The city of Tyre is one of the oldest cities in the world. Founded in 2750 B.C. by Phonecian sailors as a port city, it is located 83 km south of present day Beirut. The city started as both an island and mainland community, but in the first millennium B.C. bridges where made of stone connecting it to the mainland.
The city was a major port city and trading post in the Mediterranean Sea. The city also had trading posts stretching from the Mediterranean to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. The city had a monopoly on the sea trading when it was not under attack or at war. The city had many goods in which to export all over the world. These included sugar, objects made of pearl, glass, and its purple-dyed textiles. This is not the only thing to make it such a famous city. The residents of Tyre may have invented the alphabet and they are credited for utilizing the color purple in their textile industry.
The city was surrounded by a great wall to protect its inhabitants and its beautiful structures. Some of the ancient structures in Tyre include a Crusader Cathedral, a Roman Hippodrome that seated twenty thousand people, and a Phonecian Cemetery, which is the first of its kind found in Lebanon. Another significant structure of Tyre was the Roman-built aqueduct which provided the city with its water.
Because Tyre was such a beautiful and wealthy city, it was desired by other empires. The history of the city has a dark side that was plagued by war throughout its history. The first of these battles started in the sixth century B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon tried to conquer the city. He tried for thirteen years but Tyre stood up to his attempts. It is unknown if the mainland city was conquered with the residents taking refugee on the island or not.
The second attempt came three hundred years later when Alexander the Great tried to take the city in the war between the Greeks and the Persians. He confined the city to the island for seven months. Because he could not reach the city, he built a bridge with the remains of the mainland city to reach the island. When he reached it he broke through the wall and in his rage he killed or sold the residents into slavery. The city changed hands again in 634 A.D. when the Islamic armies seized it. The last time the city was attacked was by the Crusaders. The city held up strong behind its wall until 1124 when they finally fell. The city was been under different rule until after World War I when it was taken into present day Lebanon.
Sources:
Tyre History of Tyre http://www.unesco.org/culture/heritage/tangible/tyre/html_eng/history.htm July 2000
Tyre City Web Page Tyre (Sour) http://tyros.leb.net/tyre/
Lebanon Tourism Tyre http://www.lebanon.com/tourism/tyre.htm
Written By: Barry Schindle