The Phoenician alphabet is one of the earliest known alphabets, developed by the ancient Phoenicians around 1200 BCE. It consists of 22 consonant letters and was primarily used for writing the Phoenician language. This alphabet is significant because it laid the foundation for many modern alphabets, including the Greek and Latin scripts. The Phoenician alphabet was widely adopted across the Mediterranean due to the Phoenicians' extensive trade networks. Its simplicity and efficiency made it easier to learn and use compared to earlier writing systems, such as cuneiform and hieroglyphics. This contributed to the spread of literacy and communication in the ancient world.