From the mid-tenth to the mid-sixth century BC, Tyre was the most important trading and seafaring city of the Phoenicians. Since contemporaneous Phoenician writings have not survived, we must piece together its history from such sources as Assyrian annals, which record payments, tributes, and commercial transactions; the Bible, with accounts of political and trade agreements and cultural interrelationships; and local authors from later Roman times, such as Josephus (first century AD) and Philo of Byblos (first and second centuries AD), who consulted earlier chronicles and archives, now lost.
Hiram I, Tyre’s first great king, ruled 969—936 BC. Tradition assigns him an important role in the city’s development. These details of the appearance of Iron Age Tyre are compiled from literary sources, for archaeological exploration into this period has been limited (such as Patricia Bikai’s 1974 sounding). Originally the city lay on two adjacent islands just offshore, part of a network of sandstone reefs and ridges along the Levantine coast. Hiram I joined them, fortified the city, and supplied it with cisterns (Figure 11.2). The city had two harbors. The “Sidonian” was a natural harbor on the north, well protected against southwesterly winds, and perhaps enclosed within the city’s fortification system; it is still used today. A second harbor was added by Ithobaal I (ruled
Figure 11.2 Plan, Tyre
887—856 BC): the “Egyptian,” an artificial harbor on the south side, whose location and size are not certain because later Hellenistic and Roman period landfill in this area has hidden earlier topography. To protect it against the southwesterly winds, breakwaters must have been built. The two harbors were connected by a canal. The main marketplace may have been located in the north-east, close to the Sidonian harbor, the royal palace in the south. Hiram I is also credited with rebuilding temples to the city’s three main gods: Melqart (“Lord of the City”), Astarte, and Baal Shamem.
On the mainland, the suburb of Ushu supplied the island center with water, agricultural products, wood (fuel), and other items. Cemeteries were located on the mainland, too, beyond the settlements. This topography changed when Alexander the Great laid siege to Tyre, in 332 BC. In order to capture the city, he built a mole, connecting the mainland with the island. Ever since, the city has lain on a peninsula (Figure 11.2).
The population has been estimated at 30,000, which would make for a high density. The source is Arrian, a Greek official in the Roman Empire, living in the second century AD, in his biography of Alexander the Great. According to Arrian, 8,000 Tyrians died in Alexander’s siege of their city; the 30,000 survivors, Tyrians and foreign residents, were sold into slavery. With such a dense population, we can imagine that the island city was not regularly planned, and that open space was at a premium, with streets reduced to alleys.
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