Founded at the start of the third millennium B.C., Sour (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 Sour (Tyre), joined
two islets 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 Sour (Tyre)
founded Carthage in North Africa. Eventually, Phoenician colonies
spread around the Mediterranean and Atlantic, bringing to
the city a flourishing maritime trade.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, laid siege to the walled city
for thirteen years. Sour (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 Sour (Tyre)
for seven months. Again Sour (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 Tyrian's
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. Sour (Tyre) and the whole of ancient Syria fell under
Roman rule in 64 B.C. Nonetheless, for some time Sour (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.
Christianity figures in the history of Sour (Tyre), whose name
is mentioned in the New Testament. During the Byzantine era,
the Archbishop of Sour (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 A.D., 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, Sour (Tyre) acquired
some independence under the dynasty of the Banu ‘Aqil, vassals
of the Egyptian Fatimids, and its bazaars were full of all
kinds of merchandise, including carpets and jewelry of gold
and silver.
Thanks to Sour's (Tyre's) strong fortifications, it was able
to resist the onslaught of the Crusaders until 1124. After
about 167 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, Sour (Tyre)
was integrated into the new nation of Lebanon.
Archaeological Sour (Tyre)
For a period of nearly 50 years, the General Directorate
of Antiquities excavated in and around Sour (Tyre), concentrating
on the two major archaeological sites in the town, which can
be seen today. Those sites are the City Site and Al-Bass area
site.
The importance of this historical city and its monuments
was highlighted in 1984 when UNESCO declared Sour (Tyre) a
World Heritage Site.
In the meantime, government efforts have stopped much of
the wartime pillaging that Sour's (Tyre's) archaeological
treasures suffered due to economic stress in the area and
international demand for antiquities. Grassroots campaigns
have also drawn attention to the importance of the city's
antiquities. |
