Phoenician language
Carthage was one of a number of Phoenician settlements in the western Mediterranean that were created to facilitate trade from the cities of Sidon, Tyre and others from Phoenicia, which was situated in the coast of what is now Lebanon. In the 10th century BC, the eastern Mediterranean shore was inhabited by various Semitic populations, who had built up flourishing civilizations. The people inhabiting what is now Lebanon were referred to as "Phoenicians" by the Greeks. The Phoenician language was very close to ancient Hebrew, to such a degree that the latter is often used as an aid in the translation of Phoenician inscriptions.