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Phoenician
Tyre was queen of the
seas, an island city of unprecedented splendor. She grew wealthy from
her far-reaching colonies and her industries of purple-dyed textiles.
But she also attracted the attention of jealous conquerors, among them
the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great.
FIVE MILLENNIA
OF HISTORY
Founded
at the start of the third millennium B.C., Tyre originally consisted
of a mainland settlement and a modest island city that lay a short
distance off shore. But it was not until the first millennium B.C.
that the city experienced its golden age. In the 10th century B.C.
Hiram, King of Tyre, joined two isles by landfill. Later he extended
the city further by reclaiming a considerable area from the sea.
Phoenician expansion began about 815 B.C'. when traders from Tyre
founded Carthage in North Africa. Eventually its colonies spread
around thc Mediterranean and Atlantic, bringing to the city a
flourishing maritime trade. But prosperity and power make their own
enemies. Early in the sixth century B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, King of
Babylon, laid siege to the walled city for thirteen years. Tyre stood
firm, but it is probable that at this time the residents of the
mainland city abandoned it for the safety of the island. In 332 B.C.
Alexander the Great set out to conquer this strategic coastal base in
the war between the Greeks and the Persians. Unable to storm the city,
he blockaded Tyre for seven months. Again Tyre held on. But the
conqueror used the debris of the abandoned mainland city to build a
causeway and once within reach of the city walls, Alexander used his
siege engines to batter and finally breach the fortifications. It is
said that Alexander was so enraged at the Tyrians' defense and the
loss of his men that he destroyed half the city. The town's 30,000
residents were massacred or sold into slavery.
Tyre and the whole of ancient Syria fell under
Roman rule in 64 B.C. Nonetheless, for some time Tyre continued to
mint its own silver coins. The Romans built a great many important
monuments in the city, including an aqueduct, a triumphal arch and the
largest hippodrome in antiquity. Founded
at the start of the third millennium B.C., Tyre originally consisted
of a mainland settlement and a modest island city that lay a short
distance off shore. But it was not until the first millennium B.C.
that the city experienced its golden age. In the 10th century B.C.
Hiram, King of Tyre, joined two isles by landfill. Later he extended
the city further by reclaiming a considerable area from the sea.
Phoenician expansion began about 815 B.C'. when traders from Tyre
founded Carthage in North Africa. Eventually its colonies spread
around thc Mediterranean and Atlantic, bringing to the city a
flourishing maritime trade. But prosperity and power make their own
enemies. Early in the sixth century B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, King of
Babylon, laid siege to the walled city for thirteen years. Tyre stood
firm, but it is probable that at this time the residents of the
mainland city abandoned it for the safety of the island. In 332 B.C.
Alexander the Great set out to conquer this strategic coastal base in
the war between the Greeks and the Persians. Unable to storm the city,
he blockaded Tyre for seven months. Again Tyre held on. But the
conqueror used the debris of the abandoned mainland city to build a
causeway and once within reach of the city walls, Alexander used his
siege engines to batter and finally breach the fortifications. It is
said that Alexander was so enraged at the Tyrians' defense and the
loss of his men that he destroyed half the city. The town's 30,000
residents were massacred or sold into slavery.
Tyre and the whole of ancient Syria fell under
Roman rule in 64 B.C. Nonetheless, for some time Tyre continued to
mint its own silver coins. The Romans built a great many important
monuments in the city, including an aqueduct, a triumphal arch and the
largest hippodrome in antiquity. Founded
at the start of the third millennium B.C., Tyre originally consisted
of a mainland settlement and a modest island city that lay a short
distance off shore. But it was not until the first millennium B.C.
that the city experienced its golden age. In the 10th century B.C.
Hiram, King of Tyre, joined two isles by landfill. Later he extended
the city further by reclaiming a considerable area from the sea.
Phoenician expansion began about 815 B.C'. when traders from Tyre
founded Carthage in North Africa. Eventually its colonies spread
around thc Mediterranean and Atlantic, bringing to the city a
flourishing maritime trade. But prosperity and power make their own
enemies. Early in the sixth century B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, King of
Babylon, laid siege to the walled city for thirteen years. Tyre stood
firm, but it is probable that at this time the residents of the
mainland city abandoned it for the safety of the island. In 332 B.C.
Alexander the Great set out to conquer this strategic coastal base in
the war between the Greeks and the Persians. Unable to storm the city,
he blockaded Tyre for seven months. Again Tyre held on. But the
conqueror used the debris of the abandoned mainland city to build a
causeway and once within reach of the city walls, Alexander used his
siege engines to batter and finally breach the fortifications. It is
said that Alexander was so enraged at the Tyrians' defense and the
loss of his men that he destroyed half the city. The town's 30,000
residents were massacred or sold into slavery.
Tyre and the whole of ancient Syria fell under
Roman rule in 64 B.C. Nonetheless, for some time Tyre continued to
mint its own silver coins. The Romans built a great many important
monuments in the city, including an aqueduct, a triumphal arch and the
largest hippodrome in antiquity.
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The triumphal arch |
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The Hippodrome |
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Christianity figures in
the history of Tyre, whose name is mentioned in the New Testament.
During the Byzantine era, the Archbishop of Tyre was the Primate of
all the bishops of Phoenicia. At this time the town witnessed a second
golden age as can be seen from the remains of its buildings and the
inscriptions in the necropolis. Taken by the Islamic armies in 634,
the city offered no resistance and continued to prosper under its new
rulers, exporting sugar as well as objects made of pearl and glass.
With the decline of the Abbasid caliphate, Tyre acquired some
independence under the dynasty of the Banu 'Aqil, vassals of the
Egyptian Fatimides. This was a time when Tyre was adorned with
fountains and its bazaars were full of all kinds of merchandise,
including carpets and jewelry of gold and silver.
Thanks to Tyre's strong fortifications it was able to resist the
onslaught of the Crusaders until 1124. After about 180 years of
Crusader rule, the Mamlukes retook the city in 1291, then it passed on
to the Ottomans at the start of the 16th century. With the end of
World War I Tyre was integrated into the new nation of Lebanon.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
TYRE
For
a period of nearly 50 years the General Directorate of Antiquities
excavated in and around Tyre, concentrating on the three major Roman
archaeological sites in the town, which can be seen today. The most
important recent archaeological find is a Phoenician cemetery from the
first millennium B.C. Discovered in 1991 during clandestine
excavations, this is the first cemetery of its kind found in Lebanon.
Funerary jars, inscribed steles and jewelry were among the objects
retrieved from the site.
The importance of this historical city and its monuments was
highlighted in 1979 when UNESCO declared Tyre a World Heritage Site.
In the meantime, government efforts have stopped much of the wartime
pillaging that Tyre's archaeological treasures suffered because of
economic stress in the area and international demand for antiquities.
Grassroots campaigns have also drawn attention to the importance of
the city's antiquities. For
a period of nearly 50 years the General Directorate of Antiquities
excavated in and around Tyre, concentrating on the three major Roman
archaeological sites in the town, which can be seen today. The most
important recent archaeological find is a Phoenician cemetery from the
first millennium B.C. Discovered in 1991 during clandestine
excavations, this is the first cemetery of its kind found in Lebanon.
Funerary jars, inscribed steles and jewelry were among the objects
retrieved from the site.
The importance of this historical city and its monuments was
highlighted in 1979 when UNESCO declared Tyre a World Heritage Site.
In the meantime, government efforts have stopped much of the wartime
pillaging that Tyre's archaeological treasures suffered because of
economic stress in the area and international demand for antiquities.
Grassroots campaigns have also drawn attention to the importance of
the city's antiquities. For
a period of nearly 50 years the General Directorate of Antiquities
excavated in and around Tyre, concentrating on the three major Roman
archaeological sites in the town, which can be seen today. The most
important recent archaeological find is a Phoenician cemetery from the
first millennium B.C. Discovered in 1991 during clandestine
excavations, this is the first cemetery of its kind found in Lebanon.
Funerary jars, inscribed steles and jewelry were among the objects
retrieved from the site.
The importance of this historical city and its monuments was
highlighted in 1979 when UNESCO declared Tyre a World Heritage Site.
In the meantime, government efforts have stopped much of the wartime
pillaging that Tyre's archaeological treasures suffered because of
economic stress in the area and international demand for antiquities.
Grassroots campaigns have also drawn attention to the importance of
the city's antiquities. For
a period of nearly 50 years the General Directorate of Antiquities
excavated in and around Tyre, concentrating on the three major Roman
archaeological sites in the town, which can be seen today. The most
important recent archaeological find is a Phoenician cemetery from the
first millennium B.C. Discovered in 1991 during clandestine
excavations, this is the first cemetery of its kind found in Lebanon.
Funerary jars, inscribed steles and jewelry were among the objects
retrieved from the site.
The importance of this historical city and its monuments was
highlighted in 1979 when UNESCO declared Tyre a World Heritage Site.
In the meantime, government efforts have stopped much of the wartime
pillaging that Tyre's archaeological treasures suffered because of
economic stress in the area and international demand for antiquities.
Grassroots campaigns have also drawn attention to the importance of
the city's antiquities.
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Marble sarcophagus, 2nd
Century A.D. |
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The Necropolis |
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VISITING
TYRE'S
ANCIENT
SITES
Area One: located
on what was the Phoenician island, is a vast district of civic
buildings, colonnades, public baths, mosaic streets and a rectangular
arena. Walk to beach at the far end of the site. The columns to the
left belong to a Palaestra, an area where athletes trained. Other
excavated remains on this site date to the Hellenistic, Roman, and
Byzantine periods. A short distance from the shore you will see
"islands" which are, in fact, the great stone breakwaters
and jetties of the ancient Phoenician port, called the "Egyptian
port" because it faced south towards Egypt.
Area Two: is a
five minute walk to the west. Its major point of interest is a
Crusader cathedral. Only the lowest foundations and a few re-erected
granite columns remain intact but these are nevertheless impressive.
The area below it has revealed a network of Romano-Byzantine roads and
other installations. Visitors are not allowed inside the site, but the
ruins can be viewed from the road.
Area Three: is a
thirty minute walk from Areas One and Two and consists of an extensive
necropolis, a three-bay monumental arch and one of the largest Roman
hippodromes ever found. All date from the 2nd century A.D. to the 6th
century A.D.
The necropolis, excavated
in 1962, yielded hundreds of ornate stone and marble sarcophagi of the
Roman and Byzantine periods. Foundations of a Byzantine church can
also be seen. I he archway stands astride a Roman road that led into
the ancient city. Alongside the road are the remains of the aqueduct
that assured the city its water supply.
South of the necropolis
is the partially reconstructed Roman hippodrome excavated in 1967. The
480-meter structure seated twenty thousand spectators who gathered to
watch the death-defying sport of chariot racing. Each end of the
course was marked by still existing stone turning posts (metae).
Charioteers had to make this circuit seven times. Rounding the metae
at top speed was the most dangerous part of the race and often
produced spectacular spills.
The walk to Area Three
takes you through a residential part of Tyre called Hay Er-Raml or the
Quarter of Sand. You are in fact walking on what once was Alexander
the Great's causeway. Accumulating sands and extensive landfill have
expanded this old land link to the extent that modern visitors have
the impression that Tyre is built on a peninsula.
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Roman Period Columns |
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TYRE TODAY
Tyre has a colorful souk
(covered market) well worth exploring. Look for the Ottoman khan, or
inn, just inside the market entrance. On a side street is the "Mamluke
House," an Ottoman period residence that is being restored as a
cultural heritage and information center by the General Directorate of
Antiquities. Also in the souk area is a white, double-domed mosque of
great interest.
Near the market you will see a busy fisherman's port, in Phoenician
times referred to as the "Sidonian" port because it faced
north towards Sidon. Walk along the port with the sea on your right
and you enter the city's old quarter, a picturesque area of narrow
streets, traditional architecture, and the Seat of the Maronite Bishop
of Tyre and the Holy Land. One medieval tower still stands in a small
garden. A second one is visible under the little lighthouse. During
Crusader times towers similar to these ringed the city.
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Aerial View of Tyre
(1936) |
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Aerial View of Tyre
(1996) |
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The City of Tyre (1997) |
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The Beach of Tyre |
Port of Tyre |
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A summer sunset in Tyre |
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