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Phoenician
Tyre was queen of the seas, an island city of unprecedented
splendor.
She grew wealthy from her far-reaching colonies and her
industries of purple-dyed textiles. But she also attracted
the attention of jealous conquerors among them the
Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great. |
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Five
Millennia of History
Founded at the start of the third millennium B.C., Tyre
originally consisted of a mainland settlement and a modest
island city that lay a short distance off shore. But it was
not until the first millennium B.C. that the city
experienced its golden age.
In the 10th century B.C. Hiram, King of Tyre, joined two
islets by landfill. Later he extended the city further by
reclaiming a considerable area from the sea. Phoenician
expansion began about 815 B.C. when traders from Tyre
founded Carthage in North Africa. Eventually its colonies
spread around the Mediterranean and Atlantic, bringing to
the city a flourishing maritime trade. But prosperity and
power make their own enemies. Early in the sixth century
B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, laid siege to the
walled city for thirteen years. Tyre stood firm, but it was
probable that at this time the residents of the mainland
city abandoned it for the safety of the island.
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The
Magnificent Hippodrome |
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In 332 B.C.
Alexander the Great set out to conquer this strategic
coastal base in the war between the Greeks and the
Persians.Unable to storm the city, he blockaded Tyre for
seven months. Again Tyre held on. But the conqueror used the
debris of the abandoned mainland city to build a causeway
and once within reach of the city walls, Alexander used his
siege engines to batter and finally breach the
fortifications. It is said that Alexander was so enraged at
the Tyrians' defense and the loss of his men that he
destroyed half the city. The town's 30,000 residents were
massacred or sold into slavery. Tyre and the whole of
ancient Syria fell under Roman rule in 64 B.C.. Nonetheless,
for some time Tyre continued to mint its own silver coins.
The Romans built great important monuments in the city,
including an aqueduct,
a triumphal arch and the largest hippodrome in antiquity. |
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The Triumphal Arch |
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Christianity
figures in the history of Tyre, whose name is mentioned in
the new testament. During the Byzantine era, the Archbishop
of Tyre was the primate of all the bishops of Phoenicia.
At this time the town witnessed a second golden age as can
be seen from the remains of its buildings and the
inscriptions in the necropolis. Taken by the Islamic armies
in 634, the city offered no resistance and continued to
prosper under its new rulers, exporting sugar as well as
objects made of pearl and glass. With the decline of the
Abbasid caliphate, Tyre acquired some independence under the
dynasty of Banu 'Aqil, vassals of the Egyptian Fatimides.
This was a time when Tyre was adorned with fountains and its
bazaars were full of all kinds of merchandise, including
carpets and jewerly of gold and silver. |
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Thanks to
Tyre's strong fortifications it was able to resist to
onslaught of the Crusaders until 1124. After about 180 years
of Crusader rule, the Mamlukes retook the city in 1291, then
it passed on to the Ottomans at the start of the 16th
century.
With the end of the World War I Tyre was integrated into the
new nation of Lebanon. |
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Archeological Tyre:
For a
period of nearly 50 years the General Directorate of
Antiquities excavated in and around Tyre, concentrating
on the three major Roman archaeological sites in the
town, which can be seen today.
The most important recent archaeological find in a
Phoenician cemetery from the first millennium B.C.
Discovered in 1991 during clandestine excavations, this
is the first cemetery of its kind found in Lebanon.
Funerary jars, inscribed steles and jewelry
were among the objects retrieved
from the
site.
The
importance of this historical city and its monuments was
highlighted in 1979 when UNESCO declared Tyre a world
Heritage Site. In the meantime, government efforts have
stopped much of the wartime pillaging that Tyre's
archaeological treasures have suffered because of
economic stress in the area and international demand for
antiquities. Grassroots campaigns have also drawn
attention to the importance of the city's antiquities. |
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Marble
Sarcophagus, 200 A.D |
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Ancient
Roman Street & Columns |
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Visiting
The Ancient Sites: |
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Area One,
located on what was the Phoenician island, is a vast
district of civic buildings, colonnades, public baths,
mosaic streets and a rectangular arena.
Walk to the beach at the far end of the site. The
columns to the left belong to a Palaestra, an area where
athletes trained. Other excavated remains on this site date
to the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods. A short
distance from the shore you will see "islands" which are, in
fact,
the great stone breakwaters and jetties of the ancient
Phoenician port, called the "Egyptian port" because it faced
south towards Egypt. |
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Area Two,
is a five minute walk to the west.
Its major point of interest is a Crusader cathedral. Only
the lowest foundations and a few re-erected granite columns
remain intact but these are nevertheless impressive. The
area below has revealed a network of Romano-Byzantine roads
and other installations. Visitors are not allowed inside the
site, but the ruins can be viewed from the road. |
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Area Three,
is a thirty minute walk from Areas One and Two and
consists of an extensive necropolis, a three-bay monumental
arch and one
of the largest Roman hippodrome ever found.
All date from the 2nd century A.D. to the 6th century A.D.
The necropolis, excavated in 1962, yielded-hundreds of
ornate stone and marble sarcophagi of the Roman and
Byzantine periods. Foundations of a Byzantine church can
also be seen. The archway stands astride a Roman road that
led into the ancient city. Alongside the road are the
remains of the aqueduct that assured the city its water
supply. (See reference to Ras El-Ain). |
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South of the
necropolis is the partially reconstructed Roman hippodrome
excavated in 1967.
The 480-meter structure seated twenty thousand spectators
who gathered to watch the death-defying sport of chariot
racing. Each end of the course was marked by still existing
stone turning posts (metae). Charioteers had to make this
circuit seven times. Rounding the metae at top speed was the
most dangerous part of the race and often produced
spectacular spills. |
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The
Port of Tyre |
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The walk
to Area Three takes you through a residential part of
Tyre called Hay Er-Raml or the Quarter of Sand. You are
in fact walking on what once was Alexander the great
causeway. Accumulating sands and extensive landfill have
expanded this old land link to the extent that modern
visitors have the impression that Tyre is built on a
peninsula. |
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Tyre Today
Tyre has a colorful souk (covered market) well worth
exploring. Look for the Ottoman khan, or inn, just inside
the market entrance. On a side street is the "Mamluke
House", an Ottoman period residence that is being restored
as a cultural heritage and information center by the General
Directorate of Antiquities. Also in the souk area is a
white, double-domed Shia mosque of great interest. Near the
market you will see a busy fisherman's port, in Phoenician
times referred to as the "Sidonian" port because it faced
north towards Sidon. Walk along the port with the sea on
your right and you enter the city's Christian Quarter, a
picturesque area of narrow streets, traditional
architecture, and the Seat of the Maronite bishop of Tyre
and the Holy land. One medieval tower still stands in a
small garden. A second one is visible under the little
lighthouse. During Crusader times towers similar to these
ringed the city. |
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Ameneties
The archeological sites are open daily.
Several seafood restaurants and pubs are located in the port
area and fast food places have opened in the Hay Er-Raml
area. Local restaurants fare is good.
The seaside Elissa Hotel is the hotel in Tyre and is
located near the |
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If You have
Time
Skin Diving: Basic equipment is sufficient for exploring
the Phoenician breakwaters and jetties. Look for the Murex,
still living along Tyre's shores among the rocks and sunken
archeological remains.
Ras el-Ain (6 Kilometers south of Tyre) has been
Tyre's main source of water since Phoenician days. Its
artesian wells gush up into stone reservoirs that have been
maintained through the ages. One of the reservoirs fed the
arched aqueducts of the Roman period that once that once
stretched all the way to Tyre. Remains of these aqueducts
can be seen along the Roman road running under the
monumental arch on the necropolis at Area Three. A short
stretch of the original aqueduct near the reservoirs
continues to serve as part of Tyre's present day waterworks.
Sarafand (28 Kilometers north of Tyre) is the site of
ancient Serepta, mentioned in the bible. Excavations here
revealed the remains of Canaanite-Phoenician structures and
Roman port installations. Modern Sarafand still has a
workshop where the ancient Phoenician art glass blowing is
practiced.
Tomb of Hiram: On the road to Qana El-Jaleel, (6
Kilometers southeast of Tyre) is a burial monument from the
Persian period (550 - 330 B.C.). This has traditionally been
called the tomb of Hiram, the celebrated Phoenician
architect of the Temple of Jerusalem. |
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