One of the more big cities of Phénicie
Tyr is one of the more big cities of ancient Phénicie. It is located on a rock small island, near the Mediterranean coast, which, during its history, enabled him to support long seats. Alexandre the Large one made build a dam to attach it to the continent. Thereafter a sand cord was formed, transforming Tyr into peninsula.
Sour is today a small town of the south of Lebanon (75 km of Beirut) whose archaeological vestiges - Roman thermal baths and hippodrome, cathedral of the XII E century on the ruins of the temple of Melqart, the principal god of the city - attract the visitors.
The golden age
Cité flourishing as of the XVI E front century J. - C., Tyr eclipses Sidon around 1100 av. J. - C. then Begins the golden age of Phénicie, whose navigators dominate all Eastern Mediterranean. Tyriens obtain an important fleet, thanks to the cedars which cover the slopes of the Lebanon mount and whose wood is used for the construction of the round boats of trade and the galleys of war. Tyriens were made “hawkers of the seas”.
On the circumference of the Mediterranean, they exchange the products of their craft industry or the objects arrived in Tyr of Mésopotamie, Arabia or Egypt. Tyriens take again the routes of their Phoenician predecessors but go further. Perhaps some reach the islands Cassitérides (British Isles), while others skirt the African coast to the gulf of Guinea.
In Tyr even, the craft industry is flourishing: tease, manufacture of crimson starting from the murex, glassmaking, which are a speciality of Phénicie, naval constructions. Like the other Phoenician cities, Tyr had an oligarchical mode where the trained Council by the representatives of the big families controlled the king and the magistrates.
Foundation of many colonies
Tyriens base many colonies on the coasts of North Africa and Spain: Gadès (Cadiz) and especially, in 814 av. J. - C., Carthage (Qart Hadasht, “the new city”, founded according to the tradition by the Didon princess, girl of king de Tyr). Carthage was to take over metropolis after the VI E century. Thus, counters marked out the ways of exchange which forwarded to the East tin, the money, lead while the fabrics, the perfumes, the spices and the papyrus arrived to Occident.
Xe in IVe front century J. - C
With X E front century J. - C., king de Tyr, Hiram I er, maintains excellent relations with king Solomon. It provides him architects, artists as well as wood of cedar for the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem. The Phoenician influence had to be very strong in Israel since the prophets, in particular Ezéchiel, rise against the power of Tyr and predict its destruction.
Tyr becomes then tributary of king d' Assyrie, Assurbanipal, and of its successors (VII E century), while maintaining his prosperity commercial. At the end of a thirteen year old seat, the king of Babylon, Nabuchodonosor II, made captive king de Tyr, in 573 av. J. - C. the city then knows an eclipse with the profit of Sidon. Conquered by Persians, it falls then to the hands from Alexandre after a new seat seven months in 332 av. J. - C.
Roman Empire with the Arabs
Put at bag, Tyr becomes again however soon a prosperous city, but Séleucides and Lagides dispute it. Incorporated, with the remainder of Phénicie, the Roman Empire (64 av. J. - C.), it benefits from Roman peace to become again an important shopping mall, and radiates like intellectual center, grace in particular, with the Porphyre Neo-Platonist.
Occupied by the Arabs in 638 apr. J. - C., Tyr knows pouveau a renewal of activity after the conquest of the crusaders, in 1124. Intense relations are established with the Italians, who have establishments in the city. Catch and destroyed by the Mamelukes in 1291, it is inserted then in an irreversible decline, and does not play any more but one limited role, the first place being taken from now on by Beirut. The ancient port is completely immersed.