Sumur (Biblical Hebrew: [collective noun denoting the city inhabitants]; Egyptian: "Smr"; Akkadian: "Sumuru"; Assyrian: "Simirra") was a Phoenician city in what is now Syria. Zemar was a major trade center. The city has also been referred to in English publications as Simyra, Ṣimirra, Ṣumra, Sumura Ṣimura, Zemar, and Zimyra.
The spread of the alphabet throughout the Mediterranean extended literacy beyond a narrow caste of hierarchical priests.
