediterranean. We also identify some individual magistracies, such as the sufetes, and collegial institutions such as ͑m or popular assembly, or b͑ l, a corporation of local aristocrats.