There were many tribes in Mesopotamia that were not able to be the most dominant culture. These tribes however, were always on the surface, always influencing the way cultures acted and interacted.

The Phoenicians lived on the Eastern Mediterranean Coast, or the Western part of the area we call Mesopotamia

The Phoenicians were sailors. They sailed all around the Mediterranean Sea. They brought timber and purple dye to the world.

The kings were the only ones rich enough to buy this cloth, that is why purple is associated with royalty

The Phoenicians had trading colonies from Cyrus to Gibraltar (the edge of the Med Sea going into the Atlantic)

The basis of our alphabet is the Phoenician alphabet. Why do you think you are taught phonics in elementary school?