Tyre - Roman Geek

Tyre is an ancient Port city in Lebanon, that has been continuously occupied since 2,750 BCE.
It was located in the Roman Province of Syria.

Tyre was one of the earliest cities of Phoenicia, founded in 2,750 BCE and becoming its leading city in c. 900 BCE.
In Greek Mythology, Tyre was where Europa was born.

The Sites are in the land based Roman City, as the old island city of Tyre is now underwater.
- Roman Theatre
- Roman Arch
- Roman Hippodrome
- Roman Columns of the Wrestling School, the Palaestra

Tyre was originally founded on the mainland in 2,750 BCE according to Herodotus.
It became an island city which developed into a Maritime Power that dominated the Mediterranean Sea.
By 2,350 BCE the ships of Tyre had a monopoly on the Tin Trade, essential for making Bronze.
In c. 1200 BCE Tyre was attacked by the Sea Peoples, using swords and weapons made of Steel not Bronze. The Sea People ravaged the eastern Mediterranean, and Tyre had to be rebuilt.
Tyre became the leader of Phoenicia around 900 BCE.
King Hiram of Tyre (969-936 BCE) was an ally of King David and King Solomon in The Bible.
Tyre is considered to be the daughter of Tarshish in The Bible (Isaiah 23.10.).
Tarshish sent Silver, Lead, Copper and Tin to be stored in Tyre, which then went East, according to the The Bible (Ezekiel 27:12.).
By c. 837 BCE, Tyre was one of the twelve kingdoms along the sea coast of the Levant that paid Tribute to the King of Assyria.
Between 821-774 BCE, Pumayyaton (Pygmalion in Greek) was King of Tyre.
In 814 BCE Pygmalion sent his eldest daughter Elissa, Queen Dido, with colonists to create the colony of Carthage. After being given independence in 650 BCE, Carthage eventually eclipsed Tyre in Power and Influence.
In 332 BCE Uzzimilk was the last King of Tyre before the invasion of Alexander the Great.

Marinus of Tyre (c.70-130 CE) was a Greek Cartographer, Geographer and Mathematician who worked between 100-130 CE, based in Tyre, Syria.
The Roman Cartographer Ptolemy (90-168 CE) stated that he used Marinus’ World Chart (c.114 CE) to compile his own Ptolemy's Geographia.

In Greek Mythology, the Phoenicians founded Europe.
The King of Tyre, King Agenor, had a daughter, Princess Europa. She was abducted by Zeus and taken to Crete. King Agenor sent her brothers to bring her back, specifying they were not to return until they had found her. Unable to locate Europa, and forbidden to return without her, they each set up cities on the continent, in particular Cadmus who founded Thebes in Greece, where he also introduced the Greek Alphabet.
Meanwhile Europa had three sons, King Minos of Crete, King Rhadamanthus of the Cyclades and Prince Sarpedon of Lycia.

The Temple of Melqart in Tyre was described by Herodotus, as having one pillar of gold and another of Emerald. Melqart was Hercules to the Greeks and Romans.
Strabo wrote that two Bronze Pillars in the Temple were generally believed to be the Pillars of Hercules, however, after closely examining the Pillars, he decided the claim was untrue.
Melqart was the ‘Lord of Tyre’, and its Kings were thought to be descended from him.

Tyre alternated between War and Trade with the Pharaohs of Egypt.
Between 586-573 BCE Tyre was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Babylonian Empire, resulting in payment of Tribute.

Purple Dye from the shells of Murex was manufactured in Tyre. The Dye was as expensive as silver.
The Murex shell was featured on the early coins of Tyre.

The coins of Tyre started being minted from c. 450 BCE:
- The Tyrian Shekel portrayed a Dolphin over a Murex shell with the Phoenician letters ‘SLSN’ above. The concensus is that these letters indicated ‘one thirtieth’, but it is not known what coin the fraction one thirtieth is of.
- On the other side is an Owl holding a Flail and Crook. The Flail and the Crook are symbols of Osiris, the Egyptian Deity. Egypt was Tyre’s oldest trading partner. The Owl was the symbol used on Athenian coins at this time, and may reflect trade in the direction of Greece.
From c. 390 BCE:
- The Shekel starts portraying Melqart riding a Seahorse (Hippocamp), and the Dolphin over the Murex shell, is now shown below.

In 332 BCE Alexander the Great successfully besieged Tyre, which resulted in it being conquered and connected to the mainland by an artificial promontory so that it could never be used as an island fortress again.
The last King of Tyre was called ‘Uzzimilk’.
During the siege, the pilgrims to the Temple of Melqart from Carthage, were allowed to go home and pass through the lines.
Despite being conquered, the city continued in use under the Greeks and then the Romans.

Herodotus (c.484-c.420 BCE)
Amarna Letters (1350 BCE)
- these refer to the Mayor of Tyre, Abimilku, writing frequently to Akenaten to discuss Water, Wood and the Nomadic Habiru in their wanderings.

Tyre