Tyre City Web Page is
dedicated to Maya H. and all the
Tyreans around the World.
Tyre (Sour):
About 83 km south of Beirut,
Tyre is the fourth largest city of
Lebanon. It was an island in ages past,
celebrated for its beauty. Tyre emerges today
from the debris of centuries. Excavations on the site
have uncovered remains of the Crusader, Arab,
Byzantine and Graeco-Roman cities.
Herodotus of
Halicarnassus, "Father of History" visited
Tyre during the 5th century B.C. and described
the famous Temple of Melkart (Heracles). The
priests of the city-god told him that the temple was
built 2300 years previously when Tyre was
founded, that is 2750 B.C.
The Greeks believed that various
aspects of their civilization had their origin in
Tyre. The introduction of the alphabet into
Greece was attributed to Cadmus of
Tyre, and it was Europa, the sister of
Cadmus, who gave her name to the
continent.
Elissa princess and daughter
of king Mattan of Tyre city, extended
Tyre's empire through the Mediterranean and
founded Carthage in 814 B.C.
Early in the 6th century B.C.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, lay siege to
the city for 13 years. Later Alexander the
Great stormed Tyre without success for seven
months. Only by joining the island city to the
mainland by a causeway was he enabled to bring up his
siege engines to scale Tyre's formidable
walls.
In addition to maritime trade,
Tyre's purple dye industries brought to the
city great wealth and renown. Being extremely costly
"Tyrean" purple was worn as mark of imperial
or royal rank.
The Roman levels of Tyre are
of such importance that every effort has been made to
preserve them. To determine the exact location of
eariler Phoenician and Canaanite levels
soundings are being made throughout the excavated
areas.
Roman Tyre thus has been preserved for present
and future generations to see and to
admire. Tyre's Cultural Site:
Tyre Festival
Designed & compiled by
Eng. Аli КHADRA
|