THE HISTORY OF TYRE

BY

WALLACE B. FLEMING

 

PREFACE

The Phoenicians wrote the record of their civilization in achievements, not in books. This great people contributed almost nothing to the literature of the world, though they made possible all the literature of the western and near eastern nations. “The Phoenicians were masons, carpenters, ship­builders, weavers, dyers, glass-blowers, workers in metal, merchants, navigators, discoverers: if they were not actually the first to invent the alphabet, at least they so improved the art of writing that their system has been adopted and has been used by almost the whole civilized world. They surpassed all other peoples of antiquity in enterprise, perseverance and industry. They succeeded in showing that as much glory might be won and as enduring a power might be built up by arts and industries as by arms.”

Of the Phoenician cities, Tyre was the most important; it was so important that the Greeks gave its name to the whole region, calling it Zypta, from Hili Tsur, Tyre, and the Greek name is perpetuated to this day in our word Syria.

It is remarkable that the Tyrians should have occupied so high a place in human history for twenty-five hundred years and yet have left the world no body of literature and no written records of their own achievements and life. In constructing the history of the city of Tyre, materials must be gathered from widely separated sources, and the story pieced out from the references in the writings of the various peoples with whom they came in contact. The task is the more difficult because of the fact that these peoples were frequently unfriendly.

Allusions to Tyre are to be found in the writings of the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Hebrews, the Greeks, and the Romans of the ancient times, and in a few meager fragments of their own writing. In the medieval period to the close of the Crusades, the sources of information are the Latin, the Greek, the Arabic, the French and the Hebrew. The Crusaders left their principal records in Latin and French. From the close of the Crusades there is scarcely any story to tell, for Tyre lay in utter ruins. For this period we have the notes of pilgrims and travelers. The present petty town of Sur has arisen since the Mutawalis occupied the district in 1766 A.D. Its humble story presents little difficulty, but it is connected with the Tyre of history in location and name only.

On the pages which follow will be found references to the works of many historians who have written of the Phoenicians, and particularly of the Tyrians; a few authors, however, require special mention. Among those who have done most work in this field should be mentioned first of all F. C. Movers, whose work, “Die Phonizier” (1842-1856) is an exhaustive review of all historical sources then available. John Kenrick published in 1855 his “History of Phoenicia,” less voluminous than that of Movers, but making available for English readers all of the most important facts of Phoenician history then known. Ernst Renan’s “Mission de Phenicie” (1864) was of great value for its information as to topography and art. George Rawlinson’s “Phoenicia,” published in London in 1889, was a rewriting of the history of Phoenicia in the light of archeological discoveries to that date. In the same year, in Berlin, Richard Pietschmann published his “Geschichte der Phonizier,” rendering a like service for the German readers.

The most important publications concerning Tyre that have appeared are E. W. Hengstenberg’s De Rebus Tyriorum (Berlin, 1832), J. Krall’s Tyrus und Sidon (Vien, 1888), F. Jeremias’s Tyrus bis zur Zeit Nebukadnezars (Leipzig, 1891),—all of which treat of the early period of the city’s history,—and L. Lucas’s Geschichte der Stadt Tyrus zur Zeit der Kreuzziige (Marburg, 1895).

Recent discoveries have made necessary the rewriting of whole chapters of Phoenician history. Important researches have been carried on in Phoenicia. The Tel-el-Amarna letters have brought back to the world the lost record of an entire period of early Phoenician life, while recent excavations in Crete have resulted in the rediscovery of the old Minoan kingdom which now rises to dispute with Phoenicia the ancient sovereignty of the seas.

The history of Phoenicia is the history of her several independent city-states. The Phoenicians did not seek political but commercial power. They cared little for strong political unity. Then, their land was unfavorable to such unity. It was about two hundred miles long and from two to fifteen miles wide. Headlands projecting to the sea cut this coastland into a number of small plains that had their names from their chief cities, as the Plain of Tyre, the Plain of Sidon, the Plain of Acco, etc. Thus the topography of the land was unfavorable to a strongly centralized government. There was no recognized central capital. The history of Tyre is the history of the chief of the Phoenician city-states.

I am conscious of a certain unevenness in the work. Parts of it are broadly disposed, while others are meager in detail, and even bald in statement. The major cause for this is the curious abundance of materials in the sources for some periods, and their paucity in others. To future workers, to whom larger materials may come, must be left the pleasant task of filling out the story.

I have not cumbered the pages with citations of secondary sources. These are mentioned only when I have felt it necessary to locate a quotation or to acknowledge an indebtedness. The notes are intended mainly to refer to the original sources, and represent not secondary, but first hand use of them all.

 

TABLE OF CONTENT

Chapter I Tyre to the Age of Hiram Chapter II Tyre in the Age of Hiram Chapter III From the Age of Hiram to the Encroachment of Assyria Chapter IV Tyre’s Resistance to Assyrian Encroachment  Chapter V Tyre’s Resistance to Babylon Chapter VI Tyre under the Persians Chapter VII Tyre under the Greeks Chapter VIII Tyre under the Seleucidae Chapter IX Tyre under the Romans and Moslems Chapter X The Period of the Crusades Chapter XI From the Crusades to the Present Day Chapter XII Colonies, Commerce and Industries Chapter XIII Religion of the Tyrians

 

 

CHAPTER I

TYRE TO THE AGE OF HIRAM

 

The Origin of the Phoenicians

The account of the origin of the Phoenician nation given by Sanchoniathon1 implies that the people were autochthonous. The genealogical table of Genesis X, in which tribes are personified and an effort is made to trace their relation, makes Canaan son of Ham and Sidon son of Canaan, and the statement of the borders of Canaan shows that the author considered the Phoenicians native to Syria. But Sanchoniathon’s account is purely mythical, and so is without weight, and the suggestion of Genesis X that the Canaanites were Hamitic cannot be maintained. It is clear from the language of the Phoenicians that they were Semites, and were related to the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Arabs, and especially to the Hebrews. It is true that the Phoenician language is not identical with the Hebrew: it has its own characteristics. “The definite article, so common in Hebrew, is rare in Phoenician. The quiescent letters, which so frequently accompany long vowels in Hebrew, are usually omitted in Phoenician. Feminine nouns do not have the ‘П termination.” There are other differences between the two languages, and yet “the words most commonly in use, the particles, the pronouns, the forms of the verb, the principal inflections in Phoenician are identical, or nearly identical, with the pure Hebrew.”

Whence then came the Phoenicians? Herodotus says: “These Phoenicians, as they themselves say, anciently dwelt upon the Erythrian sea; and having crossed over thence, they inhabited the sea-coast of Syria.” This tradition was held by the Persians. “The learned among the Persians allege that the Phoenicians ... coming from the sea called Erythria to this sea (Mediterranean) and having settled in the country which they now occupy, immediately undertook distant voyages; and carrying cargoes both of Egyptian and Assyrian goods, visited among other places, Argos.” Pliny is in agreement with this, and Justin gives a similar account in these words: “The Tyrian nation was founded by the Phoenicians, who, being disturbed by an earthquake, and leaving their native land, settled first of all on the Assyrian Lake and subsequently on the shore near the sea, founding there a city which they call Sidon from the abundance of fish; for the Phoenicians call a fish Sidon.” If the Phoenicians had been autochthonous their marine activities might be accounted for by their location, their narrow strip of fertile coastland affording but meager opportunities apart from the sea, and their mountains affording the wood for shipbuilding. But since it is clear that they came by migration, their choice of settlement becomes inexplicable except on the supposition that they were a sea-loving people, a people schooled in nautical commerce, as the classical historians represented them. Renan’s conclusion is as follows: “The greater number of modern critics admit it as demonstrated, that the primitive abode of the Phoenicians must be placed on the lower Euphrates, in the center of the great commercial and maritime establishments of the Persian Gulf.” The occasion of the migration is wholly unknown. Justin’s statement that it was the result of an earthquake is extremely improbable. The movement was doubtless akin to other westward movements of Semitic peoples from Mesopotamia and the shores of the Persian Gulf, but its immediate cause was probably the commercial opportunities of the Mediterranean. The date of their migration to the shores of the Mediterranean must, for the present at least, be placed about 2800 B.C., on the testimony of the priests of Melkart recorded by Herodotus. They stated that their city was founded twenty-three hundred years before his visit. The visit of Herodotus must have been made about 450 B.C. On the assumption that Tyre was founded soon after the coming of the Phoenicians to the Mediterranean coast, the date for the migration may be set at approximately the figure given above. But the migration may not have occurred at once; it may have extended over a period of many years.

Topography and Appearance 

On the shore of Syria from the headland of Ras al-Abiad the plain of Tyre stretches northward fifteen miles to the River Litany (Leontes). Opposite the middle of this plain, twenty miles south of Sidon, an island of rock stood out of the sea. It was on this island, in longitude 35° 15' east, and latitude 33° 15' north that Tyre was first founded. It took its name Tyre (Greek Tiros; Phoenician Arabic Sûr; Assyrian and Babylonian Sur-ru; Egyptian Dara, or Tar, or Taru in the Amarna letters; early Latin Sarra) from the island, the Semitic Sur, meaning Rock. At a later time the new city, or an extension of the old city, was built upon the mainland. The city upon the mainland was designated as Old Tyre, or Palaetyrus, by the Greeks. Beside the principal island lay a smaller one, on which, in the earliest historic period, stood a famous temple of Melkart. Hiram, contemporary of David and Solomon, joined the two islands, reconstructed and adorned the temples, and enlarged the space of his capital eastward by wresting a considerable area from the sea. In this way the island attained a circumference of twenty-two stadia, about two and a half miles. By means of piers, a harbor was made on the northern side of the island, and another on the southern side; the first was called the Sidonian harbor, the other the Egyptian. A canal through the city connected these.

The outer walls, on the side toward the mainland, were one hundred and fifty feet high and were surmounted by battlements, according to the Greek historians of Alexander’s siege. The royal palace was in the southwestern part of the city. The chief temple was probably near the center: the Grand Square was in Hiram’s eastern addition. The city was closely built. Some of its buildings were many stories high. The natural slope of the ground showed the buildings tier on tier to one who viewed them from the mainland.

The water supply for the city of Tyre came from the wonderful springs of Ras al-Ain, south of the city, whose great reservoirs are still to be seen. It was carried to Palaetyrus by an aqueduct and thence was taken to the island city in earliest times by boats.

Alexander constructed a mole from the mainland to the island, and deposits of sand have widened this until now the ancient island is connected with the shore by a neck of land a quarter of a mile wide. The Egyptian harbor has so completely silted up that its location is a matter of question.

The appearance of the island city called forth unbounded praise from many lovers of the picturesque. Ezekiel spoke of it as “of perfect beauty.”

Strabo speaks of Tyre in the time of Augustus as follows:

“The foundation of her colonies, both in Libya and Iberia, as far as the Columns, raises the glory of Tyre far higher (than that of Sidon). Each lays claim to the title ‘Mother of the Phoenicians?... It is said that the houses at Tyre are built in more stories than at Rome; therefore, on account of the earthquakes which it has experienced, the town has had a narrow escape of being destroyed: it also received great damage at the siege of Alexander. But it surmounted all these misfortunes and repaired its losses partly by navigation, in which the Phoenicians in general have at all times surpassed other nations, and partly by their purple, for the Tyrian purple is acknowledged to be the best; the fishing (for this purpose) is carried on not far away. Tyre possessed everything necessary for dyeing. It is true that the work-shops of so many dyers make residence in the city incommodious, but it is to the skill of her work­men in this branch of her industry that the city owes her wealth.... She obtained a confirmation of her liberty from the Romans at the price of light conditions.... The maritime power of the Tyrians is attested by the number and the grandeur of their colonies.”

Pliny, writing about 75 A.D., says: “The Tyre so famous in ancient times for its offspring, the cities to which it gave birth, Leptis, Utica, and Carthage—Gades also which she founded beyond the limits of the world. At the present day all her fame is confined to the production of the murex and the purple. Its circumference, including Palaetyrus, is nineteen miles.”

Jerome (340-420 A.D.) in his commentaries on Ezekiel, speaks of the city in his day as “nobilissima et pulcherrima.”

About the end of the fourth century, or the beginning of the fifth, Nonnus wrote:

“And Dionysius rejoiced when he beheld the city which Neptune had bounded with the humid girdle of the sea. Her form is like the crescent moon. And he beheld what seemed a double wonder, for Tyre lies in the sea, being bounded by the waves, yet belongs to the land. She is like a maiden floating motionless, half hidden in the waters....

“Never have I seen such beauty, for the lofty trees murmur beside the waves. The near-by wood nymph listens to the ocean nymph speaking in the sea, and the mild midday breeze breathing from Lebanon on the Tyrian waves, and on the maritime fields, with the same breath that ripens the fruits, fills the seaman’s sails, at once cooling the brow of the husband­man and filling the mariner’s sails. ...

“0 City, famous throughout the world, image of the earth, figure of heaven, thou holdest the triangular sword-belt of thy fellow the sea.”

The Origin and Founding of Tyre

Nothing is known as to the circumstances of the founding of Tyre. According to Tyrian myths, theirs was the most venerable city in the world. After creation came a race of demi-gods who discovered that fire could be produced by rubbing pieces of wood together, and gave this boon to man. Then came giants whose names were conferred upon the mountains which they occupied, and from them Cassius, Lebanus, Antilebanus and Brathu received their names. After these were born Shamenrum or Hypsuranius, and Usoos the hunter. Shamenrum dwelled on the coast of the future town of Tyre. He invented huts of reeds, rushes and papyrus. A conflict arose between the two brothers. A violent storm caused the trees to rub against each other until they took fire and the forests of the neighborhood were consumed. Usoos, having taken a tree and broken off its boughs, was the first to venture on the sea. Arriving at one of the islands he dedicated two pillars, one to fire and the other to wind, pouring out blood of beasts that he had taken in hunting, and in after years men continued to worship at the pillars. It was thus that the island city of Tyre was founded.

According to another legend, the island was not originally fixed, but rose and fell with the waves. Between the two peaks that looked down upon the island was the olive tree of Astarte sheltered by a curtain of flame. An eagle thereon watched over a serpent coiled around the trunk. The whole island would cease to float as soon as some one succeeded in sacrificing the bird to the gods. Usoos or Herakles, destroyer of monsters, taught the people how to make boats and manage them. He then sailed to the island. The bird offered itself voluntarily for sacrifice, and as soon as its blood was poured out, Tyre rooted itself firmly to its place in the sea. From this time the gods never ceased to dwell in the holy island. Here Astarte herself was born, and in one of her temples there was shown a fallen star which she had brought back from one of her journeys.1 Baal was called the Melkart, King of the City.

As to the date of the founding of Tyre, there is much uncertainty. Herodotu3 gives an account of his visit to the city and his investigations there. He states that the priests of the temple of Melkart told him that their temple was built when the city was founded, twenty-three hundred years before that date. Assuming the visit of Herodotus to have been about 450 B.C., we have 2750 B.C. for the founding of the city.

Justin says that Tyre was founded one year before the capture of Troy. He says: “The Sidonians many years after the building of their city, were defeated by the king of Ascalon, and came in their ships to Tyre, which they founded a year before Troy fell.” This dates the founding of the city somewhere near 1200 B.C. Josephus tells us that Tyre was founded two hundred and forty years before the building of the temple at Jerusalem, which agrees approximately with the date given by Justin.

But, as we learn from the Tel-el-Amarna letters, Tyre was a great city two centuries earlier than the date given by Justin and Josephus. We must therefore accept the account of Herodotus for the present, at least.

Earliest Historic Records

As early as 1400 B.C. Tyre was not only a great city but was considered impregnable. Our earliest clear record of events at Tyre is given us in the Amarna letters. It is probable that the city yielded to Thotmes III when he made his victorious campaigns into Syria. The city acknowledged submission to Egypt at the time of Amenophis IV.

In the reign of this Amenophis IV, King of Egypt, we have through the Tel-el-Amarna letters an interesting bit of Tyrian history. The Egyptian power in western Asis evidently waned while Amenophis was having his troubles with the ancient priesthood at home. Two factions were at war in the Phoenician cities. Rib-Adda of Byblus (Gebal) reported the revolt of his subjects and the successes of his rival, Abd-Ashirta, and his son Aziru. Cities were taking sides. Both sides professed loyalty to the king of Egypt. It is clear that all had been under Egyptian dominance. Abi-Milki was governor of Tyre. He belonged to the Rib-Adda faction. Zimrida, governor of Sidon, belonged to the other side. Through his agency Samuru had fallen. Now with Aziru he besieged the Island City of Tyre. He had captured Sazu on the mainland, and had cut off Tyre’s supply of wood and water, thus desperately harassing the city. That the siege was of considerable duration is shown by the protracted correspondence. Abi-Milki sent repeated appeals to the king of Egypt for help. We have four of these letters in the British Museum (Numbers 28-31); two others are preserved at Gizeh (B., Numbers 98, 99), and one at Berlin (B., Number 162). In the letter (B. 98) preserved at Gizeh, Abi-Milki, after the customary salutations and assurances of loyalty, entreats the king to send provisions. The second letter at Gizeh (B. 99) contains a petition to the king of Egypt that he will order his inspector in Syria to supply him with wood and water from the city of Sazu. This letter relates that Sidon and Hazor have gone over to the enemy, and adds that the king of Egypt will now be able to judge of the desperate condition of Tyre. Abi-Milki seems to have received a letter to the effect that royal orders had been given that Sidon and Arvad furnish supplies. In the letter preserved at Berlin (B. 162) Abi-Milki expresses pleasure at the king’s message, but reports that Sidon and Arvad have supplied no wood or water. The style of the letters is shown by the following summary of B. 28 given by C. Bezold:

“To the king, my lord, my sun, my god, thus saith Abi-Milki, thy servant: ‘Seven times and seven times do I prostrate myself at the feet of the king, my lord. I am the dust beneath the feet of the king, my lord, and upon that which he treadeth. 0, my king and my lord, thou are like unto the god Shamash and to the god Rimmon in heaven. Let the king give counsel to his servant! Now the king, my lord, hath appointed me the guardian of the city of Tyre, the Royal Handmaid, and 1 sent a report in a table unto the king, my lord; but I have received no answer thereunto. I am an officer of the king, my lord, and I duly report all that cometh to pass, be it favorable or unfavorable.’”

Abi-Milki then asks that the king of Egypt let him have twenty additional soldiers to defend his city. If the king will graciously give this order, his servant Abi-Milki will “live forever.” There is a break in the text and then we learn that Zimrida (?) has delivered the city of Samuru to Aziru and that in consequence “the king of Egypt did not eat from the produce of his city or of his land.” When Abi-Milki heard of the renown of the king and of the fame of his troops, he feared greatly, and all the countries round about trembled because they had not protected the king’s interests. As soon as Zimrida knew that Abi-Milki had been appointed governor of Tyre, he attacked and captured the city of Sazu, and therefore the supplies of wood and water which Abi-Milki drew from thence were cut off, and as the Tyrians were unable to provide themselves in any other way, some of them died of want. Abi-Milki asks for fresh instructions.

The king of Egypt had ordered Abi-Milki to report to him everything he heard, and in obedience to this command he now writes, “Zimrida, governor of Sidon, and Aziru (a disaffected Egyptian official), and the people of Arvad, had joined in a league and had entered into a conspiracy and had gathered together their ships and chariots and soldiers and had made an attack upon Tyre, the Handmaiden of the King,” but the “hand of the king obtained might and slew them,” and they were unable to capture the city. But the city of Samuru had been given to Aziru by command of Zimrida. “Concerning these things I have already sent a tablet to the king, my lord, but I have received no answer. I am surrounded on all sides with foes and we have neither wood nor water.”

In this desperate condition, unable to obtain supplies from the mainland, and only getting them with the greatest difficulty from his ships because of the blockading fleet, Abi-Milki entreats the king to send him instructions, and also to take steps to protect his city Tyre and his servant Abi-Milki. In conclusion he sends this tablet by the hands of a common soldier to whom he begs the king to give an immediate answer. The destitute condition of his household is shown by the fact that he is compelled to send the soldier without gifts for the king, instead of a proper envoy.

A second letter in the British Museum contains the usual profuse salutation. The king of Egypt seems to have ordered that Abi-Milki should be general of the troops, whereat he expresses his joy (Yayaya!) and homage. “I will guard the city of Tyre, the great city, for the king, my lord, and I will hold it until the king shall send forth his power to help me, to give me water to drink and wood to warm myself withal.” Zimrida of Sidon and Aziru, son of Abd-Ashirta, are harassing him daily.

In a third letter in the British Museum ( Abi-Milki writes to the king of Egypt with the usual compliments, and with the usual complaints against Zimrida, and with the usual plea for wood and water. He is sending a present by his messenger, Ilu-Milki. In reply to the king’s orders he reports the news from the land of Canaan. The letter concludes with an urgent appeal for help.

The fourth letter of Abi-Milki in the British Museum collection is not well preserved. He has been ordered to salute Shalmayati and supply him with water. He has no water to give and therefore asks the king to take steps to have this done himself. He still professes loyalty and seems to want to defend Tyre, “the city of Shalmayati.” But he seems to know that all is lost. He calls Tyre “the city of Shalmayati” (perhaps a rival governor), and prepares to withdraw. This first known siege of Tyre seems, therefore, to have been successful, resulting in the overthrow of Abi-Milki and the Rib-Adda faction.

Among the letters from Rib-Adda, King of Gebal, to the king of Egypt, is one referring to the situation at Tyre. He writes: “Behold Tyre is in a state of rebellion, and if you doubt my words, ask my brother Yamilki. I sent my possessions to Tyre for safety, but now the Tyrians have slain their general and also my sister and her sons. I sent my sister’s daughters to Tyre fearing Abd-Ashirta.” Here again is an indication that the siege was successful and resulted in the overthrow of Abi-Milki.

Only a few meager facts about Tyre have survived from the period immediately following the reign of Abi-Milki. After the period of the Amarna letters it would seem that Tyre and other cities of Syria, finding that Egypt could not maintain her rule by arms, refused submission and became independent. But in the reign of Seti I (1313-1292) Egypt showed again her power to conquer. In the list of the conquests of the king, preserved upon a sphinx in his temple at Kurna, Tyre (D’ru) is among the cities named. A traveler writing in the reign of Ramses II (1292-1225 B.C.) says: . They speak of another city in the sea, Zor (Tyre) the Lake (port) is her name. The drinking water is brought to her in boats. She is richer in fishes than in sand.”

The next antiquity of interest to us is Papyrus Anastasi III of the British Museum. It gives us a few pages of a school copy-book on which an official in some frontier town of Palestine wrote some hurried notes about the persons who passed through on the way to Syria. We are interested in a note that runs as follows:

“Year 3 (Merneptah), first month of the third season (i.e., ninth month), fifteenth day.

“There went up the servant of Baal, Roy, son of Zeper of Gaza, who had with him for Syria two letters; for the captain of infantry, Khay, one letter; for the chief of Tyre, Baalat-Remeg, one letter.”

Another of the notes which may refer to Tyre is as follows:

“Year 3, first month of the third season (ninth month), the day.

“There went up the attendant ... who journeyed to (Upper) Tyre (D'-r' Rum).”

In the age of Joshua, Tyre was “the strong city.” A papyrus found in 1891 in Upper Egypt, opposite Feshun, and now in St. Petersburg, gives the report of an officer by the name of Wenamon. It belongs perhaps to the reign of Ramses XII (1118-1090). Wenamon was sent to secure cedars from Lebanon for the king’s use in ship-building. He met with a series of mishaps which show that Egypt, though claiming sovereignty, could not even protect her own messengers in Syria. He stopped at Tyre and mentions the harbor, but unfortunately his record here is so marred that nothing else can be made out.

The Rise of Tyre to Supremacy among the Phoenician Cities

The statement of Josephus that Tyre was founded two hundred and forty years before the building of the temple at Jerusalem, and that of Justin that it was founded the year before the fall of Troy, warrant the belief that something unusual occurred in the city’s history about 1200 B.C. The city, as has been shown, was founded at a much earlier date. It may be that the later date marks an awakening and the beginning of a new era in the city’s life. We find Tyre in commercial supremacy soon after this date. Perhaps an accession of strength from Sidon greatly promoted her prosperity. It is probable that the conditions in the sister city were such as to divert trade to Tyre. Foreign conditions were also favorable. For many centuries the Minoan power in Crete, as we learn from recent discoveries, shared the seas with the Phoenicians, perhaps antedating them in many manufacturing, commercial and marine achievements. But the Minoan power was fast falling into decay. The way to the sovereignty of the seas was open.

The awakening manifested itself in quickened courage and new enterprise. As early as 1100 B.C., Tyrian seamen not only passed the Gates of Hercules and dared the open Atlantic; but they planted the colony of Utica in Africa, and that of Gades in far-off Iberia. Sailors who braved the real and imaginary perils of such voyages must be accredited with great courage; such courage made Tyre the queen of the seas. And citizens willing to leave the comforts of Tyrian homes for pioneer dwellings on the far-off edge of the world must be accredited with a great spirit of commercial enterprise; and such spirit made Tyre the mart of the nations.

 

CHAPTER II

TYRE IN THE AGE OF HIRAM

 

After Abi-Milki, it is probable that Shalmayati was the King of Tyre. Unless we are to understand that Baalat-Remeg was king of the city, no record remains to tell us who held the throne after Shalmayati until the time of Abi-baal, and all the information that has survived regarding Abi-baal is limited to that which Josephus gives, viz., that he was king of Tyre and father of Hiram.

When Abi-baal died, his son Hiram (High-Born, or Brother-of-the-Lofty) succeeded to the throne. The city over which Hiram reigned had developed many arts to a high state of perfection. The achievements in architecture, masonry, carpentry, metallurgy, the weaving of delicate fabrics, sewing and the like were not the product of a single generation.

Hiram seems to have been a statesman worthy of his time. He enlarged the city by filling in on the eastern side of the island and made a Grand Square in this new addition to the city. To the southwest of the main island was a smaller island upon which was the temple of Melkart. Hiram joined the two islands. He reconstructed the temples of the city, and for this purpose he brought materials of wood from Mount Lebanon. The temple of Melkart he adorned with donations of gold and in it he dedicated a pillar of gold. It was probably at this time that the harbors were enlarged and connected by canal through the city. But that which preserved his deeds in the knowledge of men was his alliance with Israel.

Israel was just coming to her glory. Until the time of David the subjugation of the Canaanites had been incomplete. In the period of the Judges we find Israel a prey to one after another of the Canaanitish tribes. But under the leadership of King David, contemporary of Hiram, Israel had defeated the Philistines, the Moabites, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Syrians, and had extended her borders even to the Euphrates.

Hiram sent a friendly embassy to David and opened negotiations, a result of which was that cedar trees were sent to Jerusalem, Tyrian carpenters and masons were also supplied by Hiram, and in due time the royal palace of King David was built. The alliance continued through the life of David. In his closing years, when David was collecting materials for the Temple, he was aided by the “Zidonians and they of Tyre.”

When Solomon inherited the throne of his father David, he inherited also his purpose to erect the Temple at Jerusalem. And Solomon sent to Hiram, the King of Tyre, saying:

“As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me. Behold, I build an house for the name of the Lord, my God, to dedicate it to him ... and the house that I build is great: for great is our God above all gods ... Now therefore send me a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave all manner of gravings, to be cunning with men that are with me in Juda and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide. Send me also cedar trees, and fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, even to prepare me timber in abundance; for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderfully great. And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.”

Then Hiram the king of Tyre answered in writing which he sent to Solomon: “Because the Lord loveth his people, he hath made thee king over them.” Hiram said, moreover:

“Blessed be Jahveh the God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the King a wise son, endued with discretion and understanding, that should build an house for Yahweh, and an house for his kingdom. And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Hiram my father’s, the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, and in blue, in fine linen, and in crimson, and to grave any manner of graving, and to devise any device: that there may be a place appointed unto him with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father. Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil and the wine which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants: and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea unto Joppa: and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.”

The agreement was made, and while the rough work was done by the subjects of Solomon, the skilled artisans of Hiram directed the work under the guidance of the master workman referred to above.

It is clear that the Jewish writers were greatly impressed with the architectural skill of the Phoenicians. We read that the temple was built of stones made ready at the quarry, and so perfectly had they been made ready that “there was neither hammer or axe or any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.” Josephus tells us: “Now the whole structure of the temple was made with great skill, of polished stones, and those laid together so very harmoniously and smoothly that there appeared to the spectators no sign of any hammer, nor other instrument of architecture, but as if, without any use of them, the entire materials had naturally united themselves together.”

The Jews were much impressed with the “great stones” and “wrought stones” that composed the foundation. They greatly admired the skill shown in the carving of wood, the graving of gold, in the adornments of precious stones, and the work in blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen.

Before the temple, on the right hand and on the left, were placed two massive hollow pillars of brass eighteen cubits in height, each surmounted by a chapiter five cubits high, called Jachin and Boaz. These may have been modeled after the two pillars in the famous temple of Melkart at Tyre, one of which, overlaid in gold, Hiram had lately set up. An altar of brass was made for the burnt offerings; it was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. A brazen sea in hemispherical form and ten cubits in diameter was cast and set up on twelve brazen oxen that faced toward the four directions of the compass. Brazen bases for ten lavers were made; these were ornamented with figures of lions, oxen and cherubim (or “eagles,” according to Josephus).

Nothing has survived of the treasures of the Temple to tell us of Tyrian skill. The Temple was burned and its treasures plundered by Nebuzaradan, captain of the hosts of Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon, in the year 588 B.C.

Hiram obtained as a mark of the esteem of Solomon, a gift which he seems not to have appreciated. Because Hiram had furnished gold and silver, and cedar trees, and fir trees, Solomon gave him a district of Galilee bordering on his own possessions and containing twenty cities. Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul, which, according to Josephus, is a Phoenician word meaning “what does not please.”

In the age of Hiram we have some light on Tyrian commerce and navigation. Solomon’s conquest of the Edomites gave him possession of the port of Eziongeber, near Eloth on the Red Sea. Here he built a fleet of ships for trade in the eastern and southern waters; and Hiram furnished “shipmen who had knowledge of the sea.” This fleet imported almug trees (perhaps sandal wood), precious stones, and gold of Ophir. Solomon’s returns for a single voyage are said to have been four hundred and twenty talents of gold.

On the basis of II Chronicles, IX, 21, it has been believed that Solomon had a fleet in the Mediterranean waters; but the Chronicler here interpreting I Kings, X, 22, reads “ships to Tarshish” for “ships of Tarshish,” and a “ship of Tarshish” seems to have been only a particular kind of a ship.

Palestine has always traded with Asia Minor through Tarsus of Cicilia which the Arabs call “Tarshish,” and this may be the Tarshish of Genesis, X, 4. But most modern authorities agree that the name was given to the region of Tartessus in Spain, which appears to have extended from the Straits of Gibraltar to the mouth of the Guadalquivir. We know that Tyrian colonists made settlements in these regions as early as 1100 B.C., and that Tyre carried on a vastly profitable commerce with these regions.

For the voyages to the Spanish coast the Phoenicians must have used their largest and strongest vessels. Because of this, a “ship of Tarshish” seems to have come to represent a certain kind of great strong ship much as the word “Indiaman” came to represent its specific type of vessel in the English service. It is clear that the “ships of Tarshish” of I Kings, XXII,-48, were for service in the Red Sea and the east, though the Chronicler as before interprets the expression as “ships to Tarshish” (II Chron., XX, 36-37). It is easy to see how Israel, holding the territory through which the caravans of Tyre must transport their merchandise for the eastern trade, could claim a share in that trade; but there are no evident reasons why Tyre should have shared with them the commerce of the Mediterranean. Then, the imports of this fleet of Solomon could not have come from Tarshish. The fleet brought gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. While the ivory and apes might have been gotten in North Africa, the peacocks almost certainly came from India or Ceylon, their native home. Solomon’s “ships of Tarshish” therefore sailed in eastern waters, and the fact that they made three-year voyages is easily understood. The wealth that came to Israel through these commercial ventures under Tyrian direction is suggestive of the golden streams that must have flowed into the coffers of Tyre, the real Mistress of the Sea.

There was an interesting tilt of shrewdness between Hiram and Solomon. Josephus says: “Moreover the king of Tyre sent sophisms and enigmatical sayings to Solomon, and desired that he would solve them and free them from the ambiguity that was in them. Now so sagacious and understanding was Solomon, that none of his problems were too hard for him, but he conquered them all by his reasonings, and discovered their hidden meaning and brought them to light.” That seems to be Israel’s side of the story. But the fragment from the Tyrian writer Dius, which Josephus preserves for us, gives us a different version. According to this version, “Solomon who was then king of Jerusalem, sent riddles to Hiram; and desired that he might receive the like from him, but that he who could not solve them should pay money to him who did solve them, and that Hiram accepted the conditions; and when he was not able to solve the riddles, he paid a great deal of money for his fine: but that he afterwards did solve the proposed riddles by means of Abdemon, a man of Tyre; and that Hiram proposed other riddles which, when Solomon could not solve, he paid back a great deal of money to Hiram.” Unfortunately these dark sayings and their answers are lost, and we have no way of weighing the wit of these friendly kings.

Hiram lived fifty-three years and reigned thirty-four years. Upon his death, his son, Beleasarus (Baalusur) succeeded to the throne. Three miles distant from the modern town of Sur, and before the village of Hannawe, stands one of the most remarkable monuments of ancient Tyre that time has spared. It is called the Kabr Hiram, the tomb of Hiram. The base or pedestal consists of two tiers of great stones, each three feet thick, thirteen feet long, and eight feet, eight inches broad. Upon this rests the sarcophagus formed of a single block, which is twelve feet long, eight feet broad, and six feet high. The stone lid covering the sarcophagus is somewhat smaller and slightly pyramidal in form. It is five feet thick. The entire length is twenty-one feet. Renan discovered a rock chamber under the tomb, to which steps descended from the north end of the monument. At some time a large hole has been broken in the eastern end of the sarcophagus and the contents have been removed. This weather-beaten structure bears the marks of high antiquity. One is easily tempted to believe the traditions that ascribe it to Hiram, friend of David and Solomon; rugged, unpolished, heroic, mysterious, solitary, it is a fit monument of such a king. But whether the body of that King Hiram ever rested here or not, we do not know.

 

CHAPTER III

FROM THE AGE OF HIRAM TO THE BEGINNING OF ASSYRIAN ENCROACHMENT

 

Josephus, quoting from the Phoenician history of Menander, says: “Upon the death of Hiram, Beleazarus, his son, took the kingdom; he lived forty-three years and reigned seven years. After him came his son Abd-Astartus; he lived twenty-nine years and reigned nine years. Now four sons of his nurse plotted against him and slew him, the eldest of whom reigned twelve years. After them came Astartus, the son of Deleastartus. He lived fifty-four years and reigned twelve years. After him came his brother Aserymus, who lived fifty-four years and reigned nine years. He was slain by his brother Pheles who took the kingdom and reigned but eight months, though he lived fifty years. He was slain by Ithobalus the priest of Astarte, who reigned thirty-two years and lived sixty-eight years. He was succeeded by his son Badezorus ow who lived forty-five years and reigned six years. He was succeeded by Matgenus, his son. He lived thirty-two years and reigned nine years. Pygmalion succeeded him; he lived fifty-six years and reigned forty-seven years. Now in the seventh year of his reign his sister fled away from him and built the city of Carthage in Libya.”

To this Josephus adds: “So the whole time from the reign of Hiram to the building of Carthage, amounts to the sum of one hundred and fifty-five years and eight months. Since, then, the temple was built at Jerusalem in the twelfth year of the reign of Hiram, there were from the building of the temple to the building of Carthage, one hundred and forty-three years and eight months.” But when we add twenty-two years of Hiram’s reign to the years of the succeeding kings to the seventh year of Pygmalion, as given above, the sum is one hundred and twenty-five years; according to which Carthage was founded not one hundred and forty-three years, but one hundred and twenty-five years after the founding of the temple, and so we have another of the many vexing difficulties of ancient chronology.

Within this period of Tyre’s history, her religion deeply affected the life of Israel. According to the Tyrian annals just referred to, Ithobalus, priest of Astarte, who slew his predecessor and assumed the crown, was the seventh king after Hiram, and the years of the reigns as given above make him a contemporary of Ahab. Perhaps it was religious zeal that led him to espouse his daughter Jezebel to Ahab, though the alliance with the bold warrior king of Israel was not without political advantages as well. Jezebel brought a vast number of the priests of Baal with her. Ahab was persuaded to build a temple to the Tyrian god on the hill of Samaria.

At the sanctuaries of Ashteroth, four hundred priests or “prophets” of Jezebel ministered, while at those of Baal, four hundred and fifty more were engaged. There was a great contest between the faith of Israel and that of Tyre. As a part of that contest, according to the account in I Kings, XVII, there was a great drought, and according to the Hebrew account this was finally broken by the prayer of Elijah. It is an interesting fact that Menander mentioned this drought in his account of the acts of Ithobalus or Ethbaal, King of Tyre, as follows:

“Under him there was a want of rain from the month Hyperberetaeus till the month Hyperberetaeus of the year following; but when he made supplications, there came great thunderings. This Ethbaal built the city of Botrys in Phoenicia, and the city of Auza in Libya.”

Fearful persecutions were a part of the contest. Jezebel slew many of the prophets of God. Elijah, as a leader of Israel’s religion, slew the prophets of Baal in Mount Carmel. But Elijah soon realized that the nation was turning to Baal worship. The king accepted the religion of his queen, and the Tyrian worship presented such attractions that the whole people followed the royal example, fell away from the worship of Jehovah, and became votaries of Baal and Ashteroth. The fascination is seen in its persistence.

“The pure cult of Judaism—the one hope of the world—contracted a well-nigh indelible stain from the proselytizing efforts of Jezebel, and Athaliah, and their furious persecutions; the heavenly light passed under a thick black cloud, and it required prolonged convulsions throughout the whole East, the downfall of Israel and Judah, and the long purgation of the Captivity, to undo the effects brought about with a light heart by a royal bigot, and his cruel daughter and grand-daughter.”

 

CHAPTER IV

TYRE’S RESISTANCE TO ASSYRIAN ENCROACHMENT

 

Tyre felt the force of Assyrian encroachment for the first time in the early half of the ninth century B.C. It was in 876 B.C. that the Assyrian King, Ashurnasirpal, appeared on the heights of Lebanon overlooking the sea, and demanded the submission and tribute of the Phoenician cities. He had already conquered country after country. Cities that had resisted him had been plundered and destroyed and their inhabitants butchered with almost incredible cruelties. His army was one of the most perfect fighting machines that had ever been organized. Their onslaught was considered resistless. The oncoming of an Assyrian army is thus described: “Behold they shall come with speed swiftly; none shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber or sleep; nor shall the girdle of their loins be unloosed nor the latchet of their shoes be broken; whose arrows are sharp and all their bows are bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirl­wind; their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions; yea, they shall roar and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe and none shall deliver it. In that day they shall roar against him like the roaring of the sea; and if one look into the land, behold darkness and sorrow; and the light is dark­ened in the heavens thereof.” The king of Tyre was compelled to choose whether he would cross swords with this world-conqueror or submit under as favorable terms as could be secured.

The conqueror himself describes his advance in these words:

“At that time I marched along the Lebanon and to the great sea (Mediterranean) of the land of the Amurru I went up. I washed my weapons and made offerings to the gods. The tribute of the kings from the side of the sea, from the lands of Tyre and Sidon, and Byblus and Makhallat and Maisa, and Kaisa, and Amurru and Arvad, which lies in the midst of the sea; silver and gold and lead and bronze, and garments of bright colored stuffs and cloth, and a great pagutu and a small pagutu, and ushu-wood, and ukarinnu-wood, and teeth of a dolphin, a creature of the sea, I received as their tribute and they embraced my feet. Mount Amanus I climbed and beams of cedar, cypress, juniper and pine I cut down. I made offerings to my gods. A stela with my deeds of valor I made and set up therein”. From this inscription it is evident that the Tyrians chose the easier way of paying tribute to the conqueror.

Now it must be remembered that the Tyrians were first of all a commercial people. Their prosperity depended upon peace, not war. Up to this time the ranges of Lebanon had proved a sufficient protection against the arms of the warlike nations, and the Phoenicians had been allowed to develop in their own way. They had never aspired to military conquests. Again and again in later times, when war was forced upon them, they showed that they were not without the courage that would have made worthy warriors, but they were a people of peace. If there are times when discretion is the better part of valour, it is not to the discredit of Tyre that she acknowledged the sovereignty of Assyria and brought her tribute to Ashurnasirpal.

What commercial concessions Tyre secured, and what protection for her trade, we do not know, for we have only the one-sided account of the conqueror; but for a century and a half the peaceful relationship continued. The Cuneiform records of this period make mention of tribute paid by Tyre and other Phoenician cities. Thus, in the Annalistic Fragments of Shalmaneser II, dated about 842 B.C., we read: “At that time I received the tribute of the Tyrians and Sidonians, and Jehu of the land of Omri.” Of this king’s last great expedition to the west, about 839 B.C., we read: “In the twenty-first year of my reign I crossed the Euphrates for the twenty-first time. I marched against the cities of Hazael of Damascus. I captured four of his cities. I received the tribute of Tyrians, Sidonians and Byblians.” We have no evidence that Tyre was discontented with this situation. It is quite probable that, for the most part, the sway of Assyria was favorable to the land commerce of Tyre, by making caravan routes more safe. Her wealth increased and her commerce was greatly extended. Isaiah, writing at the close of this period, reveals the prosperity that Tyre had been enjoying: “The harvest of the river is her revenue; and she is a mart of all nations.... Tyre, the crowning city, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth.”

It was in this period that a situation arose in Tyre that resulted in the founding of the city of Carthage, and hence affected profoundly the later history of all the nations bordering on the Mediterranean. The facts regarding the founding of the city of Carthage, like those of many of the other cities of antiquity, are hopelessly interwoven with myths. We have a very brief statement of Menander, preserved by Josephus, from Tyrian sources. No record has come to us directly from Carthaginian historians. The best that have survived from Latin and Greek sources are the account of Virgil in the Aeneid, Book I with commentaries, and that in Justin, XVIII, 4-5.

Menander, as quoted by Josephus, states that “he (Matgenus) lived thirty-two years, and reigned nine years. Pygmalion succeeded him; he lived fifty-six years and reigned forty-seven years. Now in the seventh year of his reign his sister fled away from him, and built the city of Carthage in Libya.” This bald statement, devoid of details, may perhaps be accepted as trustworthy.

According to Justin, when the king died, he left his son Pygmalion and his daughter Elissa as joint heirs. But the people delivered the rulership to the boy Pygmalion. Elissa married her uncle Acerbas (Sychaeus of Virgil), priest of Hercules, whose place was second only to the king. This man had great but hidden riches. Through fear of the king he hid his wealth not in buildings but in the ground. Pygmalion, moved by avarice, slew his uncle.

According to one tradition, Pygmalion slew Acerbas before the altar in the temple of Melkart while another tradition reports that he invited Acerbas to hunt with him and while the attendants were pursuing a wild boar, he slew Acerbas with a spear and threw his body down a precipice. He then gave out that Acerbas had fallen to his death. Virgil is confused by the conflicting accounts, for while he states that Acerbas was slain before the altar publicly, he has the fact of the crime revealed to Elissa in a dream, as though the deed had been done in secret.

Elissa was turned against her brother for a long time because of the crime, but at length she dissimulated her hatred and planned secret flight. Certain princes who were in disfavor with the king had entered into league with her. She went to her brother with craft and said that she wished to move to his house. Pygmalion heard her gladly, for he thought that she would bring the gold of Acerbas with her. He sent servants and ships for the moving. The riches were secretly concealed on board the ships, but out at sea the servants were compelled to cast overboard bags of sand, which they were led to believe were the treasures, while she prayed the shade of her husband to accept the offering of the wealth that had caused his death. The servants were easily frightened into believing that, as the treasures were gone, their only safe course lay in flight. They were joined by certain senators and priests of Hercules, and sought a home in exile.

They went first to Cyprus where a priest of Jupiter with his family joined them. Eighty virgins who had come down to the sea-shore to dedicate themselves to Venus before marriage, were seized and carried away to be the wives of the founders of the new city. Pygmalion was inclined to follow with a hostile fleet, but was dissuaded by his mother, who was moved by prophetic inspiration to see that the new city was to be “urbs toto orbe auspicatissima.” Elissa, the wanderer, was called Dido. 

An additional interesting statement concerning the founding of Carthage is given by Philistus as quoted by Eusebius. He states that Carthage was founded by Soros and Karindon.  There can be no doubt that Sopos is Tyre, and that this is testimony of the part that Tyre played in the founding of the great Libyan city. A natural inference would be that Karindon refers to another city that cooperated with Tyre in the founding of Carthage. It has been argued by Professor Jastrow that the reference is probably to Karindon (Kittium) in Cyprus. This city is spoken of in the Baal-Lebanon inscription, in the inscription of Esarhaddon, and elsewhere. It was evidently an important and flourishing city. It may be that the stop made by Elissa and her followers on the island of Cyprus was at this place, and that they remained here until the danger of pursuit made it advisable to depart, and that the priest of Jupiter and others who joined the enterprise here had large share in founding the New City, which was given the name of their home town.

These legends and conjectures, however, are not to be accepted as established historic facts. The date and details as to the founding of Carthage form an interesting mystery in which very little is certainly known. Meltzer, after a careful consideration of all known materials on the subject, concludes that all that we may be sure of is “dass Karthago von Tyrien, ubrigens untern gänzlich unbekanten Umständen, gegründet war,” and at a date quite uncertain.

We come to a new light in the history of Tyre, with the coming of Tiglatpileser III to the Assyrian throne in 746 B.C. He ruled all the dependencies of Assyria with a heavy hand. His immediate predecessors had been unable to enforce their sovereignty in the west and collect the tribute claimed. Tiglatpileser III was a warrior and a statesman. He began with ruthless hand to establish Assyrian authority. A coalition to refuse tribute and resist its collection by force, if necessary, was formed. Tyre joined the combination, together with Judah, Israel, Damascus, Gebal and others to the number of nineteen. The confederation was formidable, but it lacked cohesion. Tiglatpileser III marched on the confederates in 738 B.C. He met with no united opposition. One by one the cities made peace with him. When the campaign was over, Tiglatpileser carried away the tribute from Kushtashpi of Kummukh, Rezon of Damascus, Menahem of Samaria, Hiram of Tyre, Sibittili of Gebal, Urikki of Que, Pisiris of Carchemish, Enilu of Hamath, Panammu of Samal, Tarkhulara of Gurgum, Shulumal of Melid, Dadilu of Kask, Uassurme of Tabal, Ushkhitti of Atun, Urballa of Tukhan, Tukhammi of Ishtunda, Urimmi of Khubishna, and from Queen Zabibi of Arabia. Tiglatpileser declares that he annexed the nineteen districts and appointed his generals as rulers over them.

Here the earliest Phoenician inscription, the Baal-Lebanon, becomes available. It is engraved upon the fragments of a bronze bowl dedicated by a certain  governor of Karth-hadasht,” or Karti-hadashti (New City, i.e., Kittium), servant of Hiram, King of the Sidonians, to Baal-Lebanon. It reads as follows:

(1) . . . governor of Karth-hadasht, servant of Hiram, King of the Sidonians, gave this to Baal of Lebanon, my lord, of choicest bronze.

(2) . . . TB, governor of Karth-hadasht.

(3) to Baal of Lebanon, my lord.

While the date of this fragment is not certain, it is probable that the King Hiram of the inscription is this Hiram of Tyre from whom Tiglatpileser took tribute. The King of Tyre was spoken of as the King of the Sidonians and this inscription gives us the interesting information that the authority of Tyre extended to Cyprus at this period. In the closing years of Tiglatpileser’s reign Maten was king of Tyre.

In the reign of Shalmaneser IV we find Tyre still enjoying semi-independence under King Eluleus, and claiming authority over the other Phoenician cities and the Island of Cyprus. The Cyprians revolted, but Eluleus sailed to their island and reduced them to submission. It is probable that the revolt of Cyprus was but submission to Assyria. The Assyrian king sent an army against Tyre. He overran all Phoenicia, but having no means for attacking the island city, he made peace and withdrew. Doubtless he had impressed the Phoenician dependencies of Tyre by his military measures, and they had seen that they were powerless to resist his armies. Sidon, Palaetyrus, and many other cities delivered themselves into his hands. Tyre refused to submit. The Assyrian king appeared again in Phoenicia. The other Phoenician cities now furnished him a fleet of sixty ships and eight hundred men to row them. Tyre seems to have been taken by surprise. But twelve ships were available with which to oppose the large hostile fleet. The Tyrians sailed boldly into battle, scattered the ships of the enemy and took five hundred men prisoners. Because of this victory great honor came to the people of Tyre. Finding the capture of Tyre impossible, the king withdrew, leaving troops to besiege the city by cutting off the water supply. The city, though distressed, was not conquered. The people drank only such brackish water as they could obtain from the wells they dug, or the rain-water which they collected in cisterns. At the end of five years, the siege was given up, troubles elsewhere requiring the Assyrian forces.

King Eluleus reigned thirty-six years (?), and it appears that after Shalmaneser’s unsuccessful attempt to crush him, he was unmolested by the Assyrian forces for about twenty years. During this period Tyre regained her ascendency over a large part of the Phoenician territory, including Sidon, Sarepta, Ecdippa, Acco, and other cities. Sargon, who held the scepter of Assyria from 721 to 705 B.C., turned all his marvelous powers elsewhere. In 703 B.C. a league to resist Assyria was formed in the west, under King Hezekiah of Judah. The league included Ammon, Moab, Edom, and the cities of Phoenicia. Padi, King of Ekron, who was loyal to Assyria, was captured and delivered to King Hezekiah. Sennacherib (704-682 B.C.), son and successor of Sargon, in the year 701 B.C. appeared with a large army on the coast of the Mediterranean and received the submission of the Phoenician cities, except Tyre. Let Sennacherib himself tell the story:

 

“In my third campaign I went to the land of Khatti; the fear of the splendor of my sovereignty overcame Luli (Eluleus), the King of the city of Sidon, and he fled to the sea, and I took his territory. Greater Sidon and Lesser Sidon, and Bit-Zith, and Seriptu (Sarepta), and Mak-hallibi, and Ushu, and Akzibi (Ecdippa), and Akku (Acco), his strong cities and his fortresses, his storehouses of food and drink, his strongholds were vanquished by the might of the arms of Ashur my lord, and I placed them in subjection at my feet. I set Tubalu (Ethbaal) upon the throne of sovereignty over them, and laid upon him a fixed amount of tribute which was to be paid yearly to my lordship. Menahem of Samaria, Tubalu of Sidon ... brought me rich gifts and heavy loads of their possessions, and kissed my feet.”

The omission of all reference to Tyre is suggestive, however the Assyrian is not giving an account of his failures, but of his successes. It would seem that when Eluleus found that he could not defend his continental possessions, he withdrew to his island capital. Then, when Sennacherib found that he could not crush Eluleus, he made Sidon the capital of Phoenicia, deposed Eluleus, whom he calls “King of Sidon,” and appointed as governor the native prince Tubalu or Ethbaal. This political move would placate Sidon while stripping Tyre of much of her power. The account does not warrant the conclusion that Eluleus was crushed or that Tyre was taken, though the league for resistance was shattered, and Tyre seems to have made at least a nominal submission.

There is no reason to believe that Tubalu proved an unfaithful vassal of his foreign master.

Esarhaddon (680-668 B.C.) came to the throne of Assyria in 680 B.C. The yoke of Assyria proved so galling that subject provinces frequently chose the unsettled period when a new king was establishing himself upon the throne, as a favorable opportunity to revolt. Abi-Milkut, who had probably succeeded Ethbaal, was on the throne of Sidon. He formed an alliance with Sanduarri, King of Kundu and Sizu, and declared independence. Esarhaddon appeared at the head of an Assyrian army, and wrought vengeance on the city of Sidon. Abi-Milkut fled to the open sea for safety. Esarhaddon says: “Abi-Milkut, King of Sidon, from the face of my soldiers in the midst of the sea had fled: like a fish from the midst of the sea I caught him, and cut off his head.” Sanduarri suffered the same fate; and the two heads were carried to Nineveh to be hung around the necks of certain of their great men taken as captives, and who with musicians and singers, were to grace the triumph of the conqueror.

It cannot be definitely settled whether the attack upon Tyre began during the siege of Sidon, or whether it was commenced during the subsequent march which the Assyrian armies made upon Egypt. At least we know that it came within a short time, and the reason we can easily find in the need of immense treasure which Esarhaddon had to carry out his building schemes. The commerce of Tyre had brought the wealth of the nations to her. There were the great treasure houses. Esarhaddon would naturally turn his attention to Tyre as soon as possible. Baal was upon the throne, probably having succeeded Eluleus. The Tyrians could afford to purchase peace at a heavy price to preserve their commercial supremacy, but they were wise enough to know that no price would satisfy Esarhaddon while they retained their possessions and any measure of liberty. They therefore prepared for war. The Assyrian king laid siege to their city, but this was a work very different from that of besieging Sidon. Tyre was much better protected by her natural barriers. The Assyrian could occupy the mainland; he could capture Palaetyrus and cut off the city’s usual water supply; he could attempt to fight the island dwellers with starvation. But the half mile of water in the channel was an effective barrier against assault, and the Assyrian army could not shut Tyre in from the open sea. And while the sea was open, Tyre, while harassed, could not be starved into submission. A long siege was successfully withstood and finally Esarhaddon withdrew without having accomplished his purpose. “It is true that upon one of his largest and most impressive monuments he pictures Baal of Tyre kneeling before his august majesty who holds him with a ring through his lips. On the inscription, however, there is not one word about the fall of Tyre, nor elsewhere in any of Esarhaddon’s records is there any claim that Tyre had been taken.” The picture on the Zinjirli stela is, therefore, a representation of Esarhaddon’s vanity rather than that of the real outcome of the siege of Tyre.

Rogers, in the History of Babylonia and Assyria, holds that the siege of Tyre probably began while the siege of Sidon was in progress. On the other hand, the authority of Winckler and Goodspeed is given to the view that the siege of Tyre was begun as Esarhaddon marched south to attack the Egyptians. The account of the siege of Sidon is given in Prism A, Column 1, of the records of this king, and there is there no mention made of Tyre. But in the tablet giving the account of the campaign against Egypt, which Rogers dates 670 B.C., we read: “In my tenth campaign (Ashur gave me confidence) and I marched my troops to Magan and Melukhkha, and turned my face to the land of ... which in the tongue of the people of Kush and Egypt is called ... In the course of my campaign I erected siege works against Baal, King of Tyre, who had trusted in Tarqu, King of Kush, his friend, and had shaken off the yoke of Ashur, my lord, and had expressed defiance of me, I cut off from him food and drink, the means of life.” The account then proceeds with the campaign against Tarqu. Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament

Tyre maintained her independence until the death of Esarhaddon, B.C. 668. Ashurbanipal, his son, was his successor on the throne of Assyria. In his first year he marched against Egypt. On his way he received the submission of twenty-two kings who came and kissed his feet. Among these was Baal of Tyre. Ashurbanipal went into Egypt, completely defeated the Egyptian forces and reinstated the governors appointed by Esarhaddon, who had fled before Tirhakah. Shortly after this expedition against Egypt, some of these governors began to plot against the Assyrian authority. A second expedition into Egypt completely crushed the movement. It is probable that Baal was accused of having some part in this plot and so incurred the wrath of Ashurbanipal. His third campaign was directed against Tyre, 664 B.C. He says:

 

“In my third expedition against Baal, King of Tyre, I ... went; who my royal will disregarded and did not hear the words of my lips; towers round him I raised; on sea and land his roads I took; their spirits I humbled and caused to melt away; to my yoke I made them submissive. The daughter proceeding from his body and the daughters of his brothers for concubines he brought to my presence. Yahimelek, his son, the glory of the country, of unsurpassed renown, at once he sent forward, to make obeisance to me. His daughter and the daughters of his brothers with their great dowries I received. Favour I granted him, and the son proceeding from his body I restored and gave him.”

Baal was conquered and Tyre was made submissive to Assyria. But neither the deposing of her king nor the loss of political liberty crushed the commerce of Tyre. And even the hard conditions of submission were more favorable for trade than the unsettled conditions of struggle. While armies of defence were to be maintained and hostile armies were ravaging the land, and caravans must do business in hostile territory in order to maintain the vast trade of the east, and merchandise could scarcely be obtained for export by sea—while these conditions of war existed, commerce must have been very greatly injured. Submission to Assyria freed Tyre from military expenditure, insured the country against invasion and gave settled conditions and the protection of the “King of Asia” for the development of trade. To a commercial people these advantages more than balanced their cost in tribute and the loss of political independence.

About the middle of the seventh century B.C. the Assyrian monarchy began to decline. The Tyrians must have known through their caravan traders that the Assyrian kingdom was tottering, and that the Median monarchy was gaining strength; that many provinces were withholding tribute and that there was no Assyrian sword to make collections any longer. As Assyria’s cruelty had filled the world with hatred of her, so now her enervating luxury had filled the minds of distant peoples with anticipations of her fall. The Hebrew prophet Zephaniah wrote:

“And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria; and he will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations; both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds; for he shall uncover the cedar work. This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none beside me; how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.”

With the relaxing of the Assyrian control, provinces found it necessary to protect themselves in time of danger. Independence of Assyria probably became a fact at Tyre before it was pro­laimed. It is certain that the merchant city would not pay tribute any longer than she felt compelled to do so. The exact date when Tyre threw off the allegiance to Assyria is not known; it was probably about 630 B.C. The period of independence lasted until about 585 B.C., and in this period the city rose to the summit of her greatness. Her commerce extended to the ends of the earth. A remarkable account of her conditions and activities is given by Ezekiel, who lived in this period. He says:

“The word of Yahweh came again unto me, saying, And thou, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre; and say unto Tyre, 0 thou that dwellest at the entry of the sea, and art the merchant of the peoples unto many isles, thus saith the Lord Jehovah; Thou, 0 Tyre, hast said, I am perfect in beauty. Thy borders are in the heart of the seas; thy builders have perfected thy beauty. They have made all thy planks of fir-trees from Senir; they have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for thee. Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; they have made thy benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood from the isles of Kittim. Of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was thy sail, that it might be to thee for an ensign; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was thine awning. The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were thy rowers; thy wise men, 0 Tyre, were in thee, they were thy pilots. The old men of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee, thy calkers; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to deal in thy merchandise. Persia and Lud and Put were in thine army, thy men of war; they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comliness. The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and valorous men were in thy towers; they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about: they have perfected thy beauty.

“Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead they traded for thy wares. Javan, Tubal and Meshech were thy traffickers; they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass for thy merchandise. They of the house of Togarmath traded for thy wares with horses and warhorses and mules. The men of Dedan were thy traffickers; many isles were the mart of thy hand; they brought thee in exchange horns of ivory and ebony. Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of thy handy works; they traded for thy wares with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies. Judah, and the land of Israel, were thy traffickers: they traded for thy merchandise wheat of Minnith, and pan­nag, and honey, and oil and balm. Damascus was thy merchant for the multitude of thy handyworks, by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches, with the wines of Helbon and white wool. Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares; bright iron, cassia and calamus were among thy merchandise. Dedan was thy trafficker in precious cloths for riding. Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants of thy hand; in lambs, and rams and goats, in these were they thy mer­chants. The traffickers of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy traffickers; they traded for thy wares with the chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and with gold. Haran, and Canneh and Eden, the traffickers of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad were thy traffickers. These were thy traf­fickers in choice wares, in wrappings of blue and broidered work, and with chests of rich apparel, bound with cords and made with cedar, among thy merchandise. The ships of Tarshish were thy caravans for thy merchandise; and thou wast replenished and made very glorious in the heart of the seas.

“Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters; the east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the seas. Thy riches, and wares, thy merchandise, thy mariners and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the dealers in thy merchandise, and all thy men of war that are in thee, with all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy ruin. At the sound of the cry of thy pilots the suburbs shall shake. And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships; they shall stand upon the land, and shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads; they shall wallow themselves in the ashes; and they shall make themselves bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee in bitterness of soul in bitter mourning. And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation over thee, and lament over thee, saying, Who is there like Tyre, like her that is brought to silence in the midst of the sea? With thy wares sent forth out of the seas, thou filledst many peoples; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise. In the time that thou wast broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all of thy company did fall in the midst of thee. All the inhabitants of the isles are astonished at thee, and their kings are horribly afraid; they are troubled in their countenance. The merchants among the peoples hiss at thee; thou art become a terror, and thou shalt nevermore have any being.”

Tyre was the cosmopolitan city of the world, and the Hebrew prophet saw her as a treasure-ship soon to be wrecked in storms.

 

CHAPTER V

TYRE’S RESISTANCE TO BABYLON

 

Tyre threw off the Assyrian yoke in about 630 B.C. For many centuries Syria was the buffer territory between the peoples of the Euphrates and those of the Nile. Now that Assyria’s power was broken, Egypt coveted possession of the territory. Necho II, son of Psamatik I, shortly after ascending the throne of Egypt, made an expedition into Syria in 608 B.C. and brought the whole territory as far east as Carchemish on the Euphrates, under Egyptian control. Doubtless Tyre became tributary, retaining her autonomy and securing conditions favorable to her trade. But in 605 B.C., Nabopolassar, King of Babylon, having overthrown Assyria, sent his son Nebuchadrezzar, to recover from Egypt the territory over which Assyria had ruled. He met Necho at Carchemish, and a great battle was fought, the Egyptians being defeated and put to rout. Nebuchadrezzar marched through Syria and received the submission of the whole country. His progress was a triumphal march. Tyre, with the other Phoenician cities, acknowledged the sovereignty of Babylon, retaining her own ruler and enjoying semi-independence under tribute. Nebuchadrezzar had progressed to the very borders of Egypt when news of his father’s death called him to hasten back to Babylon with all possible speed.

Although all Syria had acknowledged submission to the new Babylonian kingdom, order had not been restored, and confidence in Babylonian supremacy in that territory, over Egypt, had not been established. The unsettled political conditions, and petty warfares between tribes and peoples were extremely depressive for Tyre’s land commerce upon which her trade by sea so largely depended. And where Babylonian ascendency was fully established, much of the trade that had belonged to Tyre in the immediate past was now falling to Babylon. Jerusalem under Jehoiakim raised the standard of revolt and suffered severe punishment at the hand of Nebuchadrezzar, B.C. 597. The encroachment of Babylonia meant the loss of liberty, and seemed to mean the loss of prosperity for Tyre, unless it could be resisted.

In this situation Egypt offered help. Pharaoh-Hophra (Apries) came to the Egyptian throne in 589 B.C. and was eager to regain control in the affairs of Syria and Palestine. The frequent policy of Egypt under such circumstances was to incite revolt in this border territory. A messenger from the king of Tyre met with messengers from the kings of Sidon, Edom, Moab, and Ammon at Jerusalem, to persuade Zedekiah to join in the united revolt. To these messengers the prophet Jeremiah gave a message which, if heeded, would have saved Tyre from one of the greatest calamities of her history. It was a message of submission, showing the folly and inevitable disaster of revolt. But Egypt could be counted on; the coalition looked very strong. It appealed to a blind patriotism which finally over-rode the sane councils of Jeremiah and those who stood with him. The revolt was proclaimed. Nebuchadrezzar, at the head of a large army, advanced as far as Riblah on the Orontes. A division of the army was sent against Jerusalem and the city besieged. Hophra, with an Egyptian army, made a demon­stration against the Assyrians that necessitated a temporary lifting of the siege, but hope soon fled, for the Egyptians withdrew.

Josephus says that the Egyptian army under Hophra was defeated by the Babylonians, but Jeremiah, who seems to be his authority, does not speak of any battle. Diodorus says of Hophra: “He invaded with mighty force Cyprus and Phoenicia, and took Sidon by storm; and through fear and terror of him brought other cities of Phoenicia into subjection. And having routed the Cyprians and Phoenicians in a great sea fight, he returned into Egypt loaded with the spoils of his enemies.” And Herodotus says of him: “He made war on Sidon and fought with the people of Tyre by the sea.”

We must remember that the military world powers were Babylon and Egypt, and that they looked upon the smaller states as the lawful prizes of their contests. While the Egyptian army was occupied elsewhere, Jerusalem was reinvested and the siege pressed with all possible vigor. The city fell in 586 B.C. Nebuchadrezzar now turned to the task of taking Tyre. Ethbaal II was then king of the city; he prepared for war. The following is Ezekiel’s prediction of the siege, in which Tyre for thirteen years, 585-572 B.C.,3withstood the force of Babylonian arms:

“Behold I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadrezzar King of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and with a company, and with much people. He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field; and he shall make forts against thee, and cast up a mound against thee, and raise up the buckler against thee. And he shall set his battering engines against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee; thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen and of the wagons and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates as men entering into a city where a breach is made. With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people with the sword, and the pillars of thy strength shall go down to the ground. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches and a prey of thy merchandise; and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the waters. And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. And I will make thee a bare rock; and thou shalt be a place for the spreading of nets: thou shalt be built no more.” “Thy riches and thy wares, thy merchandise, and thy mariners, and thy pilots, calkers, and the dealers in thy merchandise, and all thy men of war that are in thee, and all thy company that is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy ruin.”

A large part of this description must have related to Mainland Tyre.

Means effective on the mainland could not be employed against the city in the sea. Jerome, almost a thousand years later, suggests that Nebuchadrezzar may have constructed a mole from the mainland to the island in order to attack the city. But if such a mole had been constructed, it would have grown with the washup of the sands, as Alexander’s mole has done. It certainly would have been no great task for Alexander to construct his mole. These facts, with the silence of a thousand years, leave no reasonable probability that the mole was constructed before Alexander’s time.

Josephus quotes Philostratus as saying of Nebuchadrezzar: “This king besieged Tyre thirteen years, while at the same time Ethbaal was king of Tyre.” Tyre occupied a position of dependency in the period immediately following. This is indicated by a contract tablet dated in Tyre “Month Tammuz, day 22nd, year 49th. Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon.” History has left us no account of the surrender of the city. There is no reason to believe that it was taken by assault. Many of the people, with much of the treasure of Palaetyrus, doubtless escaped by sea before that part of the city fell. The island city probably made submission upon conditions, without receiving the hostile army within her walls. The capture of the city was far different from the prophecy of it according to the prophet Ezekiel himself: “Nebuchadrezzar King of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald” (with continuous wearing of the helmet) “and every shoulder was worn” (with carrying weapons), “yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.” The siege probably ended with the nominal submission of the city and the surrender of a number of her nobles. It is a suggestive fact that Ethbaal’s life ended with the ending of the siege. However, he was followed on the throne by Baal,3 a native prince, probably his son. Tyre’s submission was farther shown, as we shall see, from the fact that she selected her kings from the nobles whom she was compelled to send as hostages to Babylon. Her commerce was ruined by the long siege; Phoenician leadership passed for a time to Sidon. Palaetyrus remained in ruins until the time of Alexander.

In Tyrian history a period of great depression follows the siege of Nebuchadrezzar. After Baal, successor to Ethbaal, had reigned ten years, 572-562 B.C., there was a revolution; and a government by Judges, as at Carthage, was adopted. Ecnibaal, son of Baslach, was the first of the judges and held office but two months. Chelbes, son of Abdeus, was his successor and ruled ten months. Abbar, the high priest, as the third of the judges, maintained himself but three months before being recalled. Matgen and Gerastart, sons of Abdelem then served as joint judges for six years. Belator ruled one year as king. After the death of Belator the royal party came into full control again. They sent to Babylon requesting that Merbaal, who had been detained there among the hostages for the loyalty of Tyre, be allowed to return home to be their king. The request was granted, and Merbaal reigned four years. After his death they sent again to Babylon for Hiram, brother of Merbaal, and he reigned in Tyre twenty years.

In the fourteenth year of the reign of Hiram, Cyrus captured Babylon (538 B.C.) and the monarchy passed under the control of the Persians. Thus began a new chapter in the history of Tyre.

 

CHAPTER VI

TYRE UNDER THE PERSIANS

 

In the period following Nebuchadrezzar’s thirteen-year siege, supremacy among the Phoenician cities passed from Tyre to her ancient rival, Sidon. Tyre’s commerce was ruined during the siege. Doubtless many of the masters of her industries escaped with their possessions and transferred their activities to other cities. The military cost of the defense must have been ruinous. It is not strange that many years passed before the city recovered her strength.

However Tyre had little to complain of under the Babylonian rulers who succeeded Nebuchadrezzar, and as appears from the records of the Persian period, she recovered much of her former glory.

When Babylon fell before Cyrus in 538 B.C., the conqueror laid claim to all the domain that had formerly belonged to the Babylonians. Assuming sovereignty over Phoenicia, he granted the Jews a concession of Phoenician timber which was to be cut in Lebanon and taken by sea to Joppa for them by men of “Sidon and Tyre.” There was no reason for the Phoenician cities to resent the grant; on the contrary, commercial incentives must have led them to desire the renewal of the ancient friendship which they had had with Israel, and to wish the good will of the new Persian Empire. Moreover they were to be well paid for their services. That the Phoenician cities claimed the rank of allies rather than vassals, is clear from events in the reign of Cambyses.

Cambyses, coming to the Persian throne in 529 B.C., resolved upon an expedition against Egypt. In this campaign the co­operation of the Phoenician cities, possessing as they did the finest naval equipment in the world, was of very great importance. Whether such cooperation was secured by promises or threats, we are not told; certainly violence was not used, for the historian relates that they joined the fleet voluntarily.

Justin gives us an account of an insurrection of the slaves at Tyre, which he places in this period. He says that the slaves formed a conspiracy at a time when their masters were weakened by long defensive fighting against the Persians. The slaves having slain their masters and the free citizens, seized the government. However, one moved by pity secluded the son of his master and saved his life. At a later time it was decided that the man should be crowned king over them, who first saw the sunlight on a certain morning. At the appointed place, while others gazed eastward for the first gleam of sunlight, this young man gazed westward upon the roofs of the tallest buildings of the city, and so won his crown. His name was Strato and his son and then his grandson ruled after him. We have no other record of this. It clearly does not fit into the historical situation to which Justin assigns it. If taken seriously at all, it must be referred to some one of the sieges earlier than the Persian time.

Cambyses made himself master of Egypt but did not turn back to Babylon as might have been expected. Bent upon extending his conquests still further, he commanded the Phoenicians to join in an expedition against Carthage. The incident is vital to this story because Carthage was the noblest daughter of Tyre, and if the order had been obeyed, no one can measure what the effect upon human history would have been. The Phoenicians refused to obey the order of Cambyses, saying that they were bound to the Carthaginians by solemn oaths, and that it would be a wicked act to make war upon their own children. The courage of this answer may be measured when one remembers the character of Cambyses and the power of Persia; but the value that Cambyses set upon Phoenician good will is shown by the fact that he honored their answer and rescinded the obnoxious order.

Tyre must have been benefited commercially by the increased facilities for land communication afforded by the fast post­routes, and the introduction of a uniform metallic currency throughout the Persian Empire.

Under Darius the empire was divided into twenty satrapies. Tyre was in the fifth satrapy, which was composed of all Phoenicia, Palestine, Syria and Cyprus. The tribute of this satrapy was fixed at 350 talents. The Phoenician cities enjoyed a large amount of autonomy and retained their native kings. They also met in annual council at Tripolis, usually without interference from the Persians.

After the part that Tyre took in the Egyptian expedition, she was not called upon to bear arms for the Persians until 498 B.C., when the Greeks of Asia revolted. Cyprus, where the Greek population outnumbered the Phoenician, joined the revolt. Phoenicia furnished the fleet for Darius. A double battle was fought near Salamis, and, though the Ionian Greeks defeated the Phoenicians at sea, according to the Greek account, the Persian land forces gained so complete a victory that the Ionian fleet withdrew and the Persians were left masters of the situation.

Darius proceeded from the conquest of Cyprus to attack the Ionian cities. A naval force of 600 vessels was assembled near Miletus, the city of Aristagorus, author of the Ionian revolt. In this fleet the Phoenicians were most zealous. In the naval battle, 494 B.C., near the island of Lade opposite Miletus, they defeated the Ionians, and the conquest of Miletus soon followed. The Phoenician fleet was used by the Persians in the conquest of the islands of the Aegean and of various cities on the European shore. Miltiades, afterwards hero of Marathon, narrowly escaped capture by one of their vessels and his son Metiochus was captured.

It may be safely assumed that the Phoenician cities furnished a large proportion of the fleets with which Mardonius in 492 B.C., and Datis and Artaphernes in 490 B.C. made their expeditions against Greece. When in 485 B.C. Xerxes determined to attempt the conquest of Greece, Phoenicia again supported Persian arms.

A ship-canal was to be cut through the isthmus that joins Mt. Athos to the mainland. The Phoenicians made their portion of the cutting twice as wide at the top as was required at the bottom. They “showed in this the skill which they were wont to exhibit in all their undertakings.” With the Egyptians they constructed the pontoon bridge across the Hellespont by which the armies of Xerxes marched from Asia into Europe.

At the Battle of Artimisium they distinguished themselves less than the Egyptians, but at Salamis they were stationed over against the Athenians. How large a part Tyre had in the naval forces of Xerxes is not known, but of his twelve hundred and seven ships, Phoenicia furnished three hundred; and Tyre’s importance among the allies of Xerxes was second only to that of Sidon. Among the most renowned of those who sailed was Mapen, son of Sirom (Hiram) the Tyrian.

A combat between a Phoenician and an Athenian ship brought on the general engagement at Salamis. The Phoenicians bore an honorable part in the battle, but fell under the displeasure of Xerxes. In the confusion of the ships, crowded in the narrow strait, they ran foul of each other; several Phoenician ships were sunk by the Ionians; the Phoenicians protested against this as an act of treachery, to Xerxes who was looking down upon the battle. While the protest was being made the king beheld an unusual display of valor on the part of a Greek vessel which was in the Persian service. This incident turned the wrath of Xerxes, enraged by defeat, upon the heads of the Phoenicians. He charged them with imputing their own cowardice to the Ionians, and ordered a number of their officers beheaded. The others, moved by resentment and fears of further outrage, withdrew at nightfall to the Attic shore and thence sailed away to Asia. Their transports remained and were employed in the construction of the bridge to Salamis by which Xerxes sought to conceal his purpose of flight, but for fifteen years we read of no Phoenician navy in Persian service, though the war with Greece continued. Not until 465 B.C., when the victorious Athenians threatened the island of Cyprus, did Phoenicia employ her naval force in Persian service. In the next three-quarters of a century the Phoenician cities seem to have been loyal in their submission to Persia. Their forces had prominent part in the numerous Persian wars.

Tyre was involved in the war which arose in 392 B.C. between the Persians and Evagorus of Cyprus. This prince had overthrown the rule of the Cypriot Phoenicians and had put to death the reigning despot, Abdemon, the Tyrian, who was friendly to Persia. The power of Persia was waning. Athens sent a fleet for the support of Evagorus. Acoris, king of Egypt, sent aid. Several states must have been in secret sympathy with him. He took Tyre by assault, according to Isocrates, which probably means that Tyre voluntarily surrendered. The city supplied him with twenty triremes. But the peace of Antalcidas, 387 B.C., deprived him of the aid of Athens, and after ten years of revolt he was compelled to submit to Persia again, but allowed to retain his crown. With the submission of Evagorus, Tyre became again subject to the Persians also, but the ties which bound the Phoenician cities to the Persian Empire were weakening.

The successful revolt of Egypt, and the general dissatisfaction of the states of the west led in 362 B.C. to the War of the Satraps. Phoenicia participated in the revolt. Tachos, King of Egypt, was welcomed by the Phoenician cities, but disaffection among his own subjects compelled him to abandon the movement, and the rebellion of the satrapies was subdued. Tyre was still under the Persian yoke.

The satrap of Ochus treated the Phoenicians with great insolence, and as a result, at a general assembly of the Phoenician cities held at Tripolis, 352 B.C., independence was declared. The Persian officers at Sidon were killed, the royal residence was destroyed, preparations for war were made and an alliance with Egypt was effected. Egypt sent four thousand Greek mercenaries under Mentor. Two satraps, Belesys of Syria and Mazaeus of Cilicia, who were sent to subdue the rebellion, were defeated in battle. Meanwhile Cyprus again revolted. Ochus collected an army of three hundred and forty thousand men, arranged for vast naval support, and set out in person for Phoenicia. Tennes, King of Sidon, sought to purchase personal safety at the price of the betrayal of his city. The Sidonians resolved to die rather than fall into the hands of Ochus. Each citizen shut himself with his family in his own home and then applying the torch consumed himself and his family with his dwelling. More than forty thousand persons are said to have perished in the conflagration.

Persia under Ochus showed unusual strength. Tyre and the other Phoenician cities, resumed submission to the Persian crown. They enjoyed peace from 351 to 333 B.C. Sidon was rebuilt. Tyre doubtless profited in a commercial way from the disaster of Sidon, much as Sidon had profited from Tyre’s disastrous siege under Nebuchadrezzar.

 

CHAPTER VII

TYRE UNDER THE GREEKS: ALEXANDER’S SIEGE

 

During the eighteen years of quietness that Tyre enjoyed after the struggle for independence in 352 B.C., the power of Persia was waning, and that of Greece was increasing. In 336 B.C. Alexander the Great came to the throne of Macedonia. He made himself master of Greece and soon prepared to invade Asia. The victory (334 B.C.) at the Granicus River gave him possession of Asia Minor; and that near the city of Issus resulted in the withdrawal of Darius beyond the Euphrates. Alexander did not at once pursue Darius. The navies of Cyprus, Phoenicia, and Egypt were still in Persian service. The conqueror deemed it wise to detach these before pushing his conquest further into the empire. He therefore turned south into Phoenicia. The Phoenician cities took no concerted action; they may have expected him to pursue Darius, and so may have been taken by surprise. Their forces were serving in the Persian navy, but were not hindering the Macedonian, whose campaign was a land campaign. The memory of the cruelties of Ochus were still fresh. Little opposition to Alexander was to be expected. Starto, son of Gerastartus, King of Aradus, met Alexander and presented him a golden crown and the submission of his possessions. Sidon welcomed the conqueror most gladly. Her king, Starto, was serving in the Persian navy and was suspected of preference for Persia. He was deposed, and at the choice of Hephaeston, the throne was given to Abdalonymus, who was an obscure member of the royal family, so poor that he followed the occupation of a gardener.

Azemilcus,King of Tyre, like the other Phoenician rulers, was serving in the Persian fleet; but an embassy, headed by his son, met Alexander and presented him a crown of gold, with other rich gifts, and declared formally to him the submission of Tyre. The Tyrians probably thought that Alexander would be content with their nominal submission, and would press on into Egypt. But there were reasons why he must completely possess Tyre. She was now at the head of the Phoenician cities. Her position would decide whether the Phoenician fleet would continue under the flag of Persia or not. While there was any question as to his control here, there must be danger that a hostile fleet would carry the war to Greece and necessitate his hasty return. He commended their good-will and bade them announce to their government that he would shortly enter their city to offer sacrifices to Heracles. The Greeks had identified Heracles with Melkart, and as Alexander claimed to be a descendant of Heracles, there may have been some sincerity in his word. But the Tyrians saw that he purposed permanently to occupy their city, and were not prepared to surrender themselves so completely into his power. After deliberation they sent word that in all else they would do his will, but that they would not admit within the wall of the island city either Persians or Macedonians,—that if the king wished to sacrifice to Heracles, he might do so in the temple of Melkart in Palaetyrus on the mainland, which temple they said was older than that of the island city. Upon receiving this reply, Alexander was violently angry. He dismissed the messengers with the threat that if they would not open their gates to him, he would break their gates down. The threat of the conqueror did not overawe the Tyrians. They could expect the hostile armies of Babylon soon to engage Alexander's attention. Alexander had no fleet with which to attack them. In the event of a siege the Persian fleet, in which their own vessels were serving, might be counted on for help. At least their own fleet under the leadership of Azemilcus, could be recalled. There was no reason to believe that the ships of other Phoenician cities would show any great enthusiasm in attacking their kinsfolk. Egypt which was next to be invaded would have weighty reasons for aiding Tyre. An embassy from Carthage, being at Tyre at the time of Alexander’s demand, counseled resistance and promised that the squadrons of Carthage would soon come to the city’s assistance. In former times the city had shown herself well nigh impregnable. That Alexander’s method of attack was not anticipated is not strange, for there was no precedent for it in the annals of warfare. The walls which surrounded the city rose to the height of a hundred and fifty feet on the side toward the mainland. Their stones were of such a size and so well laid as to be secure against any engines of attack that could be operated from the unsteady surface of the water. Successful assault was impossible unless engines of war could be planted on firm ground and brought to the height of the wall. But the island was separated from the mainland by a channel a half mile wide, through which the current ran very swiftly and which, especially when the south wind blew, was dangerous for shipping.2The Tyrians, therefore, seeming to have little to fear, remained firm.

Alexander began the siege. He seized Palaetyrus which was in great part in ruins or deserted of its inhabitants, but for a time was not able to strike a blow at Tyre. Meanwhile Tyre was assembling her fleet, setting up engines for throwing missiles from the walls at any vessel that might approach, arming her citizens, and preparing for attack or siege.

Alexander resolved to construct a mole two hundred feet wide out to the island, upon which he could plant engines of war, and to press the siege. The ruins of Palaetyrus furnished abundance of stone. Wood could be secured in Lebanon nearby. The people of the neighboring towns were pressed into service. The Tyrian troops intercepted parties who were bringing in stone, and the Arabs of the Syrian desert attacked the Macedonian wood-cutters in Lebanon. The Tyrians ridiculed Alexander, asking him if he thought he would overcome Poseidon. Still the work progressed. Near the shore piles were driven with ease into the mud bottom, but nearer the island the water became deeper. There the current through the channel worked its way through the interstices of the mole, washing out the work. Archers and slingers in the Tyrian vessels harassed the workmen on the mole, and Alexander, having no fleet, was powerless to prevent their near approach. As the work drew near to the city walls, the workmen were exposed to the missiles hurled from above. The Greeks met these difficulties by the erection of two lofty wooden towers on the extremity of the mole from which to assail the ships and the warriors on the wall. They protected the workmen from fiery darts and other missiles by suspending sails or hides. The Tyrians then fitted up a large horse-transport as a fire-ship. They stored the hold with combustible materials. On the prow were two masts, each with a projecting arm from which was suspended a cauldron filled with bitumen, sulphur, and other highly inflammable materials. The stern of the vessel was loaded with stone and sand, and was thus depressed. In this way the prow was elevated in order that it might glide over the mole and reach the towers. On the fore part of the vessel were piled pitch, sulphur, and other combustible materials. When the wind favored them, they ran the fire-ship at full speed upon the mole, setting torch to the fuels as they drew near. The crew escaped by small boats or by swimming. The effort was entirely successful. The cauldrons scattered their fiery mass over the mole. Tyrian soldiers in ships just outside the reach of the conflagration drove back all who attempted to extinguish the flames. The towers were soon ablaze; their defenders either perished in the flames, or leaping into the sea, were made prisoners by the Tyrians, who bruised their hands with stones or clubs so that they were unable to swim away. Tyrians in small boats set fire to the machines which the flames from the ship had not reached. They pulled up the stakes that protected the face of the mole, and the heavy sea that accompanied the wind swept the whole work away.

Alexander ordered a new mole to be constructed. It was to be wider than the first1 and so was to have space for more machines. It was to incline to the southwest instead of crossing the strait in a direct line, and so would not expose a full side to the storm. The work was pressed with greater vigor than before. Whole trees with branches were drawn into the water and upon them stones and dirt were placed. But Tyrian divers, plunging into the water at some distance from the work, ap­proached and attached hooks to the projecting boughs. The trees were then dragged out, bringing down with them large portions of the work.

It became evident to Alexander that if Tyre were to be conquered, her fleet must be defeated or at least kept at bay. He therefore went to Sidon to collect ships. The squadrons of Sidon, Aradus and Byblus had withdrawn from the Persian service on hearing that Alexander was master of these cities, and just at this critical time they entered the harbor at Sidon. Alexander succeeded in enlisting these squadrons against Tyre and thus secured eighty ships. Soon afterwards there joined him ten ships from Rhodes, ten from Lycia, three from Soli and Malus, and a penteconter from Macedonia. Then the kings of Cyprus, having heard of the defeat of Darius and Alexander’s mastery over Phoenicia, placed at the order of the conqueror their combined fleets of a hundred and twenty ships.

While these vessels were being put in order for battle, Alexander with cavalry and light troops made an eleven days’ campaign against the Arabs who had been hindering the work of the woodmen in Lebanon. The Arabs were repelled and peace was made with the inhabitants of the regions.

Returning to Sidon, Alexander found that Cleander had arrived with three thousand Greek mercenaries. Alexander manned his ships with his bravest soldiers, purposing if possible to fight hand to hand on the decks. Assuming leadership of the right wing himself, he moved toward Tyre with his ships in order of battle. The fleet halted outside the Sidonian harbor.

The Tyrians had not known of the naval accessions that had come to the enemy; they were dismayed upon beholding the great fleet moving down upon them. They did not care to join battle with the allied fleets. Instead they blocked the mouths of their harbors with their ships, and began to prepare for the worst by sending away to Carthage such of their wives, children, and old men as could not render service in the defense of their city.

As the Tyrian fleet did not come out to battle, Alexander moved against the city. He found it impossible to enter the harbor, but engaged and sank three of the outermost triremes. He then anchored under the lee of the mole which had again advanced toward the city’s walls. The next day the Cyprian fleet was stationed off the Sidonian harbor, while the Phoenician stood off the Egyptian entrance, near to that part of the mole where Alexander’s own tent was pitched. The workmen on the mole, now amply protected, quickly brought it up to the city wall. The towers were brought up to the wall and were armed with many engines. Other engines were made by Cyprians and Phoenicians, and mounted on the horse-transports and the heavier class of triremes, and with these the walls north and south of the mole were assailed, while the main attack was made from the mole itself. When the ships sought to approach the walls with their battering rams, they found that the Tyrians had thrown large blocks of stone into the sea, by which they were kept out of reach. The Macedonians sought to raise these stones, but the unsteadiness of their ships afforded poor purchase. They attempted to anchor their ships; but the Tyrians, approaching in small vessels covered to ward off missiles, came under their prows and sterns and cut the cables by which they were anchored. Alexander stationed armed guard-boats but the Tyrians sent divers and cut the cables as before. The Macedonians then employed chains for anchoring, pulled up the stones and cast them into deep water, and had unobstructed access to the walls.

The Tyrians now resolved to attack the Cyprian fleet. Their plans were made with the utmost secrecy. They spread sails before the mouth of the harbor so that their operations could not be seen. They chose to make the attack at noon when many of the sailors were at their meals and when Alexander had retired to his tent on the farther side of the mole. Thirteen vessels,—three quinqueremes, three quadriremes, and seven triremes,—were manned by picked crews and warriors, and passed silently out of the harbor in single file. When the alarm was inevitable, they raised a shout of battle and made a fierce and swift onset against the surprised Cyprians. The ships of Pnytagoras, King of Salamis, and Androcles, King of Amanthus, and Pasicrates, a Thurian, were sunk in the first charge. Others were disabled and run ashore. But Alexander, having remained at his tent a shorter time than usual, quickly returned to the place where the fleet had been stationed. He first directed his ships with all possible haste to block the harbor, preventing other ships from coming out, and cutting off the escape of those already without, if the battle should go against them. He then hastened to the southern side of the mole and led his vessels around the island to come upon the Tyrian fleet unawares. The move, though unseen by those in the heat of the battle, was perceived by those on the walls. Frantic calls and repeated signals were unnoticed amid the battle din until Alexander’s fleet arrived. Then the Tyrians turned and fled toward the harbor. Only a few were able to enter; most of them were disabled or captured, the crews and soldiers leaping overboard and saving themselves by swimming to the friendly shore. The effort ended in confusion.

This victory allowed the Macedonians freer operations against the wall, but its height and solidarity opposite the mole baffled their efforts. They attempted a midnight attack by floating batteries on the part near the Sidonian harbor. But a sudden storm tore aside the ships that had been fastened together and covered with planks to give footing to the soldiers, and these were thrown into the water. In the darkness signals could not be seen; in the confusion commands could not be heard. The soldiers over­powered the pilots and compelled them to return to shore. This effort also ended in confusion.

 

The Tyrians began a second wall within the first, that they might be secure even if the first were broken through.

A great fear rose in Tyre to add to the distress of her people. Strange portents were reported. A statue of Apollo had been set up in the city by the Carthaginians and had received the homage of the people. During the siege the Tyrians had treated it with contempt as favoring Alexander. A citizen now reported that in a vision he had seen Apollo preparing to leave the doomed city. To prevent the desertion, the Tyrians bound the image with a golden chain to the altar of their native deity Melkart. There were some who would have propitiated Moloch (Saturn) by the sacrifice of a child of royal birth according to an ancient custom in time of extreme public peril. But their counsel did not prevail. According to Arrian, some Macedonians on voyage from Sidon were taken, put to death upon the walls within full view of their countrymen, and their bodies thrown into the sea. Curtius says that Alexander saw that the siege would mean a long delay for him, and therefore sent heralds to the Tyrians to secure peace, but that the Tyrians murdered these heralds and hurled them into the deep. He places this event at the beginning of the siege and gives it as the final cause of Alexander’s decision to proceed with the siege. And it is possible that Arrian’s story is a confusion of the event recounted by Curtius.

An embassy from Carthage arrived and offered an asylum of escape for such as could reach their city, but brought news that they found it impossible to send military aid.

The attacks upon the wall continued to be made with the greatest energy and to be met with the greatest skill. As a protection against the battering rams and the missiles of the catapults, leathern bags filled with sea-weed were suspended from the wall. The ingenious mechanics of Tyre exhausted their skill in defense of their city. Circular machines placed upon the walls were set in rapid motion to intercept darts and other missiles. The mole having reached the island the Macedonians raised their towers to the height of the wall, and by throwing bridges across, tried to enter the city. The Tyrians, tying grappling hooks to long ropes, and throwing them out, caught soldiers on the towers. Bodies thus caught were mangled; some were dragged from the towers and fell to their death. Some were entangled by nets and dragged to the same fate. Red-hot metal was thrown by machines, and did much execu­tion. Sand, heated in shields of brass and iron, was poured down upon those who approached the walls, and sifting under the armor, caused such intense pain that soldiers threw off their armor and exposed themselves to the lance or arrow from the walls. With scythes on yard-arms the Tyrians cut the ropes with which the battering rams were worked. With cranes and “iron hands” they siezed the men protected by shields and dragged them to their death. In the evening the Tyrians armed with axes charged the Macedonians at the bridges and, after a bloody conflict, drove them back. It is said that Alexander meditated the abandonment of the siege after this repulse.

On the second day following he ordered a general assault. The ships with the battering rams were brought up against the wall north and south of the mole. Those on the south soon made a breach. They then gave place to two ships on which were bridges and storming parties. Admetus was the commander of the one of these which carried Alexander; the other was commanded by Koinus. Meanwhile the fleets were assailing both harbors to force entrance if the Tyrians should attempt to thwart the main assault. At the same time other vessels were detailed to sail around the city and menace the defenders at many points. By these means the bridges were laid to the breach in the wall and the soldiers advanced to the conflict. Admetus was first to set foot upon the wall; at once he fell mortally wounded by a lance, but still exhorting his soldiers to follow. The defenders were soon repulsed. Alexander, with his guards, was among the first upon the wall. He ordered the soldiers to proceed to the royal palace as affording easy access to the city. Meanwhile, both harbors had been forced and the Tyrian ships defeated. The city was in the hands of her enemies; her people defeated but not conquered. Some, having barricaded their houses, and gone to the roofs, threw down stones and other missiles upon the heads of the Macedonian soldiers. Many shut themselves up in their homes and died at their own hands. Many died in the streets. Others barricaded themselves within the sacred building called the Agenorium, and made desperate resistance to Alexander and his soldiers until they were overpowered and killed almost to the last man. There was general slaughter in the streets and squares. The Macedonians were enraged by the stubborn resistance of the city and especially by the recent murder of some of their country-men; they therefore showed no mercy. A large part of the city was burned. Eight thousand were slain in the conflict. The young men of the city to the number of two thousand were crucified on the seashore by order of Alexander, as a reprisal for the death of the Macedonian prisoners. Thirty thousand were sold into slavery. The Sidonians on board of their vessels gave shelter to many refugees. The king, Azemilcus, and the chief magistrates, with the Carthaginian embassy, took refuge in the temple of Heracles (Melkart) and their lives were spared.

Before proceeding to Egypt, Alexander celebrated his success by marching into the city with soldiers in full armor, and offering sacrifice to Heracles in the temple of Melkart. He consecrated to Heracles the battering ram which made the first breach in the wall, and a Tyrian ship used in the service of the god, which he had captured while the siege was in progress. The fleet defiled before the temple as a part of the ceremony. Then followed gymnastic games and a torch race.

Alexander then left the city which was half burnt, ruined, and almost depopulated. The blackened forms of two thousand crucified soldiers bore ghastly witness to the completeness of the conquest. The siege had lasted from the middle of January till the middle of July, 332 B.C. The city did not lie in ruins long. Colonists were imported and citizens who had escaped returned. The energy of these with the advantages of the site, in a few years raised the city to wealth and leadership again.

Tyre remained submissive to Alexander to the close of his life. Phoenicians accompanied his army for the purpose of trade, and rendered aid by their nautical knowledge.

 

 

CHAPTER VIII

TYRE UNDER THE SELEUCIDAE

 

After the death of Alexander, Syria and Phoenicia fell to Laomedon and Egypt to Ptolemy. Ptolemy almost at once (320 B.C.) began the conquest of Phoenicia. He placed garrisons in the Phoenician cities and held possession of them until 315 B.C. when Antigonus returning from successful wars in Babylonia, easily reduced the other cities of Phoenicia but met with firm resistance from Tyre. Only eighteen years had passed since the desolation of the city by Alexander, but Tyre, like modern cities that have met with great calamities, recovered her powers quickly and again enjoyed leadership among the Phoenician cities. Though the city was connected to the mainland by a mole, it was extremely difficult of assault to an enemy who did not command the sea. Antigonus blockaded it by land; he then collected eight thousand wood-cutters to cut cedars and cypresses in Lebanon. These were brought to the sea by a thousand yoke of oxen to be fashioned into fleets at Tripolis, Byblus and Sidon. After a siege of fifteen months Tyre was reduced by Antigonus. His son Demetrius, however, was de­eated (312 B.C.) at Gaza by Ptolemy who gained possession of Phoenicia. Almost immediately he was compelled to yield it to Antigonus and retire into Egypt. In 307 B.C. Antigonus, having defeated the fleet of Ptolemy and reduced Cyprus, made an unsuccessful attack upon Egypt: and on his retreat, Ptolemy again possessed himself of the Phoenician cities except Sidon. False news of a victory by Antigonus induced him to withdraw into Egypt. By the battle of Ipsus (301 B.C.) Antigonus lost his life and his son Demetrius lost the throne of Syria. Demetrius, however, still retained Cyprus, Tyre and Sidon, and upon the demand of Seleucus that these be surrendered as belonging to Syria in the division of territory following the battle of Ipsus, he reinforced his garrisons in Tyre and Sidon. During the war between them which ended (287 B.C.) by the surrender of Demetrius, Ptolemy seems again to have gained control of Phoenicia, to hold it during his life.

It seemed ever the fate of the Phoenician cities to be between an upper and a nether millstone. In the latter part of the third century they suffered through a series of struggles between the Seleucidae and the Ptolemies. Ptolemy Euergetes marched an army into Syria in the beginning of his reign (246 B.C.) and placed an Egyptian garrison in Seleucia. His son Ptolemy Philopater still held this city when Antiochus the Great undertook (218 B.C.) to reconquer Syria and Phoenicia. He took Seleucia by assault: through the treachery of Theodotus, Ptolemy’s lieutenant, Tyre and Acco fell into his hands. Nicolaus, who commanded the Egyptian fleet, was defeated and fled to Sidon. In the following year Antiochus was defeated by Ptolemy who recovered Phoenicia which he held until his death. In 203 B.C. Antiochus recovered Syria and Palestine. Egypt sent forces under Scopas but they were defeated and compelled to surrender. Thus Phoenicia (198 B.C.) came again under the power of Syria.

The sympathy of Tyre was with Carthage during the Punic wars. When Rome had conquered and a situation arose that made it necessary for Hannibal to flee for his life, he escaped by ship to Tyre where he was received with every mark of honor. After a brief stay, he sought Antiochus whose wavering mind was finally brought to a decision for war against Rome. Tyrian ships were among those employed by Antiochus in his unsuccessful battle with the Romans and Rhodians at Myonisius. It is probable that he would have conquered Egypt if the Romans had not considered that the consolidation of the two great kingdoms was contrary to Roman interests, and compelled him to desist. A series of coins with Phoenician inscriptions begins with him. His sons, Seleucus and Antiochus Epiphanes retained possession of Phoenicia.

The commercial prosperity of Tyre had not suffered greatly because of the foundation of Alexandria. Alexander had rebuilt Tyre and settled a new population there. The city recovered from the ruins of the siege quickly; and if she suffered any loss because of the commercial rivalry of Alexandria, it was more than compensated for by the new traffic made possible by Greek conquests in the east, and the greater security for trade that resulted. However, when Ptolemy Philadelphus constructed the harbor of Berenice on the Red Sea, and made a road with stations and watering places to Coptos, and reopened the canal which joined the Pelusiac branch of the Nile to the Gulf of Suez, Tyre suffered a great and permanent loss, for the traffic of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, which had hitherto passed from Eloth and Eziongeber across to Rinocolura6 and thence to all parts of the Mediterranean by vessels of Tyre, now passed by way of the canal to Alexandria. Thus the wealth that had formerly flowed to Tyre began to flow to Alexandria.

In the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.) Tyre began the issuing of a regular series of autonomous coins. These coins issued from the local mint bore two legends, one Greek and the other Phoenician: they acknowledged suzerainty and yet claimed a measure of independence.

Festive assemblies characteristic of the Greeks, in which the offering of sacrifices combined with gymnastic contests, pageants etc., became a part of the life of Tyre which was now a semi­Greek city. Every fifth year such a festival was held. It is an indication of the royal esteem, that Antiochus attended the festival in 175 B.C. He paid the city another royal visit three years later.

Upon this occasion Antiochus had made arrangements to hear a serious complaint against the Jewish high-priest, Menelaus, who was accused of having plundered the Temple of a number of its holy vessels, some of which he was said to have sold to the Tyrians. The Sanhedrin sent three representatives to present accusations before the king. But Menelaus bribed a courtier named Ptolemy, son of Dorymenes, to intercede with the king for him; and Ptolemy was successful, since justice was commonly bought and sold at the Syrian court. Having acquitted the guilty, Antiochus, feeling that someone must be punished, condemned to death the three public officials who had been commissioned to make the complaint, and they were slain. The people of Tyre marked their sense of the iniquity of the sentence by decreeing that the bodies be given honorable burial. The independence of the city is shown by this brave deed and by the fact that the king did not dare resent it.

A little later (166-165 B.C.) Phoenicians appear in a less favorable light. Antiochus gave charge to Lysius, one of his generals, to destroy the Jewish state. He was to conquer the territory and sell the whole Jewish population into slavery, after which he was to repeople the land with strangers. The rate per head was fixed sufficiently low to prove very attractive to slave dealers. The prospect of vast profits led the merchants from the cities upon the sea-coast to accompany the army of Lysias. They took very much silver and gold, and came into the Syrian camp to buy the Children of Israel. But Judas Maccabeus completely defeated the Syrian army and took as lawful prize a large part of the money intended for the purchase of slaves.

In the year 83 B.C., Tyre with the rest of Phoenicia and Syria, passed into the control of Tigranes, King of Armenia, who held the mastery for fourteen years. Then by the victories of Lucullus, mastery returned for a short time to the Seleucidae.

 

CHAPTER IX

TYRE UNDER THE ROMANS AND MOSLEMS TO THE PERIOD OF THE CRUSADES

 

In the year 64 B.C. Pompey reduced Syria, and the Phoenician cities became a part of the Roman Empire.

The establishment of Roman supremacy brought decided advantage to Tyre after conditions became settled. Commercial prosperity was impossible amidst political uncertainties and unrest. Rome gave stable government and brought order out of chaos. Her rule was not inimical to commercial activity. Pompey had recently cleared the sea of the bands of pirates who had been infesting the eastern part of the Mediterranean. Tyre could now devote herself to manufacture and traffic again.

After the battle of Pharsalia, Caecilius Bassus fled to Tyre and induced some of the citizens and soldiers to join him in revolt in favor of Pompey while Caesar was engaged in his African wars. Sextus, who ruled Syria for Caesar, was put to death and Bassus claimed sovereignty. In the struggle which preceded the battle of Philippi, Cassius, who commanded in Syria, set up tyrants over all Syria. Hemade Marion king of Tyre. Marion was soon deposed by Anthony. While Anthony lingered in Egypt, the Parthians under Pacorus and Barzapharnes invaded Phoenicia and overran the whole country except Tyre, which Pacorus could not overcome. The political status of Tyre at this time is indicated by the fact that Anthony under the spell of Cleopatra “gave her the cities which were within the river Eleutherus (36 B.C.), as far as Egypt, excepting Tyre and Sidon which he knew to have been free cities from their ancestors, although she pressed him often to bestow those on her also.”

The Tyrians appear to have shown their appreciation of his honor of their ancient liberties by adherence to him, for when Augustus came to the east (20 B.C.) he is said to have deprived both cities of their liberties; however the punishment was probably not enforced, for Strabo, writing shortly afterwards, speaks of Tyre as still enjoying its independence. The attitude of Tyre and Sidon toward Herod Agrippa in 44 A.D. implies their continued possession of modified autonomy.

The entrance of Christianity into Tyre was an event which profoundly affected the city’s history. The manner of its introduction is unknown. The fame of the Prophet of Galilee reached the Phoenician cities early in his ministry; among his followers were men from “about Tyre and Sidon.” Jesus himself visited the borders of these cities. It was near Tyre that he healed the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman. Christians among those “scattered abroad” after the death of Stephen, preached in Phoenicia. When Paul journeyed by sea from Greece and Asia Minor on his last visit to Jerusalem (A.D. 57?), there was a church at Tyre whose members consisted of men, women and children. Paul tarried with them seven days. They foresaw his troubles and besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. When he departed, they accompanied him to the harbor, and kneeling, prayed for him. The religion of Jesus took firm root in the city of Melkart.

In the year 44 A.D. Herod Agrippa was greatly displeased with the people of Tyre and Sidon. It is clear from the incident that Tyre was enjoying a measure of autonomy at this time, otherwise as Rawlinson has shown, his quarrel would have been a quarrel with Rome. The incident throws light upon the commercial condition of these cities. Their country was nurtured by the king’s country. Their eagerness to appease him was due to commercial considerations. When Paul sailed to Palestine as related above, the ship passed south of Cyprus and landed at Tyre, “for there the ship was unable to unlade her burden.” Then upon leaving the city he took ship for Ptolemais and Caesarea. And so the commerce of Tyre continued to thrive, although Rome had made herself the commercial as well as the political capital of the empire; and by commerce and manufacturing streams of wealth continued to flow to the Phoenician city.

Early in the Roman period began the only era of literary activity in the Phoenician cities, of which we have knowledge. Strabo (B.C. 40-A.D. 18) says that there was a school of philosophy at Sidon. Two early Stoic philosophers of Tyre are mentioned, Antipater, who was intimate with the younger Cato and known to Cicero, and Apollonius, who wrote a work about Zeno and compiled a bibliography of Stoic philosophy. Marinus of Tyre, who lived in the early part of the second century after Christ, must be reckoned as the first scientific geographer: his maps were mathematically constructed according to longitude and latitude. Marinus doubtless used the vast amount of geographical knowledge accumulated in the Phoenician cities. He employed also the works of Greek and Roman travelers, and may have availed himself of the astronomical data of Hipparchus in determining latitude, as the eclipse of the moon that appeared at Arbele on the fifth hour, but at Carthage on the second. Ptolemy of Pelusium regrets that there had been so few such observations, and in his great geographical work sought only to perfect the work that Marinus had done, following him excepting when he found an error. The rhetorician, Paulus of Tyre, was a man of much ability. He went to Rome on an embassy for his native city, and so pleased the Emperor Hadrian by an oration given before him that the Emperor conferred upon Tyre the title of Metropolis, thus officially settling the ancient controversy between Tyre and Sidon. Maximus of Tyre, who flourished 160-190 A.D. was a Sophist and philosopher, many of whose works are extant. He took up his abode at Rome, and is said to have been one of the instructors of Marcus Aurelius.

Near the close of the second century the church at Tyre was active, under the leadership of her own bishop, Cassius, in the Paschal controversy that then stirred Christendom.

In the year 193 A.D. Septimus Severus and Pescennius Niger were rival aspirants to the throne of Rome. Niger commanded the east with headquarters at Antioch. The Tyrians and people of Laodicea, perhaps because of jealousy of their neighbors, favored Severus. Upon receiving the news that Niger had failed in his attempt to prevent the march of Severus through the passes of the Taurus, they destroyed the insignia and. boldly proclaimed Severus. Niger sent his Mauritanian troops with orders to destroy these two cities and put their inhabitants to the sword. The bloody commission was executed. Tyre was plundered and burned after a fearful slaughter of her citizens. Niger was defeated in the battle of Issus (194 A.D.) and was slain soon afterward at Antioch. In 201 A.D. Severus recruited the population of Tyre from the third legion which had long been in Syria, and rewarded the city for its loyalty to himself by giving it the title of Colony, with the Jus Italicum. The city seems to have recovered quickly from its disaster. It regained some measure of its former wealth and splendor.

In the year 250-251 there was a general persecution of the Christians, through an effort of the Emperor Decius to re­establish the ancient Roman faith. Origen was thrown into prison, and suffered the torture of the rack and the iron collar. By his fortitude he won the name Adamantius, but when the persecution ceased, he came forth broken in health, and perhaps as a result of his torture, died in 253. “For largeness of learning, fruitfulness of work, sweetness of character, he was the glory of the Church in his day, and almost every great man in the Eastern Church for fifty years after his death was either a personal pupil of that great teacher, or somehow an instrument of his fashioning.” When the Cathedral of Tyre was built, the body of this great scholar was entombed behind its altar, according to tradition.

That the Church at Tyre was not crushed by the persecution under Decius is evidenced by the fact that among the “more illustrious” bishops of the east when peace was restored (253 A.D.) was Marinus, Bishop of Tyre.

Porphyry, the Neo-Platonist, was a native of Tyre. He attended the teaching of Origen there. Porphyry’s Phoenician name was Malchus, king, but because of his desire to ingratiate himself with Greeks and Romans, and perhaps to hide his Asiatic origin, he adopted the name Porphyrius, purple as the royal color, being a fair equivalent for Malchus. He was a tireless student not only in the east but at Athens under Longinus. He went to Rome in 262 A.D. and joined the Neo-Platonist school of Plotinus. In him Neo-Platonism reached its highest ethical teaching. He was a great opponent of Christianity. He wrote a life of Pythagoras, in which he represents Pythagoras as having wrought great miracles, and as having given such power to his favorite followers. The work was intended to discredit the doctrine of Christ’s miracles. He wrote an attack on Christian doctrines that ran to twenty-one books. This last work was answered by Methodius, Bishop of Tyre, but did much to check the advance of Christianity among the educated classes.

Methodius, who was Bishop of Tyre in 267, “wrote books against Porphyry, in a polished and logical style; also a Banquet of the Ten Virgins, an excellent work on the Resurrection, Against Origen” and his commentaries. He afterward died as a martyr in Chalcis in Greece.

In the midst of intellectual strife and religious unrest, Tyre continued to prosper because of her manufacturing and commerce. Rome seems to have assumed control of the purple dyeing industries of the city. One Dorotheus, who was learned in Greek and Hebrew wisdom, having found favor with Emperor Diocletian, was honored by being placed over the purple dye works at Tyre.

The city was the scene of bloody persecutions in the reign of Diocletian and Maximinus. Although Christianity had numbered great leaders among its adherents at Tyre, the ancient faith of the city was far from being dead. That the adherents of the older cult had appealed to the Roman authority against the Christians, is clear from the edict of Maximinus, which was posted on a pillar at Tyre. The edict in part was as follows:

“Behold, therefore your city ... when it perceived that the adherents of that execrable vanity were again beginning to spread ... immediately resorted to our piety ... asking some remedy and aid. It is evident that the gods have given you this saving mind on account of your faith and piety. Accordingly, that supreme and mightiest Jove who presides over your illustrious city, who preserves your ancestral gods, your wives and children, your hearths and homes from every destructive pest, has infused into your soul this wholesome resolve ... Let as many as have abandoned that blind error ... rejoice. But if they still persist in their execrable vanity, let them as you have desired, be driven far away from your city and territory.”

Detailed accounts are given of the martyrdom of Theodosia, a Tyrian maiden, at Caesarea, and of five Egyptian Christians, who were tortured and slain in the arena at Tyre. The Church suffered very greatly. Tyrannion, the Bishop, was drowned in the depth of the sea.

Late in the year 312 A.D. after Constantine’s victory over Maxentius, the Edict of Milan was issued by Constantine and Licinius, announcing religious liberty for all and the right of “every man to perform his religious duties according to his own choice.” With the edict there seems to have been sent forth a letter of instructions to the local authorities as to the carrying out of its provisions. Such a letter addressed to Anulinus, Proconsul of Africa, has come down to us. Among its provisions it orders that restoration be made to the Christian churches of all that had been taken away from them in the times of persecution, “whether gardens, buildings, or whatever they might be.” It was immediately following the issuing of this edict that the work of building the temple of Tyre began.

By the zeal of Paulinus, Bishop of Tyre, this temple was built. It was the most splendid in Phoenicia. In the presence of a brilliant company, Eusebius delivered the dedicatory sermon, which contains a full description of the temple and an account of its erection. The site chosen was that of a church which had been destroyed and its location desecrated in time of persecution. Eusebius’ description of the Temple is of great value as being the oldest detailed account that we have of a Christian basilica. Enclosing a much larger space, a wall surrounded the temple area and served as a bulwark. At the eastern end of the temple was a lofty vestibule. Between the temple and the outer entrance, and surrounded by four transverse cloisters, was a quadrangular space with pillars rising on every side, which was open to sun and sky. Here were a fountain, and vessels of purification. Passing through this, one came to the entrance, which consisted of three doors, also facing the east. The middle door, larger than the other two, was adorned with plates of bronze. In the same way were arranged vestibules for the corridors on each side of the temple. All were adorned with fine wood carving. The temple proper was constructed and furnished with very costly materials. Its “length, and breadth, and splendor, and majesty, surpassing description, the brilliant appearance of the work, its lofty pinnacles reaching to the heavens, and the costly cedars of Lebanon above them” are alluded to. Within were thrones for those who presided and seats throughout the building. The altar, enclosed with wooden lattice work elaborately carved “presented a wonderful sight.” The pavement was of marble of many varieties. Without the temple on either side were provided spacious buildings which communicated with the entrances to the interior structure.

Paulinus was afterwards made bishop of Antioch. He was succeeded in the episcopate of Tyre by Zeno.

In 335 A.D., under Constantine, Tyre was chosen as the seat of a Church council, the purpose of which was to restore peace and order to the Christian Church, which was being greatly disturbed through acrimonious theological controversy. The council was so far from accomplishing its purpose that Roman soldiers sent to maintain order were compelled to restrain the council itself from rioting and violence. Charges of cruelty, impiety, and the use of magical arts were brought against Athanasius. As the bishops assembled were chiefly Arians, he was condemned and deprived of his see. The condemnation was afterwards reversed, and the Synod of Tyre came to be regarded as unorthodox. The record of the proceedings of this council forms one of the most disgraceful chapters in the history of the Christian Church.

 

It is at this point that we begin to get our first faint traces of light from another source. The Bordeaux Pilgrim (333 A.D.) became the first of a vast number of pilgrims from Europe to the Holy Land. His itinerary brought him to Tyre and he mentions the village of Alexandroschene near Palaetyrus, but has left no record concerning the city. In 382 A.D. the Holy Pilgrim Paula, whose story is written by Jerome, passed by Tyre. She was a Roman matron of great wealth and social standing: her observations would have been of value, but she also has left no record, merely mentioning the city

Tyre was in a flourishing condition in the days of Jerome (340-420). He finds difficulty in reconciling Ezekiel’s prophecy of the destruction of Tyre with the condition of the city in his own time. Speaking of its noble port that received ships coming from the deep, and the fact that the city was the mart of many islands, he adds: “quod quidem usque hodie perseverat, ut omnium propemodum gentium in ilia exerceantur commercia.”

Tyre was the official ecclesiastical metropolis of Phoenicia with Photius as bishop in 451, and had been for a long time. The Council of Chalcedon confirmed the claim of Tyre and declared void the effort of the bishop of Beirut to divide the province. Antoninus Martyr made a pilgrimage (570 A.D.?) to the Holy Land, and made record of “The Holy Places Visited.” He writes: “The city of Tyre contains influential men; the life there is very wicked, the luxury is such as cannot be described. There are public brothels. Silk and other kinds of cloth are woven.”

A dark-story has come down to us from the period of the wars of the years 604-628 between the Persians under Khusrau II (Chosroes) and the Byzantines under Phocas, and, after him, Heraclius. During these years Tyre found herself in her old place between the upper and nether millstone. Though her prosperity depended upon peace and order, there was war and anarchy all around her. An illustration of these anarchistic conditions which doubtless prepared the way for the amazingly swift conquests of Islam in the years closely following is preserved in the Annals of Eutychus. The story is as follows:

“There were in Tyre four thousand Jews; these wrote to all the Jews who were at Jerusalem, Cyprus, Damascus, the hill country of Galilee and Tiberias, bidding them assemble themselves together on the night of the Christian Passover, slay all the Christians in Tyre, and then set out for Jerusalem, make away with every one whom they met and seize the city. When the plot came to the ears of the nobleman who was governor of Tyre, and of the inhabitants of that city, they laid hold upon all the Jews therein, bound them with chains of iron and cast them into prison. They closed the gates of the city and set up catapults and engines of war near them. So when the night of the Christian Passover came, the Jews from all the country round about gathered together at Tyre according as the Jews of Tyre had bidden them to do, and as they had agreed among themselves. But the people of Tyre repulsed them, numbering more than twenty-six thousand men. Howbeit the Jews destroyed all the churches at Tyre which stood without the citadel. But whensoever they destroyed any church, the inhabitants of Tyre took a hundred of the Jews whom they held captive, set them upon the top of the citadel, cut off their heads there, and cast them over the walls. In this manner they slew two thousand men. Then a tumult arose among the Jews themselves and they betook themselves to flight. The Tyrians sallied out and followed up their retreat, making a great slaughter among them.”

Another dark incident in which Tyre was involved is recorded by the same author. When Heraclius came into possession of Palestine, 629 A.D., the monks of Jerusalem appealed to him for the destruction of the Jews because of their alleged part with the Persians in the destruction of churches and the slaughter of Christians at Tyre. It is evident therefore that Tyre had resisted the attack of the Persian arms, and had suffered sorely as a result.

A military power inspired with a spirit of conquest appeared with the birth of Islam. Before this new military power fired with a frenzy of religious zeal, city after city and province after province fell with astonishing rapidity. The Byzantine Emperor Heraclius saw that his rich Syrian possessions were in grave danger of being taken from him. He mustered a large army to drive back the Moslems but in the decisive battle of Yarmuk, September, 634, his army was crushed and the issue was practically fixed.

Late in the summer of 635 A.D. Damascus fell. The province of the Jordan to which Tyre belonged was in command of Shorabil (Shurahbil). He “reduced Tyre together with Saffuriyah.” But Christian influence and power lingered on the coast. The Greeks for a time had command of the sea. Therefore once and again from the seaward, Byzantine arms retook what the Arabs had gained. Unfortunately we do not have full information about Tyre in these unsettled times. Almost at once the city fell again into the hands of the Greeks if we may credit the following account from the writings attributed to Al-Wakidi.

After the fall of Jerusalem, Omar commissioned Yazid Ibn Abu Sufyan to subdue Palestine and the maritime cities, while Abu Obeidah was commissioned to conquer northern Syria. Obeidah besieged Aleppo but met with long and stubborn resistance. When the Moslem hosts, by the stratagem of one named Damas, captured Aleppo, Yukenah, commander of the city, was one of the first to embrace Islam.

Soon after the fall of Antioch, Yukenah, the fame of whose brave defense of Aleppo was known, but whose apostasy was not known, came to Tripolis. With his followers he was cordially welcomed without suspicion. At a favorable opportunity he and his men rose up and subdued the city. They sent news of their success to Abu Obeidah, while for the purpose of deception the standards of the cross were still permitted to wave over the battlements of Tripolis. Fifty ships ladened with provisions from Cyprus and Crete anchored off Tripolis; and before suspicions were aroused these fell into the hands of Yukenah and his followers. Forces sent by Abu Obeidah having received charge of Tripolis, Yukenah with the fleet still flying the Christian flag, sailed to Tyre. The Tyrians flocked to the seaside with acclamations of joy to welcome the needed succor. Yukenah, with nine hundred men, landed and was welcomed as a deliverer. But one of his men betrayed the plot, and he and his followers were imprisoned in the citadel. Yezid Ibn Abu Sufyan, with a small force, rapidly advanced to Tyre in hope of finding the crescent already waving over the city’s walls. Yukenah succeeded in persuading Basil, the officer in charge of the prisoners, to join in a plot to deliver the city into the hands of Abu Sufyan. While the troops of Tyre were contending against the forces of Abu Sufyan, in frequent sallies and skirmishes, Basil with Yukenah and his followers rose against the city. The cry ‘ Allah Akbar’ resounded through the streets of Tyre. The cross was torn from the standard and Tyre was under the sway of Islam.

The speedy conquest of such cities as Tyre was accomplished as much by the terms of surrender offered as by the frenzied valor of the Saracen soldiery. Islam offered protection for all, and this was vastly better than the political chaos prevailing. It offered toleration for all, and this was vastly better than the theological strife, and the bitter persecutions, and the religious civil warfare which it came to replace. The adherents of the older faiths naturally preferred such terms under Islam rather than the conditions under the so-called Christian rule of Constantinople. That the new order offered more favorable conditions for industry and commerce would not be overlooked by Tyre. The Christians themselves did not find the conditions unbearable. Their churches were not pulled down. That they were not allowed to build new ones was at first no hardship, for the turning of large numbers to the new faith made the churches already built amply sufficient to accommodate the population that adhered to Christianity. Their chief disadvantages, together with all the people who did not embrace Islam, was that they were not permitted to bear arms, and that they were required to pay the poll-tax. It was true of Tyre as of the other cities of Syria that “the lapse of the masses from Christendom to Islam, which took place during the first century after the conquest is only to be accounted for by the fact that ... they changed their creed in order to acquire the rights and privileges of Moslem citizens. In no case were they compelled to do so: on the contrary, the Omayyad Caliphs saw with displeasure the diminishing proceeds of the poll-tax derived from their Christian subjects.”

The humiliations to which Jews and Christians were subjected under Moslem rule were introduced gradually. But under the rule of Muawiyah at Damascus as Caliph of all Islam (40-60 A.H.), the so-called Code of Omar was fully enforced. The clothing of non-Moslems must be distinguished by a stripe of  yellow. They must not ride on horse-back. If they rode on mule or ass, the stirrups and knobs of the saddle must be of wood. Their graves must be level with the ground. Their children must not be taught by Moslem masters. They must not aspire to any office of trust or authority. They must erect no new places of worship, display no cross outside their buildings, ring no church bell, and grant to any Moslem free entry at pleasure into all holy places.

Muawiyah realized the importance of the sea-coast cities. “In the year 42 A.H. he transplanted a band of Persians from Baalbek, Hims and Antioch to the sea-coast of the province of the Jurdan,” i.e., Tyre, Acre, and elsewhere.

The industrial rivalry of Acre and Tyre is shown by the following incident. “A descendent of Abu-Muait who lived in Acre, ran mills and workshops. Hisham Ibn Abd-ul-Malik wanted him to sell them to him, but the man refused. Hisham therefore moved the industry to Tyre, where he ran an inn and workshop.

When Muawiyah launched his successful fleet for conquest in 647 A.D., he probably sailed from Tyre. Victories were won against Cyprus, Malta, and Crete. Muawiyah captured Rhodes, broke up the famous Colossus, and carried its fragments off to Alexandria. After ravaging the coast of Asia Minor he returned to Tyre with immense treasures and many slaves.

“When Abd-ul-Malik Ibn Merwan, 64-65 A.H., was established in the Caliphate, he repaired Kaisariyah (Caesarea), rebuilt its mosque, and manned it with a garrison. He likewise rebuilt Tyre and Outer-Acre, which had suffered the same fate as Kaisariyah”; i. e. destruction by the Greeks in the days of Ibn-uz-Zubair.

Under Mohammedan rule the conquered territory was divided into “Junds” or military districts. Ibn al-Fakih (c. 903 A.D.) names Tyre as a city of the Jordan district of which Tiberias was capital. The same historian states that Tyre was one of the coast cities of Damascus. He explains the seeming contradiction by the fact that while the mosque belonged to Damascus, the land tax belonged to the Jordan province.

Bishop Arculf visited Palestine (c. 700 A.D.). He dictated the story of his travels to Adamnan. Of Tyre he says: “Tyre, the metropolis of the province of Phoenicia ... This city was very beautiful and very noble.”

It is stated in the Travels of Willibald (c. 724 A.D.):

“Nobody is allowed to pass this place (a tower on Ras al-Abiad) without letters of safe conduct. Those who are without such letters are seized and sent to Tyre ... So when they (Willibald and companions) came to Tyre, the citizens stopped them, and examined their burdens to see if they had anything concealed: for if they had found anything, they would immediately have them put to death. They remained here some days waiting for a ship for Constantinople.”

“A city of the Jordan province,” writes Yakubi in 891 A.D. “It is the chief town of the coast districts, and contains the arsenal. From here sail the Sultan’s ships on the expeditions against the Greeks. It is a beautiful place and fortified.”

“Sûr in the Jordan province is one of the most strongly fortified of the sea-coast towns. It is populous and its lands are fertile,” write Arab historians in 951 and 978 A.D.

Mukaddasi in 985 wrote: 

“Tyre is a fortified town on the sea, or rather in the sea, for you enter the town through one gate only, over a bridge, and the sea lies all round it. The city consists of two quarters: the first being built on terrafirma: while the second, beyond this, is an area enclosed by triple walls with no earth appearing, for the walls rise out of the sea. Into this harbor the ships come every night, and then a chain is drawn across, whereby the Greeks are prevented from molesting them. Water is brought into the town by means of a vaulted aqueduct. Tyre is a beautiful and pleasant city. Many artificers dwell here and ply their special trades.”

This writer gives an account of the commerce of Syria in the tenth century, in which he outlines the industries of the chief cities. He says: “From Tyre come sugar, glass, beads, glass vessels both cut and blown.”

Tyre was visited by the Persian traveler Nasir-i-Khusrau in 1047 A.D. He writes:

“The walls are built of hewn stone, their joints being set in bitumen to keep the water out ... Its caravanserais are built of five or six stories, set one above the other. There are numerous fountains of water: The bazaars are very clean, also great is the quantity of wealth exposed. This city of Tyre is renowned, in fact, for wealth and power among all the maritime cities of Syria. The population for the most part is of the Shiah sect, but the Kadi or Judge of the place is a Sunni. He is known as the son of Abu Akil, and is a very good man, also very wealthy. They have erected a Mashhad (a shrine, or place of martyrdom) at the city gate, where one may see great quantities of carpets and hangings, and lamps and lanterns of gold and silver. The town itself stands on an eminence. Water is brought thereto from the mountain: and leading up to the town gate they have built arches (for the aqueduct) along which the water comes into the city.”

Tyre was at least nominally under the authority of Egypt until the Seljuk Turks under Turgil Bey took Damascus and assumed authority over Syria. The Egyptians under their vizer, Bedr, made war in Syria and, though they failed to retake Damascus, they succeeded in reducing Tyre, which for many years had been practically independent.6 Bedr was succeeded in the vizerate of Egypt by Al-Afdal under whose authority the city was ruled at the beginning of the period of the Crusades.

 

CHAPTER X

THE PERIOD OF THE CRUSADES

 

During the centuries of the Moslem rule, to the beginning of the Crusades, Tyre prospered. To her ancient industries was added the production of sugar, which she exported to all parts of the world and which was used for medicinal purposes. Her wealth continued. At the close of this period the aqueduct from Ras al-Ain was bringing her water supply to the gates of the island city. She was made the naval base from which the Arabic ships sailed forth to fight against the Greeks. Her walls, triple on the land side, and double toward the sea, with the three gates, one behind the other, at the entrance, were the wonder of visitors. The Egyptian harbor seems no longer to have been used, but the Sidonian had been fortified, the walls at its entrance being drawn in and protected by a tower at either side. In this inner harbor the ships of the city anchored, but in the outer harbor made by Alexander’s causeway, the ships of other lands moored. A great iron chain across the entrance to the inner harbor made it impossible for ships to pass in or out except when it was lowered, and so secured the city against naval attack. The need of such precautions reveals conditions unfavorable to the building up and maintaining of such commerce as the city enjoyed in the days when she was mistress of the waves. There was no central power strong enough to sweep piracy from the seas. Then the merchants of Tyre found themselves no longer enjoying a monopoly of the international trade. Genoa, Venice and Pisa had come to the front as commercial cities. While Tyre, therefore, did not hold a place of supremacy such as had been hers in the days of Ezekiel, she was nevertheless a city of great beauty, industry, commerce and wealth.

The last decade of the eleventh century saw Europe convulsed by the frenzied eloquence of Peter the Hermit as he heralded the real or imaginary persecutions of Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem. Pope Urban II proclaimed the Crusade for the delivery of the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of the infidels. After disaster had befallen the vast rabble which went forth under the leadership of Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless, the real warriors of the west, knights who were the flower of the chivalry of their time, took up the holy warfare. They reached Antioch, which they besieged and captured in June 1098. After a delay in Antioch of more than six months they passed down the coast on the way to Jerusalem. Their experience near Tyre is re­orded, and may be given in Ciaxon’s quaint translation as follows:

“They went so far that they came to this noble city of Sur. There they lodged them by the noble fountain ... They lodged this night in gardens much delectable; when it was day they set them forth on they Journey. And passed by a strait much perilous which is between the mountains & the sea.”

At this time Tyre was under the authority of the Caliph of Egypt. The troops of the Caliph had occupied the city in 486 A.H. (1093-1094 A.D.), but the authority of Egypt was not accepted without a struggle. The city revolted and in 490 (1097-1098) Al-Afdal, Vizier of Egypt, with a well equipped army marched against Tyre. His troops entered the city and massacred a large number of people. The governor of the city was brought to Al-Afdal and was put to death for having instigated the revolt.

Jerusalem fell before the Crusaders on July 15, 1099, and Godfrey of Bouillon was chosen king of the newly founded Kingdom of Jerusalem. After his death in 1100, Baldwin, his brother, succeeded him. Baldwin proceeded to subdue his kingdom as rapidly as possible. In order that communication with the west might be unbroken, it was necessary that the coast cities be captured. Tyre bought peace with Baldwin by gifts and presents in 1100, and again in 1101, but in 1103 she was among the cities which sent aid to Acre when Baldwin was besieging that city, and to Tripolis when Raymond was besieging it.

 

The Crusaders had built the fortress Tibnin (Toron), and in the year 500 (1106-1107) Izz al-Mulk, governor of Tyre, attacked this fortress and massacred the Franks who were there. In the year following, Baldwin appeared before Tyre at the head of an army, and the governor of the city paid to him seven thousand dinars of gold as the price of peace.

After the fall of Tripolis, an Egyptian fleet supplied with men, money and abundant provisions, appeared. When it was found that Tripolis had fallen, the fleet hastened to Tyre and its provisions were supplied to the cities which remained under Egyptian authority—Tyre, Sidon and Beirut.

When Sidon surrendered in 1110 A.D., Tyre and Ascalon alone remained to be captured. Tyre was of unusual importance, not only because of its wealth, but because it was “caput et metropolis” of the Christian churches of Phoenicia, and fourteen cities were suffragan to the Archbishop of Tyre.

The Tyrians foresaw that their city would be attacked. They therefore planned to remove a large amount of wealth to a place of safety. A league was made with Tugtakin of Damascus for the removal of the wealth to his city. An illustrious Christian man by the name of Reinfridus, a noted soldier and citizen of Tyre, agreed to conduct the treasure train safely to Damascus. He secretly notified Baldwin who arranged his soldiers in ambush. The camel train left Tyre with its rich treasures. In an un­expected night attack the Franks fell upon the Tyrians and put to rout those whom they did not succeed in slaying. The train was captured and the Franks carried off in mule and camel vehicles uncounted gold, silver, precious ornaments, treasures, precious purples and silks of various colors.

Baldwin collected his forces in 1111 A.D. for the subjugation of Tyre, but the Norwegian fleet which had been supporting his arms had withdrawn and such a fleet as he was able to gather was of little value. Troops from places less defensible had joined the forces within Tyre, so that the city had a full quota of defenders. The siege began on November 27, 1111 A.D. The besiegers made repeated attacks against the city. They had prepared two great wooden towers of sufficient height to enable them to fight effectively, and these they brought up against the walls. Meanwhile, despairing of receiving help from Egypt, the people of Tyre sent an appeal to Tugtakin of Damascus, and desired to place themselves under his protection. Tugtakin advanced to Paneas4 and sent infantry and cavalry to the aid of Tyre. Some of these fell into the hands of Baldwin and were put to death.6 The force of Tugtakin cut off supplies coming by land, but the besiegers were still able to get provisions from Sidon. Tugtakin therefore attacked Sidon and slew many Franks. Baldwin pressed the siege and, by the towers, forced the first and second wall, and was attacking the third. Tugtakin sent messages of encouragement to the besieged. The governor of the city, whose title was Izz al-Mulk, held a council of war, at which a sheikh who had been present at the siege of Tripolis volunteered to destroy the wooden towers. With a thousand armed warriors bearing burning fagots he made a sally and succeeded in setting fire to the towers. The Franks saved the larger tower. The fosses had been filled up and the assaults of the besiegers were made so effectively that the city was almost in despair when a hurling machine was erected by which the Tyrians succeeded in setting fire to the great tower of the besiegers, hurling against it materials soaked with naptha of which a supply was found in the ground. Sulphur, pitch and other combustibles were also used.

Stubborn fighting on both sides continued until spring. Then the Franks, hearing that Tugtakin was approaching with twenty thousand men, and fearing that all the territory already possessed would be lost, raised the siege on April 21, 1112, burned such implements of war as could not be moved, and retired to Acre. The force of Tugtakin entered Tyre, and the people gave to their deliverer much money and many precious gifts. They did not neglect to repair their fosses and ramparts which had suffered by the siege.

The Franks built the fort called Scandalium some five miles distant in order the more effectively to harass Tyre. Petty fighting was continued on both sides. Tyrians frequently attacked pilgrims. In 1113 a band of pilgrims was attended by a company of Baldwin’s soldiers. Near Tyre the soldiers lay in ambush and when men from the city came out and attacked the pilgrims, Baldwin’s soldiers surprised them and compelled them to flee back to Tyre.

After delivering the city from the attack of Baldwin, Tugtakin had withdrawn, leaving the city under the authority of the Caliph of Egypt. However the following year, fearing that Baldwin would make a second attack, the people of Tyre arranged with their governor, Izz al-Mulk, to put the city under the protection of Tugtakin. They requested Tugtakin to send an emir of his choice and forces for the city’s defense, and offered to put the city permanently under his authority. Tugtakin sent an emir named Masud, who was a brave and experienced warrior, and with him troops. Prayer continued to be offered in the mosques in the name of the Caliph of Egypt, and money was coined in his name also.

Tugtakin wrote Al-Afdal explaining the situation, and promising to withdraw his troops whenever they should no longer be needed for the city’s protection. He asked that Egypt should send men and provisions. Al-Afdal thanked him; a fleet set forth, and Tyre assumed her ancient tranquility.

Peace was arranged on what seemed to be a solid basis and prosperity returned, for because of the security of travel, the merchants of Tyre carried on their trade on every side.

The city seems to have suffered but little from the earthquake that in 1114 A.D. shook all Syria and laid many cities in ruins.

As Tyre was still nominally under Egyptian authority, Al-Mamoun successor to Al-Afdal as Vizier of Egypt, sent a well- supplied and equipped fleet to the city in 1123 A.D. When Masud, who was still in command of the city, came to salute the officer in charge of the fleet, he was thrown into chains and carried to Egypt. In Egypt he was shown great honors, and then sent to Damascus. The Egyptian authorities apologized to Tugtakin for their removal of Masud. Tugtakin responded politely and promised to cooperate for the common defense.

The expulsion of Masud was taken as a piece of good fortune by the Franks. They thought that the city could not now resist them and so began preparations for a new attack. The Egyptian commandant in the city recognized his inability to protect it with the provision and equipment at hand, and notified the Caliph of Egypt.1The Caliph, Al-Amer, wrote: “We entrust the defense to Dahir al-Din” (Tugtakin). Tugtakin took possession of Tyre and brought in supplies of men and provisions such as he thought would be sufficient to protect the city.

Upon the death of Baldwin I, on April 7, 1118 A.D., Baldwin du Bourg succeeded to the throne of Jerusalem. He was taken prisoner almost at once, in 1123 A.D., and Eustace de Grenier was appointed Viceroy. It was then that the Christian forces were much augmented by the arrival of a strong Venetian fleet.

The Venetians had long enjoyed profitable commerce with the east, and because they were not eager to break these trade­relationships, they had not taken any great part in the Crusades up to this time. However they saw that the Genoese and Pisans were gaining great advantage from their connection with the movement, and became eager to gain the favor of the new kingdom and share in the spoils of the Saracens. They prepared a great fleet and set sail. An Egyptian fleet of ninety vessels was menacing the coast cities held by the Crusaders. The Venetians under Domenicho Michaeli, Doge of Venice, met the Egyptian fleet near Ascalon and destroyed it. The presence of the Venetian seamen encouraged the Christians to attempt aggressive warfare. The leaders in council at Jerusalem decided to attack either Ascalon or Tyre, but the opinion was divided between these two strongholds. It was therefore determined to settle the question by an appeal to God. In a box on the altar two pieces of parchment were placed; on one of these “Ascalon” was written, and on the other “Tyre.” In the presence of a crowd, a child drew forth the decisive piece of parchment; the chance fell upon Tyre and preparations to besiege the city began at once.

The Venetians were more concerned about their own gain than that of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Before beginning the siege they demanded that they should have a church, a street, a common oven and a national tribunal in every city in Palestine. They further demanded, besides other things, that they should have possession of a third of the conquered city.

At this point in our record our chief authority, William of Tyre, gives an account of the city. After reviewing its history he states a number of important facts about the city as it then was.

Tyre claimed sway over fourteen cities, among which were Acco, Sidon, Beirut, Byblus, Tripolis and Aradus. The regions near the city were of wonderful fertility, especially the section near to Ras al-Ain. That noble fountain overflowing its great stone tower-like enclosures, sent its life-giving water through aqueducts to irrigate the vineyards, gardens and orchards of .the surrounding country. From the summit of this lofty fountain one looked over extensive fields of sugar cane, for Tyre had added the new industry of producing cane and making sugar to her other sources of wealth.

One of the foremost industries of the city at that time was the production of glass. In this industry the city easily held first place because of the quality of the sand there. The glass made at Tyre was of great clearness and was highly prized. It was exported even to remote provinces and brought fame to the city among distant nations. By this industry great gain came to the merchants.

The city was especially difficult of attack. The approach by sea was perilous to those unfamiliar with these waters. The side of the city toward the sea was protected with a double wall with towers. On the side toward the mainland the walls were triple, and on them were towers of great height and near together. Across the isthmus that joined the city to the mainland, a wide fosse had been dug, into which the waters of the sea could be admitted, leaving the city an island. The inner port on the north was guarded by twin towers.

The city was not without able defenders. She claimed the protection of Egypt and Damascus. Within her walls were noble citizens, very wealthy, especially those whose commerce with “all the provinces adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea” filled the city with riches. Then refugees from other cities had fled hither for safety.

The siege of Tyre by the Christian forces, newly strengthened, began in April, 1124. While the Venetians blockaded the harbor, the land forces located their camps, set up their engines of war and began the assault. A wooden tower was built and missiles thrown .from it did much execution. This tower was the center of constant and furious fighting. Showers of darts, javelins and stones were ready for any of the besiegers who exposed themselves. But the battering rams were weakening the walls; besiegers and besieged fought with equal violence.

Within the city seventy cavalrymen of Damascus distinguished themselves by their valor and aroused the Tyrians to a high courage. The men of Ascalon marched against Jerusalem, but the siege was not lifted. The lord of Damascus, Tugtakin, advanced to Paneas with an army to break the siege. At the same time a fleet from Egypt sailed to the rescue of the beleaguered city. The Crusaders’ forces were divided into three parts. The first part, under the count of Tripolis and William de Bourg, was to go against the men of Damascus. The Venetians were to meet the Egyptian fleet, while the third part was to press the siege. The lord of Damascus did not wait to give battle, but fled. The Egyptian fleet promptly withdrew because of this. The Crusaders therefore returned with full force and new vigor to the siege.

Dissension among the friends of the city aided the arms of her enemies. The Caliph of Egypt had yielded half of the place to the Sultan of Damascus in order to enlist his arms in the defense. But the Turks and the Egyptians were jealous of each other and would not fight together.

When the city was almost at the point of surrender, discord arose among the besiegers and nearly rendered their valor and toil futile. The land army complained that they had to bear the whole burden, and threatened to remain in their tents as inactive as the Venetians were in their ships. But when the commander of the fleet appeared in camp with sailors armed with oars and offered to assault the walls, emulation Replaced discord, and the siege was renewed with vigor.

At this juncture certain young men of Tyre won for themselves “perennial glory among their people” by venturing beyond the walls and setting fire to the attacking tower of the enemy. The besiegers, taken unawares, flew to arms. They worked to extinguish the flames but would have failed had it not been for the high courage of a young man who climbed up through the burning tower and finally quenched the flames. Meanwhile those who fired the tower were captured and put to the sword. Now the attack was pressed, if not with greater vigor, at least with greater wisdom. From Antioch an Armenian by the name of Havedic was brought to direct the catapults and other hurling devices. This man was an expert and worked with great effect.

Then news came that Balac, most powerful of the Turks, had been killed near Hierapolis, and the soldiers renewed the attack with greater zeal. Meanwhile famine was abroad in the city. Suffering was extreme and the hope of outside help had failed. It was then, when the condition was desperate, that expert swimmers of Tyre, by diving cut the anchor cable of the Venetian guard ship, and by another cable which they had made fast, the ship was drawn ashore. Only five men were on board: four of them escaped by swimming, while one was killed.

The men of Ascalon made another futile raid near Jerusalem: the besieging army could not be drawn off.

The city resolved to surrender, but as a commercial city they resolved to make as good a bargain of surrender as possible. Tugtakin of Damascus came and arranged the terms6 with the captains of the army, the patriarch of Jerusalem, the leader of the Venetians, the count of Tripolis, William de Bourg and others. The people of Tyre were to be allowed to march out in safety with their possessions. Those who might wish to remain were to be allowed to do so upon payment of a ransom.

The soldiers of Tugtakin and the Crusaders formed in two long lines facing each other, while the citizens marched out between the two armies. The citizens carried away all their movable possessions. They went some to Damascus, some to Gaza, and others elsewhere. Ibn el-Athir adds, “The event was a great calamity for Islam, for Tyre was one of the towns most beautiful and strong. Let us hope that the Most High God will bring it back again under the rule of Islam.”

The conquering army entered. They were amazed at the fortifications of the city, the strength of the buildings, the height of the castles, the beauty of the port, and the strength of the walls. They wondered also at the bravery of the Tyrians who had fought not only against the military force, but against famine as well. “Only five measures of grain were found in the city.”

In the division of the spoils the Venetians got their third according to agreement. The date of the fall of the city was June 29, 1124. The Franks entered the city on July 8. It remained in their hands until the last days of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Four years after the siege of Tyre its archbishopric was given to William, Prior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, an Englishman reputed for learning and piety. When William became Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fulcher succeeded him as Archbishop of Tyre. He was followed by Peter, Prior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The next occupant of the archbishopric of Tyre was Frederic, Bishop of Acco.

When William became Archbishop, he found that in the interval between his election and the death of his successor, Odo, some of the suffragan bishops, among whom was the Bishop of Sidon, refused to recognize the authority of Tyre. A sharp contest ensued between the new Archbishop and the rebellious bishops which was only ended by the intervention of Pope Innocent II. In response to the Papal orders, delivered by an apostolic delegate, order was restored and the ancient authority of the Archbishop of Tyre was recognized.

Fetellus, about whom little is known except that he was arch-deacon of Antioch at a later date, wrote of Tyre circa 1130 A.D.: “Before Tyre is the stone on which they say that Jesus sat, which remained uninjured from His time till the expulsion of the Gentiles from the city, but was afterwards broken by the Franks and also by the Venetians. Above the remains of it on its own site, a church has been begun in honor of the Savior. In our own time Tyre was vigorously besieged both by land and by sea, and was taken by the Patriarch Warmund (Gormund), of blessed memory, with the aid of the Venetians, by the permission of the grace of God.”

Baldwin II, having no son to succeed him, chose as a bride­groom for his eldest daughter Melisend, the Count of Anjou, Fulk V, who reached Acre in the spring of 1129. When the marriage was celebrated, Fulk received Tyre and Acre as his wife’s dowry. Two years later Baldwin died and Fulk of Anjou became king.

In the year 528 (1133-1134) Shems al-Muluk (Bouri), lord of Damascus, with an army, ravaged the country about Tyre and Acre, slaying many people and capturing others. He carried off much plunder.

When Fulk of Anjou died in 1142 A.D., his son Baldwin III, who was but thirteen years of age, was solemnly consecrated and crowned, his mother Melisend holding the throne until his maturity. In 1152 he came to the throne and the realm was divided between himself and his mother. In the division Tyre and Acre with the coast fell to the young king. Baldwin III desired a closer alliance with Constantinople. He therefore sent envoys to beg a bride of the royal family. Manuel consented and sent Theodora, his niece, with a splendid dowry. Theodora reached Tyre in September 1159 A.D., and a few days later was crowned in Jerusalem.

Under the rule of the Crusaders there was religious toleration in Tyre. Moslems, Christians, Jews and adherents of the city’s primitive faith dwelt peaceably together. Moreover, the city’s industries were not destroyed by the change in political control. The Arab historian, Idrisi, writing in 1154, says:

“Stir is a fine city ... it is fortified . . . there is a large suburb. They make here long-necked vases of glass and pottery. Also a sort of white clothes-stuff which is imported thence to all parts, being extremely fine and well-woven beyond compare. The price also is very high and in but few neighboring countries do they make as good stuff.”

The prosperity of the city was still sufficient to tempt her enemies. In the year 550 (1155-1156) an Egyptian fleet entered the port of Tyre, made a raid with fire and sword, captured vessels belonging to the Christians and others, and carried off many prisoners and much plunder.

In the year 552 (August 1157) Tyre suffered from an earthquake.

The testimony of a Jewish traveler of this time is of unusual importance. Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, in his accounts of his travels, 1160-1173, speaking of Tyre, says:

“New Sur is a very beautiful city, the port of which is in the town itself and is guarded by two towers, within which the vessels ride at. anchor. The officers of customs draw an iron chain from tower to tower every night, thus preventing any thieves or robbers from escaping by boats. There is no port in the world equal to this. About 400 Jews reside here. The Jews of Sur are ship owners and manufacturers of the celebrated Tyrian glass. The purple dye is also found in this vicinity. If you mount the walls of New Sur, you may see the remains of ‘Tyre the crowning’ which was inundated by the seas; it is about a distance of a stone’s throw from the new town, and whoever embarks may observe the towers, the markets, the streets and the halls at the bottom of the sea. The city of New Sur is very commercial, and one to which the traders resort from the whole world.”

In the year 1167 an event of more than usual importance occurred in Tyre. The king of Jerusalem, Amaury, had sought alliance with Emperor Manuel of Constantinople, and to this end messengers had been sent to seek for him a bride. On their return the messengers, with the royal bride, Mary, landed at Tyre, and when the king learned of their success, he hastened to this city. The marriage was solemnized in the church at Tyre amid much pomp and joy.

Theodorich, in his “Description of Holy Places,” c. 1172, writes:

“Tyre surpasses all other cities in the strength of its towers and walls. It has only two entrances and these are guarded by quadruple gates with towers on either side. It has two harbors; the inner for the ships of the city, and the outer for those of foreigners. Between the two harbors, two towers built of great masses of stone, project into the sea, having between them, by way of a door, a huge chain of iron ... this door when closed renders entrance and exit impossible, but permits it when open. The city is honored by being the seat of a bishop.”

Joannes Phocas writes of Tyre in his account of his pilgrimage in 1185 A.D.:

“After this comes Tyre which surpasses in beauty almost all of the cities of Phoenicia. It is built like Tripolis upon a similar peninsula, but is of very much greater extent, and possesses much more majestic and beautiful buildings than the latter.”

Then follows the tradition of the stone on which the Savior sat, and a description of Ras al-Ain, reputed to be bottomless. Its overflowing waters make the meadows a mass of foliage.

A very interesting account of the conditions in Tyre in the year 1185 A.D. has come down to us from the pen of the Arabic writer, Ibn Jubair. In his account of his travels he speaks of Tyre as follows:

“The city is so well fortified as to be a proverb for strength. ... Its avenues and streets are cleaner than those of Acre. Many Moslems live here and they are unmolested by the infidels (Franks). The buildings are very large and commodious. The town is smaller than Acre. On the land side there are at the entrance of the city three gates, or may be four (one behind the other) ... The sea gate is entered between two high towers, and then you come into a port than which there is none more wonderful among the maritime cities. Surrounding it on three sides are the city walls, and the fourth side is closed by a wall and an archway of mortared masonry, and the ships come in under the archway and anchor. Between the two towers before mentioned they stretch a mighty chain which prevents aught going in or out, and the ships can only pass when it is lowered. The port is always closely guarded.”

Ibn Jubair, upon the occasion of his visit to Tyre, remained eleven days, as he tells us, because the boat upon which he had expected to sail seemed to him too small.

While in the city he witnessed the wedding procession of some lady of high rank; his description of the event is of interest. He says that it was one of the most pompous occasions one could describe.

“All the Christian men and women joined in the fête. They arranged themselves in two lines before the door of the bride. They sounded trumpets, flutes and all kinds of musical instruments. They thus attended the bride who was conducted by two men, one on either side, who seemed to be relations. She was splendidly decked and wore a magnificent gown of silk and gold. On her head was a diadem of gold, covered by a bridal veil of golden lace. Thus clad she advanced in stately fashion as a turtle dove, or a cloud floating on a breeze. God save us from the seduction of such a spectacle! She was preceded by Christian men clad in gorgeous flowing robes, and followed by Christian women in robes equally beautiful ... The procession was led by musicians, while spectators both Christian and Moslem stood everywhere, looking on without a word of disapprobation. The cortege went thus to the house of the bridegroom into which they brought the bride, and where all passed the day in banqueting. Such was the magnificent spectacle (God save us from the seduction of it!) which we by chance beheld.”

Referring again to his visit he says, “During our sojourn at Tyre we found repose only in a mosque which remains in the hands of our brethren,—they have others there.”

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was in a state of decline; and it was being attacked by one of the most remarkable warriors of that age, Saladin. The Tyrians had opportunity to know of his prowess before being called upon to resist him at their own gates; for when he besieged Beirut in the summer of 1182, a fleet of thirty-three galleys was made ready at Tyre and Acre to go to the rescue of the besieged city. Success continued with the arms of Saladin. Meanwhile William, Archbishop of Tyre, was in the west successfully appealing for reinforcements. Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat, on his way from Constantinople dropped his sails outside of the city of Acre, and as it was near sunset, lay to await the morning. But finding that the city was in the hands of the enemy and that his fleet was in danger of being captured, he sailed away in the night to Tyre. He found the city at the point of surrendering before what was believed to be the resistless might of Saladin. The citizens implored his help in their defense. He agreed to defend the city on condition that he should have the rule over it when he had saved it from the enemy. The conditions were accepted and the city prepared for siege.

“The sultan”, in the words of an Arabic historian, “having established his supremacy on a firm basis both at Jerusalem and on the coast, resolved to march against Tyre, for he knew that if he delayed in this undertaking, it would be very difficult to carry it to a successful issue. He repaired first to Acre where he stopped to inspect the city, and then set out for Tyre on Friday the fifth of Ramadan (Nov. 8,1187). When he came before the city he pitched his camp.”

Our Arabic historian accounts for a pause in the plans of Saladin as “pending the arrival of his instruments of war.” But the historians on the other side give a different version. William of Tyre tells us that when Saladin arrived with his army, he found the city impregnable. Realizing the futility of assault, he promised Conrad that if he would surrender Tyre, he would release his father whom he held captive. The marquis responded that he would not surrender the least stone of Tyre. Whereupon Saladin, finding force and arts alike futile, withdrew.

However he soon reappeared before Tyre and began the siege. He summoned his son, Malik al-Zahir, from Aleppo. As soon as the movable towers and engines of war arrived, they were set in position against the walls. Malik al-Adil, brother of Saladin, was summoned from Jerusalem.

In order if possible to avoid the hardships of siege and assault, Saladin brought forward Conrad’s father, whom he was still holding as a prisoner, in the hope that the son would give up the city for the life of the father. First he offered the exchange, showing him his father in chains. At once Conrad seized a balista and shot a shaft in a pretended effort to kill his father. When they threatened to slay the father he answered that by all means it should be done not only because of the father’s sins but in order that he might have the honor of being the son of a martyr.

Then the assault of the city began. Perrieres and mangonals began to be used day and night. The Tyrians made frequent sallies. Among those who distinguished themselves for their valor none was more remarkable than a Spanish warrior known as the Green Knight. Clad in chain armor he wrought prodigies of valor and might to the terror of the Saracens.

The Franks from boats on either side of the isthmus were able to fight effectively against the attacking army. Saladin therefore brought ten Egyptian galleys from Acre and blockaded the port. The fleet was commanded by Al-Faris Bedran. At the request of Conrad, the count of Tripolis equipped twenty gal­leys and sent them to rescue Tyre, but a storm drove them back. The city was now suffering not only from continued assaults, but from hunger. A letter from the east to the Master of Hospitalers represents Tyre as on the point of surrendering to Saladin. Of the besieging army the writer with delightful exaggeration says, “So great is the multitude of the Saracens and Turks that from Tyre they cover the face of the earth as far as Jerusalem, like an innumerable army of ants.”

Baha al-Din says:

“Abd al-Muhsin, the High Admiral, had instructed the ships to be watchful and vigilant that the enemy might not find any opportunity of doing them harm, but they neglected this good advice and omitted to keep a good watch during the night. Therefore the infidel (Crusaders’) fleet came out of the harbor of Tyre, fell upon them unawares and took five of their ships with two captains and killed a great number of Moslem sailors.”

The other vessels were run aground and destroyed.

The Moslem army, seeing the engagement by sea, supposed that the walls had been left without defenders. They therefore attacked the town with all haste. Their troops were scaling the walls when the marquis ordered the gates opened. Followed by Hugh of Tiberias and other noble knights, he went forth and fell upon the astonished army with great slaughter.

Saladin was much cast down by the turn of events, and as it was now the beginning of winter, and torrents of rain were falling, his troops could fight no longer. He summoned his emirs to a council of war, and they advised to strike camp so as to give his soldiers a little rest, and make preparations for renewing the siege in the spring. He accepted the advice and ordered the implements of war dismounted, and all that could not be taken away to be burned. He took his departure on the second of the month Dhu al-K’ada in the same year5 (January 3, 1188). Such is the account of the siege as given by Baha al-Din.

When the fortress of Arnaud fell, May 3, 1189, the Franks, led by the governor of Sidon, came to Tyre.

Saladin was holding Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, among his prisoners. Perhaps he feared that a more able prince would be chosen to lead the reinforcements from the west, or that the presence of Guy would bring discord among his foes. However that may be, Saladin released Guy from his chains after having exacted from him a solemn oath that he would renounce his kingdom and return to Europe.

The Arabic historian Baha al-Din gives an interesting account of the release of Guy and his appearance before Tyre. He says:

“The Sultan had promised to set the King of Jerusalem at liberty on his ceding Ascalon to him, and as the king had caused his officers to surrender this place, and demanded to be released, the Sultan suffered him to depart from Antarsus (Antaradus) where he had been kept prisoner. Among the conditions imposed upon the king was that he should never again draw sword against him, and should always consider himself the servant and bondman of his liberator. The King (God curse him!) broke his word and collected forces with which he marched to Tyre”.

But Conrad had ambitions of his own. At this time there was a brilliant company of Crusaders in the city, for Saladin had allowed the Franks from the cities that fell into his hands to depart with their wealth to Tyre. The Tyrians were not willing to forsake the standards of a leader who had saved their city in an hour of extreme peril, to follow the command of one who had been unable to keep his kingdom.

“As he was unable to gain admittance to the city, he camped outside the walls and entered into negotiations with the marquis (Conrad)... The marquis, a man accursed of God, was an important personage, distinguished by his good judgment, the energy and decision of his character, and his religious zeal... Finally an alliance was made, but the king’s army remained outside of Tyre.”

However there were those in the city who favored the cause of Guy and resented the position of the marquis. This was notably true of the Pisans who held no small part of the city. These with others withdrew and joined the king’s army.

Then the marquis fell ill, and fearing that he had been poisoned, he issued a harsh edict against the physicians. Innocent men were put to death upon suspicion. The king was urged to attack the city. Instead he assembled all his forces (not more than 9000 men) and marched against Acre, the siege of which began in August, 1189.

English, German and French recruits in large numbers reached Acre, many of them landing first at Tyre; and the marquis was induced to support the siege with a fleet from Tyre. However, he withdrew secretly at a time inopportune for the besiegers, and the besieged city enjoyed open connection with the sea, if we may believe an historian not friendly to him. After a time he was induced to return with his fleet by the promise that in return for his loyal support, Tyre, Sidon and Beirut would be given to him. The Christian forces then won a great sea fight off the coast of Acre.

While the siege of Acre was in progress an event occurred which brought sorrow to the hearts of the Crusaders. The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany perished in the waters of the River Selef. Bereft of their mighty leader, only a remnant of his conquering army succeeded in reaching Acre. The body of Frederick was taken to Tyre and laid to rest in the Crusaders’ Church there.

The marquis, Conrad, aspired to the throne of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. When Sybilla, wife of Guy, died, the next heir in royal lineage was Isabel, wife of Humphry of Toron. The marquis induced her to forsake her husband and marry him. He then claimed that, as Guy had been king only by virtue of his marriage, and as his royal wife was now dead, the throne now rightly belonged to himself and Isabel. The pilgrims, especially the English, were much displeased, but could do nothing, for Tyre was the only place at which they could secure provisions.

While the fearful siege of Acre was in progress, the crusading forces were quarrelling about the tottering throne. Both Richard, King of England, and Philip, King of France, had part in the siege. The king of England favored the claim of Guy while the king of France favored that of Conrad. It was finally agreed that, as the marquis was heir to the throne by marriage, he should have the government of Tyre, Sidon and Beirut with the title of Count. It was further agreed that, should Guy die first, the crown should go to Conrad, but in the event of the death of the marquis and his wife, King Richard should have the disposal of the throne if he were in those parts.

Acre fell July 12, 1191.5 Shortly after its fall, Philip returned to France, but the discord between the English and French forces continued. The king of England summoned the marquis to go to Acre, taking with him the hostages that had been entrusted to him, that they might be ransomed. He refused to put himself into the hands of Richard. A second embassy demanded that he appear and give active aid in establishing the kingdom whose throne he sought, and that he cease hindering those who would bring provision from Tyre to the Christian army at Acre. The embassy succeeded only in securing the hostages to be ransomed. The marquis remained at Tyre.

The Crusaders elsewhere took sides in this dispute. In Acre the Pisans, who favored Guy, and the Genoese, adherents of Conrad, came to arms. The Genoese sent to the marquis asking him to come at once, and prepared to deliver over the city to him. The marquis came with’ his galleys and a force of armed men under the command of the Duke of Burgundy. While the Pisans were withstanding these, they sent to Richard who was at Caesarea. He hurried forward, and upon learning of his approach, Conrad hastened back to Tyre with his fleet, while the Duke of Burgundy withdrew with the soldiers by land.

In this division each side feared that the other would make alliance with the forces of Saladin.

As Tyre was the center of the French influence, so Ascalon became the center of the English. French soldiers who had remained in the army of Richard were summoned by the marquis to leave Ascalon and report at Tyre in accordance with their oath of allegiance to the king of France. Seven hundred men obeyed the summons in spite of the entreaties of Richard.

In Tyre the soldiers reveled in luxury and wantonness. They decked themselves in jewels and gold, and abandoned themselves to dancing women, amatory songs, wine and prostitutes.

In the spring of 1192 news of grave disorders reached Richard, and made it imperative that he should return to England as soon as possible. He called a conference of the nobles and asked whether they wished Conrad or Guy to hold the kingdom. It was recognized that continuation of the division meant the loss of all. It was felt that Guy had not shown himself strong enough to conquer. Therefore “the whole army, high and low, entreated on their bended knees that the marquis should have the throne,” much to the disgust of the historian quoted.

Richard assented, though reluctantly. A decree of unanimous election was issued, and men of high rank were sent to notify the marquis of the good news.

Upon receiving the news, the marquis was much pleased. Tyre was filled with rejoicing: preparations were made for a coronation worthy of the city. Other cities prepared to cooperate, for it was everywhere seen that the settlement of the internal strife was essential to the life of the kingdom.

But on Monday, April 27th, Conrad went to dine with Philip, Bishop of Beauvais. As he returned from the bishop’s house, two men met him in the way, one of whom offered him a letter. While he was thus off his guard, the two young men, “Assassins,” stabbed him with daggers and ran off at full speed. The marquis fell from his horse and rolled dying upon the ground. One of the Assassins was slain at once: the other took shelter in a church but was brought forth and condemned to be dragged through the city until dead. Before dying he confessed, according to de Vinsauf, that the crime had been committed at the order of the Old Man of the Mountains.

While Conrad was dying, attendants carried him into his palace where he soon expired. Intense gloom filled the city that so lately had been filled with joy.

 

An ugly rumor was spread abroad that the king of England had instigated the assassination. Ibn al-Athir states that Saladin had hired Sinan, chief of the “Assassins,” offering him ten thousand pieces of gold to have Richard and Conrad both slain; but the chief did not wish both Richard and Conrad out of the way lest Saladin should turn against him. However, he ordered the death of Conrad.

Baha al-Din’s account of the death of Conrad is as follows:

“On the sixth of the month Rabi’a II (May 1, 1192), we received a dispatch from our envoy accredited to the marquis, announcing that the prince had been assassinated, and his soul hurled by God into hell-fire. It came about in the following manner: On Tuesday, the 13th of the month, he dined with the bishop, and left with a very small escort. Two of his servants then rushed upon him and kept stabbing him with their daggers till life left the body. They were at once arrested and questioned, when they declared that they had been hired by the king of England. Two of the marquis’s officers assumed command in chief, and provided for the protection of the citadel, until further information of the occurrence could reach the Christian princes. Matters were then arranged and order was restored in the city.”

After the burial of the marquis, the French who lived outside of the city to the number of about ten thousand, demanded of the widow that the city be given them for the service of the king of France. She refused to do this, saying that, in accordance with her husband’s dying wish, she should yield the city only to the king of England. There was uncertainty as to whether English or French influence would dominate. However, almost at once Count Henry of Campagne arrived at Tyre and the people forthwith chose him as their prince, “as though he had been sent of God.” They entreated him to marry the widow who was rightful heir to the kingdom, and accept the crown. The matter was so arranged and the same ambassadors that carried to Richard the formal notice of the assassination of the marquis, carried also the news of the solemn election of Count Henry by all the people. Henry withheld his consent to the plan until the mind of Richard should be known. Richard gave his consent, and the wedding was solemnized in the presence of the clergy and the laity. The nuptials were celebrated with royal magnificence. The city was full of joy, and as the count was the nephew of both the king of England and the king of France, happier times were hoped for and a return of peace and concord.

Having left proper persons in charge of affairs at Tyre, Henry went forth to campaign for the recovery of the kingdom from the Turks. He accomplished but little; however by the terms of peace arranged by Richard and Saladin, which marked the end of this Crusade, the coast from Tyre to Jaffa remained in the hands of the Crusaders. Richard sailed for England almost at once. The death of Saladin occurred in 1193.

Tyre had suffered greatly in her commercial and industrial life. Her prosperity had always rested on her manufacturing and commerce. But as a Christian city she could have no great commerce with the Saracens by land, and the Genoese and Egyptians held the preeminence in the seas. It is evident that Tyre still had her slave market, for when Conrad was holding the city, “the king of France sold to him all his captives alive.” Tyre had also her mint.

In the year 588 A. H. (1192-1193) a troop of cavalry from Tyre reinforced by fifty men from Acre, made a raid on Moslem territory but the soldiers charged with guarding this territory fell on them and killed fifteen, and the troops fled back to Tyre.

After the death of Saladin, the strife among his successors was such that the Christian cities remained undisturbed for a time. However, a new Crusade had been preached in the west. Large numbers of German Crusaders began to arrive at Acre. Counsels of prudence were unavailing to restrain the new warriors, and their aggressions were quickly returned. In 1197 Jaffa fell before Malik al-Adil.

The Crusaders determined to attack the city of Beirut. In this place were gathered large numbers of Frank captives and here was stored vast plunder gathered by piracy upon the Christian shipping. The armies of the Saracens and the Crusaders met on the plain between Tyre and Sidon at the river Eleutherus, and after a hard-fought contest, victory rested with the Crusaders. The opposing army was broken and put to rout. Sidon, Laodicea and Gebal, as well as Beirut, with vast stores of provisions and plunder, fell into the hands of the Christians.

The only possession on the coast between Ascalon and Antioch now left in the hands of the enemy was the strong castle of Toron, near Tyre. Moslem troops from this fortress had marched against Tyre and laid waste her dependent territory. The Crusaders decided to besiege it and to this end set forth from Tyre. The castle on its lofty height was almost impreg­nable. Saxon miners finally succeeded in cutting passages under the walls and the defenders began to despair. They were ready to surrender and would have done so had they believed their lives safe in the hands of the victors. Fearing for their lives, they fought with the courage of despair. There was division in the councils of the besiegers. Rumors that Malik al-Adil at the head of an army was coming to avenge his former defeat led the leaders to a decision to raise the siege. They deceived their own soldiers by withdrawing in the night. The next day the army in great confusion retreated to Tyre. Recriminations followed. The Germans withdrew to Joppa and many of them were recalled to Germany within a short time; the rest were surprised and massacred. For a few years the coast cities had peace.

It was in the same year as the siege of the fortress that Henry died and Amalric of Cyprus became king of Jerusalem, by marrying the queen.

In the year 1201 (May 7-June 4) a destructive earthquake affected Tyre. Another earthquake in 600 A. H. (1203-1204) ruined the wall surrounding the city.

When Amalric died in 1205, the throne passed to Mary, the eldest daughter of Isabel by Conrad of Tyre. Upon invitation the king of France chose John de Brienne as her husband. Attended by three hundred knights he arrived at Acre, September 14, 1210. A week later he was crowned with his bride at Tyre.

 

In 1217 the soldiers of a new Crusade arrived at Acre, led by the king of Hungary. Attaching importance to pilgrimages as well as to war, these Crusaders in December went to visit the holy places of Tyre and Sidon. They were attacked by Moslem forces who cut down great numbers of them. Others perished from cold, and only a few got back to Acre.

In the spring reinforcements came from the west and an attack upon Damietta, as the key to Egypt, was determined upon. The war was continued until 1221, and was concluded upon terms unfavorable to the Christians.

The following facts explain a further long contest between the warring factions of Crusaders, in which Tyre was repeatedly involved. Isabelle, daughter of John Brienne, was heir to the throne through her mother Mary. Alice of Cyprus also claimed the throne, and her cause was favored by John of Ibelin and his brother, Philip of Ibelin. At the appeal of John Brienne, the Pope authorized the marriage of Emperor Frederick of Germany to Isabelle. Frederick arrived at Acre in 1225, and preparations were made for the marriage and coronation. He proceeded to Tyre where the marriage and coronation were solemnized by Simon, Archbishop of Tyre. The wedding festivities continued fifteen days, and then Isabelle bid farewell to “sweet Syria” and sailed for the west with Frederick.

In 1229 Emperor Frederick of Germany returned at the head of a new army of Crusaders. With Frederick was his little son, Conrad, who was heir to the throne of Jerusalem. They came to Tyre and were welcomed amid great rejoicing. Frederick made peace with the Moslems on February 12, 1229. The interests of his kingdom soon required him to return to the west. He therefore made Richard Philanger lord of Tyre to hold it in his stead.

But John of Ibelin, lord of Beirut, laid claim to the crown of Jerusalem. He went to Acre and sought aid against Tyre. Men and provisions were furnished by the Genoese, and with these he besieged Tyre by land and by sea: but in a short time troubles elsewhere caused him to raise the siege.

When John of Ibelin besieged and captured the Chateau Cherines in Cyprus, those who “wished to go to Tyre were given safe conduct for themselves and their possessions. At Tyre an exchange of prisoners was arranged. John exchanged Tyrian prisoners held at Acre for prisoners held at Tyre by Richard.

At a later time Richard withdrew from Tyre, leaving his brother Lotier to guard the city. Belian of Sidon and Philip of Toron assembled forces at Acre against Tyre. Raoul de Soissons, husband of Alice of Cyprus who claimed to be rightful queen, proceeded to Tyre. The forces of Belian and Philip appeared before the city and, after a battle, the city surrendered. Richard returned only to fall into the hands of Belian and Philip. John of Ibelin attempted in vain to take the city. Raoul de Soissons came to Tyre and demanded of Belian and Philip that the city be given to him and to his queen to hold with the other places of the kingdom, but they refused to recognize his claim. In the final adjustment, Belian of Sidon withdrew and Philip held Tyre.

At the same time there was a continued struggle between the Moslem forces, of Egypt and Damascus. At length in 1240 Ismail, who was in power at Damascus, fearing that he would not be able alone to resist Ayyub of Egypt, sought alliance with the Crusaders against his co-religionists. Upon learning of this Ayyub summoned the Kharesmians, a wild Turkish tribe from the region of the Tigris, to come to his aid. These coming wrought great havoc. They captured Jerusalem in 1244 and desecrated holy places with acts of mockery and cruelty.

The desecration of Jerusalem and the aggression of the Sultan of Egypt were the call for a new Crusade, which was led by Louis IX of France, 1248-1254.

In all these stirring events Tyre had almost no part. She was held by the Crusaders, but the great bulk of the commerce and wealth had been transferred to Acre. These contests were almost wholly land contests, whereas her strength to bear arms was always on the sea. There were no inducements for her enemies to molest her while the difficulties of success were so great, and the promise of plunder so small as compared with other cities.

The Crusade of Louis IX was directed first against Egypt. After his capture and ransom, he visited and fortified Joppa, Acre and Sidon. Before sailing for Europe, he paid a passing visit to Tyre of which Sir Philip de Montfort was lord.

The presence of Louis restored a temporary peace among the Crusaders, but after his departure it was soon broken. Philip secured the service of fifty-two Genoese vessels against Acre (c. 1258), while he marched at the head of a small land force. Seeing the fleet worsted, Philip returned to Tyre.

Anarchistic conditions continued. In 1260 a naval battle was fought off the coast of Tyre by Venetian and Genoese fleets. In the same year Julian, lord of Sidon, had a quarrel with Philip and ravaged the country round Tyre.

The struggles of rival emirs for supremacy in Egypt gave the Christian cities of the coast a brief respite from Moslem attacks in the years immediately following the departure of Louis IX. But in 1260 a new danger threatened Moslems and Christians alike. In that year Hulagu, at the head of a horde of Mongols, invaded Syria. The Christians looked upon them at first as allies against the Moslems. Later when Hulagu had withdrawn, leaving Kitbugha in command, hostilities broke out, and war was declared against the Christians. Sidon was laid in ruins and Acre was threatened. The Mongols, unable to withstand the Moslems of Egypt, withdrew. Then the command of Egypt passed into the hands of Baibars. The Christian cities soon saw his military genius and power; they knew also their own weakness and therefore sought peace. Baibars took advantage of their rivalries. When he had determined upon attacking the city of Acre, the lord of Tyre together with the Genoese, was to move against the city with a great fleet while he made his land attack. Baibars appeared with his army but his new allies did not keep their agreement, and he withdrew in great rage.

Although the victorious arms of Baibars should have served as a warning of the fast approaching end of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Christian cities continued to fight against each other. In 1264 fifty Venetian galleys besieged Tyre of which Philip of Montfort was still lord. In its defense the city had aid from the favorable faction at Acre. When the Venetians saw that they could not take the city, they withdrew. The Genoese succeeded in capturing the supplies from Venice, which had been sent for the galleys of their rivals.

The fortress of Arnaud fell again before the Moslems on April 12, 1268, and the Christian inhabitants were allowed to withdraw to Tyre as in 1189.

Baibars made a hostile visit to Tyre in 667 (1268-1269), according to an Arabic historian, under the following circumstances. As he was returning from Damascus to Egypt, a woman met him and complained that her son had been in Tyre and that the lord of the Franks in that city had traitorously arrested him and put him to death, taking his provisions. The Sultan directed an expedition against Tyre and slew many people. When the lord of the city sent to know the cause of this aggression, he was charged with this perfidy.

On September 24, 1269, Tyre was the scene of the coronation of Hugh III, of Cyprus, as King of Jerusalem. The shadowy authority conferred upon him was held for seven years. After his coronation he gave his sister in marriage to John of Montfort, brother of Philip, and made John lord of Tyre in Philip’s stead.

Egypt hastened the downfall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem by treating with the cities separately. Ibn al-Athir states that in the year 669 (1270-1271) the lord of Tyre made a treaty with the sultan of Egypt by which the city was to have certain districts of the adjacent territory, the sultan certain districts, and others were to be under their joint authority.

In 1270, if we may believe the author of the Chronicle of the Temple of Tyre, Baibars, Sultan of Egypt, finding that Philip of Montfort, lord of Tyre, was the real bulwark of the Christian forces, planned to have him assassinated. He hired two Assassins to kill Philip and his nephew, Julian, who was lord of Sayete (Sidon). Julian was at Tyre when the two Assassins came. While waiting for an opportunity to carry out their plot, they fell in with a Tyrian by the name of Faris, who worked for Philip. Faris discovered that they were Assassins. They then told him their plot and bought his silence by the promise of a hundred bezans. The governor of Sayete went to Beirut and one of the Assassins followed. The other, on Sunday, met Philip before a chapel and saluted him. Philip entered the chapel and the Assassin followed. In the chapel Philip was attended only by his young son John and a knight by the name of William of Pinquegny. The Assassin drew his sword and attacked Philip, but William seized him and held him fast while Philip rushed out and sounded an alarm. The Assassin was put to death. The son came safely to his father and Philip went to “the mother church of Tyre which is called Holy Cross,” and offered thanks to God for deliverance.

Burchard of Mt. Zion visited Tyre in 1280 A.D. He saw the waters of Ras al-Ain irrigating gardens, orchards, vineyards and fields of sugar cane “which grows in great abundance and from which the lord of Tyre received great revenues.” Six good­sized mills were turned by the overflow of waters from this great spring between it and the sea.

As to the city itself, its triple eastern wall had been strengthened by the twelve towers “ than which I have never seen better in any part of the world .... All the world ought not to be able to take the city by fair means. The relics of many martyrs of the time of Diocletian are there whose number God only knows. Origen lies buried there, his tomb built into the wall of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I have seen his monument there.” The same author notes that the archbishop’s see was here, its suffragan bishops being those of Beirut, Sidon and Acre.

John of Montfort was succeeded as governor of Tyre by Amaury. And Amaury was succeeded by Adan de Cafran.

Hugh of Cyprus was succeeded as king of Jerusalem by Henry of Cyprus, who was crowned at Tyre in 1286. The coronation occurred in the cathedral and was solemnized by Bonacours, who was Archbishop of Tyre at that time.

The Moslem victories of Baibars continued under Kalaün. Only meager help came from the west. Finally the Egyptian armies began the attack upon the city of Acre. Kalaün was dying in Egypt, but before he closed his eyes, he swore his son Halil to complete his work. Halil did not delay in setting forth. Upon arriving at Acre the siege was pushed forward with all possible violence. Tyre and the other Christian cities of the coast gave no aid to Acre, perhaps being restrained by jealousy, but more probably by fear of the fury of the enemy. Acre fell in 1291. The Sultan sent one of his emirs with a body of troops to take possession of Tyre. Adan de Cafran, the governor of Tyre, abandoned the city as did all the knights and rich people. The poor people, men, women and children, remained as they had no vessels in which to escape. The city in terror opened its gates without resistance. The citizens were massacred, dispersed or sold into slavery. Houses, factories, temples, everything in the city was consigned to sword, flame and ruin. Other cities suffered the same fate.

An Arabic historian, after speaking of the annihilation of these cities adds, “Things, if it please God, will remain thus till the Last Judgment.”

 

CHAPTER XI

FROM THE CRUSADES TO THE PRESENT DAY

 

After the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the complete reestablishment of Moslem power, Palestine was nominally under the power of the Caliph of Egypt, but in reality it was divided up among the descendants of Saladin and his brothers. Dimashki, writing about 1300 A.D., says that after the rise of the Turk power (meaning the house of Saladin), Syria was divided into nine kingdoms. The fourth of these little kingdoms, as given by Dimashki, had Safad as its capital, and it was to this that Acco, Tyre and Sidon belonged. However, Tyre was in almost complete ruin. Abu al-Fida writes, “The city was laid in ruins, as it remains to the present day (1321 A.D.).”

Sir John Maundeville, in his account of his travels in 1322, writes of Tyre as follows: “Here was once a great and good city of the Christians, but the Saracens have destroyed it in great part, and they guard the haven carefully for fear of the Christians. Men might go more directly to that haven without touching at Cyprus: but they go gladly to Cyprus, to rest them in that land, or to buy things that they need for their living:” sad words for the city that was once the mart of the nations.

Tyre was visited by Ibn Batutah in 1355. He writes: “Of the ancient walls and port traces remain.” It is evident that the ruined parts of the wall that were standing did not show their weakness at a distance. Ludolph von Suchen, writing about 1350, says: “Near this city (Sidon) is another exceedingly fair city, well fenced with towers and walls, and standing strangely by itself on an island in the sea. It is named Tyre, and now it is almost deserted.”

Bertrandon de la Brocquiere in his account of his travels in 1432 writes: “We saw Sur, an enclosed town with a good port. The city is enclosed on the land side by ditches which are not deep. I only passed through. It seemed handsome though not strong, any more than Seyde, both having been formerly destroyed, as appears from their walls, which are not to be compared to those of our towns.” At that time there were no villages on the plain of Tyre though there were several on the surrounding mountain-sides. The city had not been able to regain any real measure of life when Sanday visited the site. He writes: “This once famous Tyre is none other than a heap of ruins.”

Henry Maundrell visited the site in 1697. His account is as follows:

“This city (Tyre) standing in the sea upon a peninsula, promises at a distance something very magnificent: but when you come to it, you find no similitude of that glory for which it was so renowned in ancient times, and which the prophet Ezekiel describes. On the north side it has an old Turkish ungarrisoned castle, besides which you see nothing here but a mere Babel of broken walls, pillars, vaults, etc., there being not so much as one unbroken house left. Its present inhabitants are only a few poor wretches, harboring themselves in vaults, and subsisting chiefly upon fishing. In the midst of the ruins there stands up one pile higher than the rest, which is the east end of a great church, probably of the cathedral of Tyre. There being an old staircase in this ruin last mentioned, I got up to the top of it, from whence I had an entire prospect of the island part of Tyre, the isthmus, and of the adjacent shore. The island of Tyre seems to have been of a circular figure, containing not more than forty acres of ground. It discovers still the foundation of a wall which anciently encompassed it around at the utmost margin of the island. It makes with the isthmus two large bays, one on the north side and the other on the south. These bays are in part defended from the ocean, each by a long ridge, resembling a mole, stretching directly out, on both sides, from the head of the island; but these ridges, whether they were walls or rocks, whether the work of art or of nature, I was too far distant to discern.

“Coming out of these ruins, we saw the foundation of a very strong wall, running across the neck of land, and serving as a barrier to secure the city on this side. From this place we were a third of an hour in passing the sandy isthmus.”

Three quarters of an hour later the party reached Ras al-Ain which is described as follows:

 “Sunday, March 21. Ras-al-ayn is a place where are the cisterns called Solomon’s; of these cisterns there are three entire at this day, one almost a furlong and a half from the sea, the other two a little farther up. The former is of an octagonal figure, twenty-two yards in diameter. It is elevated above the ground nine yards on the south side and six on the north. Within, it is said to be of unfathomable depth, but ten yards of line confuted that opinion. Its walls are of no better material than gravel and small pebbles; but consolidated with so strong and tenacious a cement, that it seems to be all one entire vessel of rock. Upon the brink of it you have a walk round, eight feet broad, from which descending by one step on the south side, and by two on the north, you have another walk twenty-one feet broad. All this structure so broad at top, is yet made hollow, so that the water comes in underneath the walks, insomuch that I could not, with a long rod, reach the extremity of the cavity. The whole vessel contains a vast body of excellent water, and it is so well supplied from its fountain that, though there issues from it a stream like a brook, driving four mills between this place and the sea, yet it is always brim full. On the east side of this cistern was the ancient outlet of the water, by an aqueduct raised about six yards from the ground and containing a channel one yard wide: but this is now stopped up and dry, the Turks having broke an outlet on the other side, deriving thence a stream for grinding their corn. The aqueduct, now dry, is carried eastward about one hundred and twenty paces, and then approaches the two other cisterns, of which one is twelve, the other twenty yards square. These have each a little channel by which they anciently rendered their waters into the aqueduct, and so the united streams of all the three cisterns were carried together to Tyre. You may trace out the aqueduct all along by the remaining fragments of it. It goes about one hour northward, and then, turning west at a small mount, where anciently stood a fort, but now a mosque, it proceeds over the isthmus into the city. As we passed by the aqueduct we observed in several places, on its sides and under its arches, rugged heaps of matter resembling rock. These were composed of innumerable tubes of stone, of different sizes, cleaving to one another like icicles.”

Thomas Shaw upon visiting the place early in the eighteenth century adds little to the picture of desolation except to say that the port once surrounded by walls was so choked up with sand and rubbish that the boats of those poor fishermen, “who now and then visit this once renowned emporium,” could be admitted only with great difficulty.

Richard Pococke a very little later visited the ruined city. After describing the remains of the walls and towers, he writes, “I went to the home of a Maronite who was agent for the French here, it being a place where they export much corn.” He found but two or three Christians here, and few others except some soldiers in a mean castle near the port. There was a custom house at the port.

Hasslequist in 1751 found, as it appears, but ten inhabitants in the place. A feeble effort to rehabilitate Tyre was made by some of the Mutawalis. Under Zahir, commander of Acre, an army of ten thousand of them took possession of the site of Tyre which they made their maritime mart. In 1771 they served against the Ottomans, and during their absence the Druses sacked their territory. In 1766 they had constructed a wall twenty feet high across the isthmus but it was in ruins less than twenty years later.

When Volney visited the place the village did not cover one third of the island. The port was so filled up that children could wade across from one ruined tower to the other. The whole population consisted of fifty or sixty poor families who lived obscurely by gardening and by fishing. The houses were wretched huts ready to tumble down. Ahmad al-Jazzar, of the Turkish army, was then Pasha of Sidon; he had spoiled the ruins of Tyre to adorn his mosque at Acco. The two great columns of red granite at the ruins of the Crusader’s church his men had not been able to remove.

Before the gate a hundred paces was a tower in which was a fountain to which the women of the town came for water. It was five or six feet deep and the water was excellent. For some reason it was troubled in September and for a few days the water assumed a reddish color. At that time the inhabitants were accustomed to hold a great feast, coming in crowds to the fountain. They finally used to bring a little sea water which, they said, had the power to clarify the water of the spring. On Tel al-Ma’shuk, a quarter of an hour from the town, stood the ruins of a building with a remarkable white roof.

When Browne visited the site in 1797 he found that Tyre consisted of a few miserable huts inhabited by fishermen, and the port sadly in need of being restored.

When Napoleon with his army was besieging Acco in 1799, he sent General Vial, on April 3d, to Tyre. The territory to the north was still held by the Mutawali sheikhs. These declared in favor of the French, and a corps of their soldiers preceded the French to Tyre. The few poor inhabitants were fleeing with their possessions, but General Vial assured them of their safety. Sheikh Nasir, the Mutawali chief, received General Vial and conducted him to his lodging which was on the harbor and which had been built, he said, by his grandfather. Sheikh Nasir said, “I wish to make Tyre stronger than Acco; and my design is to encourage merchants and commerce.”

The coast cities were under direct Turkish rule, and from the time of Al-Jazzar, the Christians and Jews suffered many disabilities. They were not permitted to ride donkeys; they were required to dress in black; they must not build better houses than their Mohammedan neighbors; their dead must not be carried before the door of a mosque.

In 1831 Syria passed under the rule of Mohammed Ali, viceroy of Egypt, and Ibrahim Pasha became governor. Liberal and tolerant laws were enacted and commerce began to increase and the country to prosper. The modern serai at Tyre was built by him. If he had continued in power, Tyre might have awakened in time to contend for modern supremacy on the Syrian coast. But in 1840 the allied fleets of England, Austria and Turkey bombarded the Syrian ports, including Tyre, and drove Ibrahim Pasha back to Egypt.

The city suffered greatly from an earthquake in 1837. Of this earthquake W. M. Thompson writes as follows:

“We rode into the latter town (Tyre) at midnight over prostrate walls, and found some of the streets so choked up with fallen houses that we could not pass through them. I retain a vivid recollection of that dismal night. The people were living in boats drawn up on the shore, and in tents near them, while half suspended shutters and doors were creaking and banging, and the wind which had risen to a cold furious gale, howled through the shattered walls and broken arches of ruined Tyre.”

A lofty arch and some of the finer architecture of the cathedral ruins fell at that time. Shortly after this (1839) the population of the town was 3000 people, of whom somewhat more than half were Mohammedans. There were but few Jews. The harbor was choked up and commerce amounted to nothing. There was a Greek Catholic Bishop of Tyre. The Roman Catholic patriarchate which was destroyed in 1291 was not restored until 1847.

From the time that Ibrahim Pasha was driven back into Egypt and the country given back to the Turks, religious animosities continued to vex the country to such an extent that a brief civil war resulted in 1860. In this struggle Tyre did not feel the force of suffering except as Christians from the interior fled thither in order to escape to Beirut.

Tyre shared but meagerly in the general prosperity of the last century. In 1880 her population was 5000 and in 1900 it was but 6000.

At the present time Tyre has a population of about six thousand five hundred people, of whom approximately one half are Moslems; the rest are Christians and Jews. It is the seat of a Kadi and a Greek Archbishop. Strangers find lodgings at a Latin monastery. The Moslems have primary and secondary schools for boys. The Franciscans and Sisters of St. Joseph have convents and schools; the United and the Orthodox Greeks also have schools. The British Syrian Mission has a boy’s school, a girl’s school, a school for the blind and Sunday schools. The Maronites, affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, have an archbishop, and the United Greek Church and the Orthodox Greek Church each have a bishop here. The town occupies about half the former island and lays around the harbor to the north. The houses are small, the streets are narrow, crooked and filthy. The area of the island is about 142 acres being almost as extensive as in ancient times. The western and southern half of the island, except the Moslem cemetery, is given up to cultivation and pasturage.

The cathedral ruins are at the southeast corner of the modern wall of Tyre. Only the eastern portion with the three apses remains. The northern one of these is most perfect. The masonry is of small stones fixed in strong cement. The inside dimensions of the cathedral were 214 feet by 82 feet. The diameter of the apse was 36 feet. The transepts project 15 feet. In the interior are two magnificent monolithic columns of red granite now prostrate; they are 27 feet in length. The rest of the interior decorations appear to have been of white marble. While this building was erected by the Crusaders, it probably occupies the site of the cathedral erected by Paulinus and dedicated by Eusebius in 323 A.D. Extensive excavations in the temple ruins were made in 1874 at the expense of the German government in an effort to find the tomb of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The futile effort brought to light little that was of value.

The course of an old town wall is traceable from the former southeast end of the island to a cliff in the sea to the west­southwest. The fortification of the Crusaders followed the south bank of the island; among their remains is the so-called Algerian Tower now standing in a garden. Along the west side one can follow the ruins of medieval fortifications, of which fragments of columns and other remains are visible under water. The Egyptian harbor is entirely silted up, and the Sidonian is so choked up that only light coasting vessels can enter.

There still exists one solitary specimen of Tyre’s great sea wall that no enemy could overthrow. At the extreme northern end of the island a stone 17 feet long and 6,1/2 feet wide rests where it probably was placed by the Tyrians ages ago.

The number of granite columns that lie in the sea is surprising. The east wall of the inner harbor is founded on them: they lie strewn beneath the sea on every side. Dr. W. M. Thompson writes, “I have repeatedly rowed around the island when the water was calm to look at them, and always with astonishment.”

East of the town there is a well that supplies the people with water. The ancient water supply was derived chiefly from reservoirs at Tel al-Mashuk about a mile and a half east of the present city. At the foot of the rock to the south-southeast of the Tel are the remains of large reservoirs. Water was conducted to this place from Ras al-Ain and elsewhere, and then conducted to the city. The conduits below ground are less ancient than those above ground.

The slopes of the hill al-Mashuk are covered with ancient ruins, sarcophagi, and oil presses. At the back of the hill lies a small necropolis, but the chief burial place of Tyre extends over the whole chain of hills to the east.

The springs of Ras al-Ain are just as they have been for centuries.

The commerce of the modern town is very small; the comme­cial city of the Syrian coast is Beirut. The rich trade of the orient via Damascus no longer comes by caravan to Tyre.

The modern steam railway has changed all that, and the railway runs from Damascus not to Tyre, but to Beirut. The marine trade routes have shifted so that they can never again be controlled from Tyre. She carries on a small trade with Egypt and Beirut in tobacco, charcoal and wood from the neighboring territory, and in wheat, straw and millstones from the Hauran. A sorry shadow of the days when Tyre was the mart of the nation and the mistress of the seas.

 

CHAPTER XII

COLONIES, COMMERCE, AND INDUSTRIES

 

In the days of her strength Tyre’s chief glory was in her colonies. The date at which she began the establishing of these colonies and commercial settlements cannot be given definitely. The earliest Phoenician settlements along the coast of the Mediterranean were probably not colonies, but a part of the westward Semitic movement which brought the Phoenicians themselves to the coast of Canaan.

The Tyrians were said to have had a settlement in the city of Memphis, whence they exported the wares of Egypt. They worshipped their own gods and had their own temple which Herodotus believed to have been built about the time of the Trojan war.

Early commercial settlements were made on the Island of Cyprus (Kittim of Genesis X). Its nearness and its variety of resources, among which was copper which has its name from the name of the island, would make it attractive at once to the commercial cities of Phoenicia, and doubtless it was one of the places early visited when the Phoenicians first settled on the Mediterranean and devoted themselves to commerce. The dates at which the colonies were founded in Cyprus, and the cities from which the colonists came are not known; but Tyre’s influence was sufficiently great to enable her to claim sovereignty over the island, which she was holding at the close of the eighth century.

There are apparent traces of Phoenician influences in Rhodes, Crete, along the coast of Asia Minor, and in the islands off the coast of Thrace. The Phoenicians worked the gold mines of Thasos with such vigor that they turned a mountain into heaps. They visited and perhaps had trading settlements in the islands of the Aegean. They settled at Athens and Thebes. They seem to have had settlements in Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. Some of these traces may be referred to the earlier westward movements of the Semites rather than to definite colonization plans in­augurated by the cities of Phoenicia. The settlements in Spain made by the Tyrians, however, seem to have been colonies in a commercial if not a political sense.

The greatest of the Tyrian settlements beyond the Pillars of Hercules was Gadeira, Gades, modern Cadiz. Its location resembled the site of the mother city: it was situated on an island separated from the mainland by a strait. Access to the mainland for trade was easy, and at the same time the settlement on the island could be defended readily. The city stood, like modern Cadiz, on the extreme northwestern part of the island. That the city was well protected is indicated by the name, Gadeira, fortress. We may safely date the founding of this settlement at about 1100 B.C. The Tyrians made a number of other settlements in Spain and, if we may accept the statement of Strabo, that at Onoba antedated the founding of Gadeira.

Closely connected with the settlement at Gadeira in date was that at Utica in Africa. Again a site easy for defense was chosen. The settlement was located on a promontory of land that extended out into the Gulf of Tunis, at a distance of seventeen miles from the site of Carthage. The River Bagradas flowed by it into the sea on the eastern side. It had a good harbor, and easy access to the very fertile adjacent regions. We have seen that it was founded two hundred and eighty seven years before Carthage. As the date for the founding of Carthage is about 820 B.C., Utica must have been founded about 1100 B.C. When Pliny wrote his Natural History, in the year 77 or 78 A.D., he reckoned the founding of Utica to have occurred 1078 years previously.

Ancient historians credit Tyre with having founded Sabarth in Africa, Lesser Leptis, and Hadrumentum. We are even told that the Tyrians had three hundred cities on the Mauritanian coast beyond the pillars of Hercules; and while without doubt the statement is a gross exaggeration, it probably had its origin in unusual commercial activity in that region.

Most famous of all the colonies of Tyre was Carthage. There is an interesting question as to the date of the founding of this city. In a passage of the Cicilian, Philistus, preserved by Eusebius it is said that Carthage was founded by Zorus and Karchedon thirty years before the Trojan war. We have seen that, as Zorus, is Tyre, Karchedon may represent another city having aided in the founding, possibly Karchedon in Cyprus. It is clear that Virgil reckons the founding of Carthage to have preceded the Trojan war. Conditions at Tyre so far as we know them were not favorable for great commercial development at quite so early a date: but there is no reason why we may not believe that a settlement was made at Carthage in the same period as that at Gades and Utica.

The promontory, modern Capo Cartagine, stood five hundred feet above the sea, and afforded an excellent look-out. The site was favorable for trade and for defense. The bay afforded ample shelter for shipping.

The colony first settled on the promontory. Like other Tyrian colonies, it was fortified, and so had its name, but strangers confused the name with the Greek Birsa, a hide, and this confusion gave rise to the legend that Dido bargained for so much ground as could be compassed by an ox-hide!—and then had the hide cut into strips sufficiently narrow to enable her to compass the hill, which in this way got its name. But the prosperity and prominence of the city must be reckoned from the date of the coming of Elissa and her followers. It was then that the city itself was built and called “New City.”

Because of her favorable location for trade by land and by sea, and because of the unusual ability and enterprise of her citizens, Carthage quickly came to wealth and great commercial importance. Her relation to the mother city was most cordial. She sent her annual tribute to the temple of Melkart long after Tyre’s ability to collect it by force was gone. When Cambyses, after the conquest of Egypt, wanted to proceed against Carthage, the Tyrian seamen refused to make war against their kinsmen, the Carthaginians.6 During Alexander’s siege of Tyre, an embassage from Carthage came to give as­sistance, and offered refuge for all who wished to flee to their city.

The era of Tyre’s greatest activity in locating colonies and commercial settlements synchronizes with the entrance of the Hebrews into Palestine, and their efforts to possess the land. That movement was not complete until the time of David.8 The pressure of the Hebrews crowding in may have driven the Canaanites to seek new homes for themselves in the far west, and we may be sure that the Tyrians would try to locate them where they would be of the greatest commercial advantage.

At the beginning of the eighth century Tyre’s power in her colonies began to wane. The Assyrians gained control on the mainland and in Cyprus. The colonies turned to Carthage as natural protector. Tyre’s colonization era was over.

Dr. Jacob Krall says, “Not only did the colonies near and beyond the Gates of Hercules belong to Tyre; but the whole colonization movement of the Phoenicians which has given to this people their place in universal history is in reality the work of Tyre.”

The commercial ventures of the Tyrians were not limited to their own colonies or commercial settlements. According to Herodotus the Phoenicians, having settled on the Mediterranean coast, immediately undertook distant voyages; and carrying cargoes both of Egyptian and Assyrian goods, visited among other places, Argos. What part Tyre had in these voyages we do not know. It is clear that in the early period the Phoenicians were not the sole masters of the seas. Recent discoveries in Crete have brought to light a Minoan sea power of remote antiquity. When the Minoan sea power was broken up in the twelfth century B.C., Phoenician traders became the undisputed commercial mediators of the nations.

What part Tyrians had among the Phoenician traders referred to by Homer is not known, as he does not mention Tyre.

We have seen that Hiram’s seamen in charge of the fleet of King Solomon, sailed to distant ports in the eastern seas, making three-year trading cruises; that their imports were gold, silver, precious wood, jews, ivory, apes, and peacocks. That these voyages were vastly profitable is shown by the fact that Solomon’s share in a voyage from Ophir was four hundred and twenty talents of gold.

The profits of Tyre’s trade in the west seem to have been enormous. It is recorded that even the anchors of the ships returning from Spain were made of silver. The Tyrian merchants are represented as “princes of the sea” upon their thrones, with robes and broidered garments. Her merchants were princes, her traffickers were the honorable of the earth.

The most important of the ancient documents regarding the commerce of Tyre is the twenty-seventh chapter of the Book of Ezekiel. The first eleven verses of the chapter represent Tyre as a splendid ship moored in the sea, a fitting figure for the beautiful city as it then appeared. The goodly ship, merchant of the people of many isles, is conscious that it is of perfect beauty. Her planks are of the fir trees of Senir. Her mast is of the cedars of Lebanon. Of the oaks of Bashan were her oars. Her benches were of ivory inlaid in boxwood from the isles of Kittim. Of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was her sail. Blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was her awning. The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were her rowers, while her own wise men were her pilots. The wise men of Gebal were her calkers. All the ships of the sea with their mariners were but attendants to handle the merchandise of this mighty vessel, Tyre. The great ship is attended by her warriors from Persia1 and Lud and Put who adorned her with their shields. The men of Arvad were upon her walls, and the Gammadim were in her towers. These perfected her beauty by adorning her walls with their shields. Having described Tyre as a great ship, the prophet proceeds to catalogue her commercial dealings with the whole known world in verses twelve to twenty-five:

“Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin and lead, they traded for thy wares.” The richest silver mines in the world were in the mountains of Andalusia. Iron was found in great abundance. Tin was found in Spain, as many ancient authorities indicate, but far richer deposits existed in the Cassiterides (Tin Islands), i. e., Scilly Islands, and in Cornwall. Supplies from these sources reached the Mediterranean by way of Gades.

“Javan, Tubal and Meshech were thy traffickers: they traded in the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.” These countries are usually grouped together. The first is the Ionians, and the other two have usually been identified with the Tibareni and Moschi on the Black Sea8 That Javan traded in slaves is indicated by Joel III: 6, and Amos I: 9.

“They of the house of Togarmath traded for thy wares with horses and war-horses and mules.” What country is meant by Togarmath is not certain, whether Armenia, Phrygia or Cappadocia, all of which were noted for breeding horses.

“The men of Dedan were thy traffickers; many isles were the mart of thy hand: they brought thee in exchange horns of ivory and ebony.” Dedan is probably to be placed on the Persian Gulf, and the ivory and ebony probably came from India; but if the reading should be “Rhodians” as the LXX translates, the ivory and ebony must have come from central Africa by way of Rhodes. 

“Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of thy handy works: they traded for thy wares with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies.”

“Judah and the land of Israel, they were thy traffickers: they traded for thy merchandise wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil and balm.” The importance of Judah and Israel in the commerce of Tyre at a later time was indicated by the record of the eagerness of the Tyrians and Sidonians to pacify Herod because “their country was fed from the king’s country.

“Damascus was thy merchant for the multitude of thy handy­works, by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches: with the wine of Helbon, and white wool.” Helbon has been identified with Chaibun, northeast of Damascus. This wine was a choice drink among the ancients.

“Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares: bright iron, cassia and calamus, were among thy merchandise. Dedan was thy trafficker with precious cloths for riding; Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants of thy hand: in lambs, and rams, and goats, in these were they thy merchants.” Kedar was an important people of north Arabia.

“The traffickers of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy traffickers: they traded for thy wares with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones and gold.” Sheba was in the southwest of Arabia; her caravans1 traded with gold, precious stones, and spices.

“Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traffickers of Sheba, Asshur and Chilmad, were thy traffickers. These were thy traffickers in choice wares, in wrappings of blue and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords and made of cedar, among thy merchandise. The ships of Tarshish were thy caravans for thy merchandise: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the heart of the seas.” The “ships of Tarshish” were a type of great ships strong enough for the longest voyage. The camel has been called the ship of the desert; here the procession of ocean vessels is spoken of as a caravan bringing treasures to Tyre.

Such was the world-wide commerce of Tyre in the days of her glory. Her seamen were doubtless among the Phoenicians who circumnavigated Africa 611-605 B.C.

A blow was struck, more serious to the commerce of Tyre f than any of the fearful sieges through which she passed, when Alexandria was founded and trade diverted to it. Later she suffered still further when Rome made herself the center of the world’s affairs. However, Tyre continued to flourish as a commercial center. Jerome left record of her commercial prosperity in his time (340-420 A.D.). When we come to the period of the Crusades, while Tyre has her own ships, her navy is inferior to that of Egypt; and Genoa, Venice and Pisa have come to be leaders in the world’s commerce. From the time of her fall in 1291 A.D., Tyre lay in ruins for five hundred years. The present petty trade of Tyre, dim shadow of a mighty past, is described on page 132 above.

From an early date Tyre was occupied not only with trafficking in the merchandise of others, but with manufacturing also. In ancient times she was famous for her works in metallurgy. It was a Tyrian artist who constructed for Solomon the splendid works in bronze which were among the glories of the Temple at Jerusalem, the two massive pillars Jachin and Boaz, and the great laver called a “molten sea,” fifteen feet in diameter and supported by twelve oxen arranged in groups of three. The same artist fashioned also “the golden altar, and the table whereupon the showbread was, of gold; and the candlesticks, five on the right side and five on the left, before the oracle, of pure gold; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; and the cups, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the , doors of the house, to wit, of the temple, of gold.”

“To cast pillars of bronze, eighteen cubits high and twelve in circumference, with capitals of the same material, five cubits high; a molten sea supported by twelve brazen oxen; the ten movable lavers of brass, with their bases and bronze wheels, would be no slight task even for modern skill.” Tyre’s skill in artistic metal work continued until the time of her fall. Nasir-i-Khusrau, visiting the city in 1047 A.D., saw in her bazaar “lamps and lanterns of gold and silver.”

Another industry for which the city was famous was the manufacture of textile fabrics. At the construction of the Temple at Jerusalem they showed skill in purple and in blue and in fine linen. The veil of the temple was made of blue and purple and crimson and fine linen. The weaving of textile fabrics continued to be an important industry throughout the period of Tyre’s greatness. Idrisi writing in 1154 A.D. says “They make also a sort of white clothes-stuff which is exported thence to all parts, being extremely fine, and well-woven beyond compare. The price is very high; and in but few neighboring countries do they make as good a stuff.”

A third important industry was the manufacture of glass. The pillar of the temple of Melkart which “shone brightly in the night” must have been a hollow cylinder of green glass in which a lamp perpetually burned. Sidon was credited as being the place of the discovery of the art of making glass. This belief indicates extensive glass manufacture to be accounted for. The sands of the seashore near Tyre were believed to be especially adapted to the making of the best kind of glass. The glass work of Tyre was famous in the Middle Ages. Mukaddasi, writing of the industries of Syria in the tenth century, says, “From Tyre, came glass beads, glass vessels both cut and blown.” Idrisi in 1154 wrote, “They make here long-necked vases of glass.” The Crusaders referred with admiration to the skill of the Tyrians in this work.

Two pieces of glass, probably from Tyre, which were for a long time considered as works in precious stone, illustrate the Phoenician art of glass making at its best. The one is a vase in the cathedral of Genoa, whose purity of material and liveliness of color have caused it often to be taken for an enormous emerald. The tradition was that it was presented to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba. It was in the mosque of Caesarea when the Crusaders captured that city in 1100 A.D. The other piece, because of its blue color, was long considered as a sapphire. It is among the treasures of the basilica of Monza.

Late in her history Tyre produced sugar, and from her refin­eries, sent it out to distant lands.

But by far the most important of the industries of Tyre was the manufacture of purple dyes. This industry was so ancient and so important to the city that the discovery of the art was attributed to their tutelary deity Melkart. The legend was that Hercules (Melkart) was walking on the seashore with the nymph Tyrus, with whom he was enamoured. His dog found a Murex with its head protruding from its shell, and devoured it. When the nymph saw the beautiful color left on the lips of the dog, she refused the suit of Hercules until he should bring her a robe of like beauty. He collected the shell fish, secured the juice, and dyed for her the first garment of Tyrian purple.

The kind of shell-fish from which the purple was secured was rare elsewhere, but abundant along the coast near Tyre. There are two species, the Murex and the Buccinum. The coloring matter is found in a sack, or vein, which begins at the head of the animal and follows the line of the body. The matter is a liquid of creamy consistency, and while in the sack, is of yellowish-white color. When extracted and exposed to the light, it be­comes first green, then purple.

Pliny has left us a detailed account of the process of manufacturing the dye. Fish traps baited with mussels or frogs were let down by ropes into the sea. When the Murex was caught the sack was removed while the animal was yet alive, or after it had been killed with a blow; slow death injured the color. The Buccinum being smaller, the sack was not extracted, but the body crushed with the shell. After a maceration three days in brine, the pulp was placed in a vessel of lead and caused to simmer. The animal matter was removed by repeated skimmings, and at the end of ten days the liquor became clear. It was then boiled until the desired strength was attained. Various color effects were secured by mixing dyes, and by exposure to sunlight at different stages of the process. It is probable that there were secrets in the art that were carefully guarded.

Strabo1 writes: “The Tyrian purple is acknowledged to be the best; the fishing is carried on not far away. Tyre possesses everything necessary for the dyeing. It is true that the work­shops of so many dyers makes residence in the city incommodious, but it is to the skill of her workmen in this branch of her industry that the city owes her wealth?’ The production of purple was the city’s chief industry in the first century.

 

The Roman emperors were very jealous of the royal purple. Its general sale was prohibited by law. The superintendency of the dye houses of Tyre became a public office and was filled by an appointee of the crown.

 

CHAPTER XIII

RELIGION

 

While the religion of ancient Tyre had much in common with that of the rest of Phoenicia, it had also its distinguishing features; it was dominated by the worship of Melkart, the tutelary deity of the city. According to the Phoenician theogony of Sanchoniathon preserved by Philo of Byblus, Melkart was the son of Demarous, also called Zeus, who was the son of Ouranus and brother of Chronus. His name, King of the City, expresses his relation to Tyre. He appears in Greek mythology under the name Melicertes with the attributes of a maritime divinity, and identified with Hercules. Wherever his worship was established, there the Greeks supposed that Hercules had performed some exploit by which he proved himself superior to the native gods and heroes of the country: so that the triumphs of the people of Melkart seem to be the facts underlying the Greek myths of the labors of Hercules.

A table of sacrifices and dues, originally from Carthage, has come down to us, which indicates that the sacrificial institutions of the Phoenicians had much in common with those of the Hebrews, and expressed similar religious ideas. To Baal were sacrificed prayer offerings, thank offerings, whole offerings, meal offerings. It is worthy of note, however, that the Phoenician list makes no mention of a sin offering or guilt offering. The offerings in the main are the same. On the Phoenician inscription oxen, sheep, goats, birds and produce are mentioned in the same order as in Leviticus I—II; but the Phoenician list includes also deer, wild birds, game, milk and fat. The priests and the worshipers share the parts of the sacrifice as in Leviticus. The poor man is provided relief in both systems.

The Tyrians, by extolling Melkart to the supreme place in their religion, identified him with Baal. He is lord of the sun, supreme ruler, giver of life, embodiment of the male principle, god of productivity.

His ancient shrine at Tyre was built at the time of the founding of the city. King Hiram erected in his honor a splendid temple in a prominent place on the side of the island farthest from the mainland.

Where was the temple of Melkart? “Some years ago,” writes Dr. Thompson, “ the quarriers who were digging out stone for the government barracks at Beirut uncovered a large floor a few feet below the surface. Breaking it up and descending through rubbish some ten feet further, they came upon a marble pavement, and a confused mass of columns of every size and variety. I went down and groped about amid these prostrate columns, and found the bases of some still in their original positions—parts of what was once a temple. In an adjoining excavation was found a marble statue of a female, life sized, robed and in good preservation. This ancient temple stood in the centre and highest part of the island and must have been very conspicuous from the sea.

“ The floor above these ruins belonged to a house which must have been destroyed before the city of the Middle Ages was built; and yet those ruins were there buried so deep below the surface that the builder of that house had not the slightest idea of their existence. That group of columns and marble floor was again covered up by the quarriers in their search for available building stones. The southern half of the island is buried deep beneath such ruins.”

The ancient temple of Melkart in Palaetyrus at which the Tyrians asked Alexander to make his sacrifice to Heracles, probably stood on Tel al-Mashuk. This was probably the temple of the fabled Shamenrum as the ancient island shrine was that of Usoos. The temple on Tel al-Mashuk was called that of Baalshamin of the starry tunic. We know that in the great temple of the island city there were two splendid pillars;6one was of gold and the other was said to be of “sinaragdus” (emerald), but was probably of glass and hollow, and seems to have been constantly lighted from within. It was in commemoration of these pillars that the Pillars of Hercules at the strait had their name. Although a number of temples had twin pillars, the symbolism is obscure. The worship in the early centuries was probably without the use of an image of any kind. Herodotus mentions none at the time of his investigation.9A century and a quarter after his visit the image seems to have come to have a place in worship, for in the city’s distress during Alexander’s siege the Tyrians, fearing that the gods were about to forsake the doomed city, chained the image of Apollo in the temple.1 It is probable that this image was used in the worship of Melkart, and that he as the sun-god was identified with Phoebus Apollo. As the sun-god, the god of light and of fire, Melkart was worshiped by having a fire burn perpetually in his temple at Gades and we may assume that the illuminated pillar of the temple at Tyre had the same symbolism. His priests had their heads shaved; they were barefooted and wore garments of spotless white linen before his altar. They held pork in abomination. Married women were not allowed to approach the altar.

Festivals similar to those of Adonis at Byblus were held in the honor of Melkart twice a year. When the prolonged heat of the summer would burn everything up, he won for the earth the favor of the sky by offering himself a sacrifice to the sun. The festival of this sacrifice was kept at Tyre. In the month Peritius (February-March) the festival of the awakening or resurrection of Melkart was commemorated. It may be that the sarcasm of Elijah (I Kings, XVIII, 27) has reference to this belief regarding Melkart. This festival was at the time of the year when the quail return to Palestine and it is claimed that the sacrifice of quail commemorated the awakening of Melkart. It has been suggested that the Arabic sumana, quail, gave the name to the god Eshmun, Iolaos, who restored Hercules to life by giving him a quail to smell.

 

At the time of Antiochus Epiphanes a great celebration in honor of Hercules was held at Tyre every fifth year. At this celebration athletic games had a prominent place, and costly sacrifices and offerings were made.

The heavy cost of the elaborate worship of Melkart was met by tithes and offerings. We are told that the Carthaginians sent the tithe of their produce to Tyre annually from the foundation of their city, as their offering to Melkart.

Were human sacrifices offered to Melkart? Moloch of the Ammonites was probably akin to Melkart as a god of the sun and of fire. Human sacrifices were offered to Moloch. They were offered Baal in Cyprus, Rhodes, Crete, Sardinia, and such offerings were very common at Carthage. It is said that they were frequently offered in times of great calamity in Phoenicia proper, but that the practice was extremely rare at Tyre is shown by the fact that no record of any human sacrifice has come down to us, and by the further fact that even at the time of Alexander’s siege no such offering was made. To consider the practice a part of the religion of Tyre is quite as unwarranted as to make the same inference concerning the religion of Israel because of the record of Abraham and Isaac, and that of Jephthah and his daughter.

The chief female deity of the Semites was worshiped by the Phoenicians under the name Ashteroth. She was called the daughter of Uranus and queen of heaven. As a symbol of her sovereignty she had the head of a bull upon her head. An aerolite was consecrated to her in her temple in “the holy island Tyre.” She was identified with the moon and called ruler of  stars. To her the women offered cakes, burned incense and paid vows. She was identified with air and water as over against fire. When Usoos, the first who ventured on the sea, according to the Phoenician myth, landed at Tyre, he consecrated two pillars, one to fire and the other to wind; this probably means that they were consecrated, one to Baal and the other to Ashteroth. These two deities were closely related. In the inscription of Eshmunazer, Ashteroth is called byn “Name of Baal.” As Tanith, she is called in a Carthaginian inscription “Face of Baal.” At Tyre, their close relationship was represented by the legend that he had purchased her favor by the gift of the first robe of Tyrian purple ever dyed.

It is probable that the sexual act had place in the Baal-Ashteroth worship at Tyre as elsewhere. It was an act of worship for a woman to have intercourse with a stranger at a temple of Ashteroth. The feast of Adonis at Byblus is described as follows: “But when they have bewailed and lamented, first they perform funeral rites for Adonis as if he were dead, but afterward upon another day they say he lives, and they shave their heads as the Egyptians do when Apis dies. But such women as do not wish to be shaven pay the following penalty; on a certain day they stand for prostitution at the proper time and the market is open for strangers only, and the pay goes as a sacrifice to Aphrodite.”

Regarding the Baal and Ashteroth worship in Israel, Hosea protested: “They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, and under the oaks and poplars and terebinths, because the shade thereof is good; therefore your daughters commit whoredom and your brides commit adultery.”

 

We gladly turn to the higher ideals of worship. W. Robertson Smith says: “There is a great variety of evidence to show that the type of religion which is founded on kinship, and in which the deity and his worshipers make up a society united by the bond of blood, was widely prevalent, and that at an early time, among all the Semitic peoples. The religion of Tyre was of this type. The first families of the aristocracy both of Tyre and of Carthage prided themselves that they were descendants of Melkart. Proper names beginning with Ger, sojourner, followed by the name of a deity, indicate that there were those who were not of the religion by birth, to whom the god became a patron and protector.

The most common objects of prayer indicated by the inscriptions that have come down to us, are prosperity, long life, divine favor and numerous offspring. An oft repeated assurance is that the deity hears prayer. Disturbing a grave is an abomi­nation to Ashteroth. The two great future hopes are seed among the living and a resting place among the shades in the lower world.

That private or family devotion had its place in the ancient faith is shown by a little monument recently found in the region of Tyre. The monument is a small throne a foot and a half high cut in limestone. The throne is flanked by two sphinxes and on the back are two stelae, the one with an image representing Ashteroth and the other the worshiper. The inscription reads, “To my Mistress Ashteroth who is within the sanctuary which belongs to me, Abdoubast, son of Bodbaal.”

In a former chapter we traced the early history of Christianity in Tyre, then the coming of Islam. With the period of the Crusades Christianity again became dominant, and yielded only with the destruction of the city. We close this chapter with a list of those who have held the title of Bishop of Tyre.

BISHOPS OF TYRE

1. Cassius. Mentioned by Eusebius

2. Marinus. Mentioned by Eusebius

3. Methodius. Jerome, Illustrious Men

4. Tyranius. Martyr in time of Diocletian

5. Paulinus. Built Cathedral. Eusebius

6. Zeno. At Council of Nicea, Zozoman

7. Paul. Athanasius, Defence against the Arians

8. Vitalius. Athanasius, Defence against the Arians

9. Uranius. Socrates,

10. Zeno II. Zozoman

11. Reverentius. Socrates

12. Cyrus. Signed Acts of Council of Ephesus.

13. Bironisyanus. Frequently mentioned by Cyril of Alexander.

14. Irenaeus. Several letters to him in writings of Theodoret.

15. Photius. Member of Council of Chalcedon.

16. Dorotheus. Great Scholar. Theophanes, Chronographle,

17. John Kodona. Theophanes, Chronographie,

18. Epiphanius. Evagrius Scholasticus

19. Eusebius. Member of Council of Constantinople in 553 and signed its acts.

20. Basilius. C. 844 A.D.; Michael the Syrian.

21. Thomas. Signed acts of Council held 879-8S0 after the death of the Patriarch Ignatius.

22. Saba. C. 1100 A.D.; afterwards patriarch of Jerusalem.

23. Photius. Author of a history of Ecumenical Councils according to Krumbacher.

24. Odo. Died 1122. Foulchcr de Chartre

25. William. Will. Tyre

26. Fulcherus. Will. Tyre

27. Peter. Will. Tyre

28. Frederick. Will. Tyre,

29. William. 1175, Historian of Crusades. Will. Tyre

30. Philip of Beauvais. 1192, Will. Tyre

31. Simon de Mangastel. 1225, Chron. Terre Sainte Will. Tyre

32. Bonacours. 1286, Chron. Temple, Tyre

After the destruction of the city (1291 A.D.) the empty title continued: the following held it according to the list of Father Aaron.

33. Sophronius. Mentioned by Nicophorus.

34. Irsanius. 1361. Mentioned in a letter from Philotheus, Patriarch of Constantinople to Bachamius, Patriarch of Antioch.

35. Jeremiah. Present at Council of Damascus to judge the Bishop of Homs.

36. Joasaph.

37. Aftimios. 1683-1722.

38. Ignatius. 1723-1758.

39. Andreas Fakhuri.

40. Perthanius Nimi. 1766-1806.

41. Basillius Abdallah.

42. Cyril.

43. Basillius Zakkar.

44. Ignatius Karub. 1835-1854.

45. Athenatius Sabbagh. 1855-1866.

46. Athenatius Khawam. 1867-1886.

47. Aftimos Zalhaf. 1886­

1 Al Mashriq, 1906-1907.