A History of Magic (by Bathilda Bagshot)

Early Magical Communities: Asia: Pheonicia

The Phoenicians, a group of people who engaged in excessive maritime trading, are perhaps most known for their written alphabet. While Muggle historians have attempted to decode this alphabet, they have overlooked several key phrases that indicate that this alphabet was actually an early attempt at sharing discovered Charms. It is doubtful that the Phoenicians ever created wands, suggesting that these spells were meant to be performed wandlessly. (Phoenicians probably used various wand woods to engineer their sturdy boats, but did not discover their uses as wands.) One spell reads 'rir-rir or wal lat ick nur geg' and includes an introduction that suggests that it was an early form of 'Vipera Evanesca', the Snake-Banishing Spell, used to fight against the serpents that tormented them from the steppes. Modern Charms experts have been unable to replicate the effects of this spell. The spells were formulated by priests in Byblos, but appeared in Egypt a few decades later, suggesting interaction between the two magical communities.