Tyre
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Tyre of Lebanon. With 117,100 inhabitants, Tyre juts out from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about 23 miles north of Acre, and 20 miles south of Sidon. The name of the city means "rock" <ref>(Bikai, P., "The Land of Tyre," in Joukowsky, M., The Heritage of Tyre, 1992, chapter 2, p. 13)</ref>.
Tyre was an ancient Phoenician city and today is the fourth largest city in Lebanon [2] and one of the nation's major ports. It has many ancient sites for tourism and its Roman Hippodrome was reportedly used for the film Ben-Hur.{{#if:||{{#if:|[[Category:Articles with unsourced statements since {{{date}}}]]|}}}}[citation needed] It was added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1979 (Resolution 459).<ref>[3]</ref>
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[edit] History
. Tyre is near the southern border.
"The location of the city of Tyre is not in doubt, for it exists to this day on the same spot and is known as Sur." (Katzenstein, H.J., The History of Tyre, 1973, p9) Tyre originally consisted of two distinct urban centers, one on an island and the other on the adjacent coast (approximately 30 stadia apart or 3.5 miles according to Strabo in his Geography xvi, 2), before Alexander the Great connected the island to the coast during his siege of the city. One was a heavily fortified island city amidst the sea and the latter, originally called Ushu (later, Palaetyrus, by the Greeks) was actually more like a line of suburbs than any one city and was used primarily as a source of water and timber for the main island city. <ref>[4]</ref> Josephus even records them fighting against each other <ref>[5]</ref>, although most of the time they supported one another due to the island city’s wealth from maritime trade and the mainland area’s source of timber, water and burial grounds.
[edit] Foundation
Tyre appears on monuments as early as 1300 BC, although according to Herodotus, it was founded around 2700 BC. Philo of Byblos (in Eusebius) quotes the antiquarian authority Sanchuniathon as stating that it was first occupied by one Hypsuranius. Sanchuniathon's work is said to be dedicated to "Abibalus king of Berytus" -- possibly the Abibaal who was king of Tyre Template:Citation needed.
[edit] Early history
The commerce of the ancient world was gathered into the warehouses of Tyre. "Tyrian merchants were the first who ventured to navigate the Mediterranean waters; and they founded their colonies on the coasts and neighbouring islands of the Aegean Sea, in Greece, on the northern coast of Africa, at Carthage and other places, in Sicily and Corsica, in Spain at Tartessus, and even beyond the pillars of Hercules at Gadeira (Cádiz)" (Driver's Isaiah).{{#if:||{{#if:|[[Category:Articles with unsourced statements since {{{date}}}]]|}}}}[citation needed]
In the time of David (c. 1000 BC), a friendly alliance was entered into between the Hebrews and the Tyrians, who were long ruled over by their native kings.
The city of Tyre was particularly known for the production of a rare sort of purple dye, known as Tyrian purple. This color was, in many cultures of ancient times, reserved for the use of royalty, or at least nobility.
It was often attacked by Egypt, besieged by Shalmaneser V, who was assisted by the Phoenicians of the mainland, for five years, and by Nebuchadnezzar (586–573 BC) for thirteen years, apparently without success, although a compromise peace was made in which Tyre paid tribute to the Babylonians. It later fell under the power of the Persians.
In 332 BC, the city was conquered by Alexander the Great, after a siege of seven months in which he built the causeway from the mainland to the island, but it continued to maintain much of its commercial importance until the Christian era.
[edit] Later history
A congregation was founded here soon after the death of Saint Stephen, and Paul of Tarsus, on his return from his third missionary journey, spent a week in conversation with the disciples there. According to Irenaeus of Lyons in Adversus Haereses, the female companion of Simon Magus came from here.
It was captured in 1124 after the First Crusade and was one of the most important cities of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was part of the royal domain, although there were also autonomous trading colonies there for the Italian merchant cities. The city was the site of the archbishop of Tyre, a suffragan of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; its archbishops often acceded to the Patriarchate. The most notable of the Latin archbishops was the historian William of Tyre.
After the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in 1187, the seat of the kingdom moved to Acre, but coronations were held in Tyre. In the 13th century, Tyre was separated from the royal domain as a separate crusader lordship. In 1291, it was retaken by the Mameluks which then was followed by Ottoman rule before the modern state of Lebanon was declared in 1920.
[edit] After 1920
Tyre was badly damaged in the late 1970s and early 1980s during the war between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The city was a used as a base by the PLO, and was nearly destroyed by Israeli artillery.<ref>The toll of three cities, The Economist June 19, 1982. p.26.</ref> After Israel's 1982 invasion of southern Lebanon, the city was the site of an Israeli military post.
During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, several rocket-launching sites used by Hezbollah to attack Israel were located in rural areas around the city.<ref>Butcher, Tim. Rebels were ready for attacks. Sydney Morning Herald 27 July 2006.</ref> The city was bombed heavily by Israel again, causing civilian deaths and food shortages.<ref>Engel, Richard. Desperation descends on Tyre, Lebanon. MSNBC 25 July 2006.</ref>
[edit] Cultural references
In nineteenth century Britain, Tyre was several times taken as an exemplar of the mortality of great power and status - both by John Ruskin in the opening lines of The Stones of Venice, and by Rudyard Kipling's 'Recessional'.
Bob Dylan refers to "Kings of Tyrus" in his 1966 ballad, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.
Tyre is mentioned by Ned Flanders along with Sidon as one of the "twin cities of the holy land" in the Simpson's episode My Sister, My Sitter.
