Tyre (Arabic الصور aṣ-Ṣūr, native Phoenician Ṣur, Latin Tyrus, Akkadian Ṣurru, Tiberian Hebrew רצ Ṣōr, Greek Τύρος Týros) is an ancient Phoenician city in modern Lebanon on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about 23 miles north of Acre, and 20 miles south of Sidon. The modern city is still named Sur. The name of the city means 'Rock'.
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Tyre consisted of two distinct parts, a rocky fortress on the shore, called "Old Tyre", and the city, built on a small, rocky island about half-a-mile distant from the shore. It was a place of great strength.
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 III, 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.
It was captured 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.
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| Abibaal | |
| Hiram I | 969 BC-936 BC |
| Baal-Eser I | 935 BC-919 BC |
| Abdastrato | 918 BC-910 BC |
| Ithobaal I | 887 BC-856 BC |
| Baal-Eser II | 855 BC-830 BC |
| Mattan I | 829 BC-821 BC |
| Pygmalion (Pumayyaton) | 820 BC-774 BC |
| Ithobaal II | 750 BC-740 BC |
| Hiram II | 739 BC-730 BC |
| Mattan II | 730 BC-729 BC |
| Elulaios (Luli) | 729 BC-694 BC |
| Abd Melqart | 694 BC-680 BC |
| Baal I | 680 BC-640 BC |
| Ithobaal III | 591 BC-573 BC |
| Baal II | 573 BC-564 BC |
| Yakinbaal | 564 BC |
| Chelbes | 564 BC-563 BC |
| Abbar | 563 BC-562 BC |
| Mattan III and Ger Ashthari | 562 BC-556 BC |
| Baal-Eser III | 556 BC-555 BC |
| Mahar-Baal | 555 BC-551 BC |
| Hiram III | 551 BC-532 BC |