How did the Phoenician alphabet spread around the Mediterranean?

The Phoenician alphabet spread across the Mediterranean primarily through the extensive trade networks and colonial activities of the Phoenicians. As skilled merchants and colonizers based in city-states like Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre, they established settlements throughout the Mediterranean basin, including areas in North Africa, Cyprus, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, and Spain.123

This writing system, which developed from the North Semitic alphabet, was carried by traders to these diverse regions, where it evolved into various colonial scripts. Notably, the alphabet was adopted and adapted by the Greeks, serving as the foundational ancestor for all Western alphabets. In the North African city of Carthage, the script further evolved into the Punic and neo-Punic alphabets, which remained in use for centuries. The prevalence of Phoenician inscriptions found across these regions—far outnumbering those found in Phoenicia proper—highlights the significant role of maritime commerce in the diffusion of this writing system.1345