Tyre

Encyclopedia : T : TY : TYR : Tyre

For a wheel tyre, see the article under the US English spelling of the word, tire. For other uses see Tyre (disambiguation).

The Triumphal Arch

Tyre (Arabic الصور aṣ-Ṣūr, Phoenician Ṣur, Latin Tyrus, Akkadian Ṣurru, Tiberian Hebrew צר Ṣōr, Greek Τύρος Týros) is a city in Lebanon jutting out from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about 23 miles north of Acre, and 20 miles south of Sidon. The name of the city means "rock" (Bikai, P., The Land of Tyre, in Joukowsky, M., "The Heritage of Tyre" chapter 2, 1992, p13).

Tyre was an ancient Phoenician city and today is the fourth largest city in Lebanon [link]. It has many ancient sites for tourism and its Roman Hippodrome was reportedly used for the film Ben-Hur. It was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1979 (Resolution 459).[link]

Contents

1 History

1.1 Foundation
1.2 Early history
1.3 Later history

2 Modern references to Tyre
3 See also

History

"The location of the city of Tyre is not in doubt, for it exists to this day on the same spot and is known as Sur." (Katzenstein, H.J., The History of Tyre, 1973, p9) Tyre originally consisted of two distinct urban centers, one on an island and the other on the adjacent coast (approximately 30 stadia apart or 3.5 miles according to Strabo in his Geography xvi, 2), before Alexander the Great connected the island to the coast during his siege of the city. One was a heavily fortified island city amidst the sea and the latter, originally called Ushu (later, Palaetyrus, by the Greeks) was actually more like a line of suburbs than any one city and was used primarily as a source of water and timber for the main island city. [link] Josephus even records them fighting against each other [link], although most of the time they supported one another due to the island city’s wealth from maritime trade and the mainland area’s source of timber, water and burial grounds.

Foundation

Tyre appears on monuments as early as 1300 BC, although according to Herodotus, it was founded around 2700 BC. Philo of Byblos (in Eusebius) quotes the antiquarian authority Sanchuniathon as stating that it was first occupied by one Hypsuranius. Sanchuniathon's work is said to be dedicated to "Abibalus king of Berytus" -- possibly the Abibaal who was king of Tyre.

Early history

The commerce of the ancient world was gathered into the warehouses of Tyre. "Tyrian merchants were the first who ventured to navigate the Mediterranean waters; and they founded their colonies on the coasts and neighbouring islands of the Aegean Sea, in Greece, on the northern coast of Africa, at Carthage and other places, in Sicily and Corsica, in Spain at Tartessus, and even beyond the pillars of Hercules at Gadeira (Cádiz)" (Driver's Isaiah).

In the time of David (c. 1000 BC), a friendly alliance was entered into between the Hebrews and the Tyrians, who were long ruled over by their native kings.

The city of Tyre was particularly known for the production of a rare sort of purple dye, known as Tyrian purple. This color was, in many cultures of ancient times, reserved for the use of royalty, or at least nobility.

It was often attacked by Egypt, besieged by Shalmaneser V, who was assisted by the Phoenicians of the mainland, for five years, and by Nebuchadnezzar (586–573 BC) for thirteen years, apparently without success, although a compromise peace was made in which Tyre paid tribute to the Babylonians. It later fell under the power of the Persians.

In 332 BC, the city was conquered by Alexander the Great, after a siege of seven months in which he built the causeway from the mainland to the island, but it continued to maintain much of its commercial importance until the Christian era.

Later history

A church was founded here soon after the death of Saint Stephen, and Paul of Tarsus, on his return from his third missionary journey, spent a week in conversation with the disciples there. According to Irenaeus of Lyons in Adversus Haereses, the female companion of Simon Magus came from here.

It was captured in 1124 after the First Crusade and was one of the most important cities of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was part of the royal domain, although there were also autonomous trading colonies there for the Italian merchant cities. The city was the site of the archbishop of Tyre, a suffragan of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; its archbishops often acceded to the Patriarchate. The most notable of the Latin archbishops was the historian William of Tyre.

After the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187, the seat of the kingdom moved to Acre, but coronations were held in Tyre. In the 13th century, Tyre was separated from the royal domain as a separate crusader lordship. In 1291, it was retaken by the Mameluks which then was followed by Ottoman rule before the modern state of Lebanon was declared in 1920.

Modern references to Tyre

In nineteenth century Britain, Tyre was several times taken as an exemplar of the mortality of great power and status - both by John Ruskin in the opening lines of The Stones of Venice, and by Rudyard Kipling's 'Recessional'.

Bob Dylan refers to "Kings of Tyrus" in his 1966 ballad, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.