Phoenicians survive into modern ethnic group

I know it isn't necessarily believable, and there's a lot of handwavium involved, but would it be possible for the Phoenicians to survive as a relatively small ethnic group into the 21st century?

My idea is:

The Phoenicians of "today" aren't very close (genetically) to their ancestors, just as the modern Greeks are more Slavic than Spartan. They're focused primarily in coastal Lebanon, which has become their nationalized homeland, appropriately named Phoenicia. Conquered by the Romans, they remained Roman Christians until the Schism of East and West where those residing in the Eastern Mediterranean adhered to Greek Orthodoxy, and those living in small enclaves along the east coast of Spain and Mediterranean ports of North Africa adhering to the Bishop of Rome. Their language, a complicated mixture of their original tongue, Greek, and Latin in their homeland while the dialect spoken in the ethnic enclaves is almost entirely Arabicized or Romance.

The largest concentrated populations would reside in a "renovated" Tyre, Valencia, and Tunis.

What do you think?
 
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A friend of mine is a Lebanese Christian and he tells anyone who will listen that he is a Phoenician not an Arab. He can't speak the language or anything but he argues that because there is no Muslim blood in his family that he is a descendant of the Phoenicians. I don't know how popular that view is but I thought I'd put it out there.

I think a good POD could be the Punic Wars. If Rome was defeated then lots of Spain and North Africa could be assimilated into the Phoenician culture.
 
I saw a documentary on the Phoenicians, and I believe they said the people of Lebanon are direct descendants of the Phoenicians; doing genetic testing. It was quite a while ago I saw this, so I wouldn't quote me; but if anyone can verify this, please do.
 

Nikephoros

Banned
I saw a documentary on the Phoenicians, and I believe they said the people of Lebanon are direct descendants of the Phoenicians; doing genetic testing. It was quite a while ago I saw this, so I wouldn't quote me; but if anyone can verify this, please do.

That is true.
 
I saw a documentary on the Phoenicians, and I believe they said the people of Lebanon are direct descendants of the Phoenicians; doing genetic testing. It was quite a while ago I saw this, so I wouldn't quote me; but if anyone can verify this, please do.

Dont know anything about the documentary, but I have seen some articles which mention genetic evidence that the modern Lebanese are descendents of the Phoenicians.
 

Valdemar II

Banned
I saw a documentary on the Phoenicians, and I believe they said the people of Lebanon are direct descendants of the Phoenicians; doing genetic testing. It was quite a while ago I saw this, so I wouldn't quote me; but if anyone can verify this, please do.

That is true.

Dont know anything about the documentary, but I have seen some articles which mention genetic evidence that the modern Lebanese are descendents of the Phoenicians.

Well doohh!!!:rolleyes:
 
A friend of mine is a Lebanese Christian and he tells anyone who will listen that he is a Phoenician not an Arab. He can't speak the language or anything but he argues that because there is no Muslim blood in his family that he is a descendant of the Phoenicians. I don't know how popular that view is but I thought I'd put it out there.

I had the same experience by a Lebanese Christian - think its quite common among that group of peoples.
 
I had the same experience by a Lebanese Christian - think its quite common among that group of peoples.

A a couple of Maronite Christian groups siezed on the Phoenician identity during the civil war as a sort of symbol. basically, it was a way of saying that they had always been in Lebanon, and that they had a better right to the land than whatever muslim groups they happened to be fighting. I suppose it seeped into that groups general conciousness.
 
Well the one I knew weren't a Maronite and would be offended to be reckoned as such.

No generally it seems to me to be of the kind like the Scandinavians thinking of the "good old days going a Vikinging all over Britannia".
 
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