North Semitic writing is the earliest alphabetic writing found in the western Mediterranean. Because the earliest surviving examples are from ancient Phoenicia, it is often referred to as the Phoenician alphabet. The Phoenician city-states were highly trafficked hubs. The alphabet was heavily influenced by [[cuneiform]] from Mesopotamia in the west and [[hieroglyphics]] from Egypt in the south. It is possible the Phoenicians were also influenced by Cretan pictographic systems. Drawing upon this amalgamation of writing systems and visual language, the Phoenicians developed their own. Citations Meggs, P. B., & Purvis, A. W. (2016). Meggs' history of graphic Design, 6th edition. In _[[Meggs' History of Graphic Design]]_ (6th ed.). John Wiley & Sons. ---- Created: February 23, 2021 Last Modified: February 23, 2021