Listed 43 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "LEBANON Country MIDDLE EAST" .
BYBLOS (Ancient city) PHOENICE
BOTRYS (Ancient city) PHOENICE
Botrys (Botrus; Botrys, Botrus, Peut. Tab.: Bostrus, Theophan. Chronogr.
p. 193: Eth. Botruenos, Steph. B.; Hierocles; Plin. v. 20; Pomp. Mela i. 12. §
3: Batrun), a town of Phoenicia, upon the coast, 12 M. P. north of Byblus (Tab.
Peut.), and a fortress of the robber tribes of Mt. Libanus (Strab. xvi. p. 755),
which was, according to the historian Menander, as quoted by Josephus (Antiq.
viii. 3. § 2), founded by Ithobal, king of Tyre. It was taken with other cities
by Antiochus the Great in his Phoenician campaign. (Polyb. v. 68.) Batrun is a
small town, with a port and 300 or 400 houses, chiefly belonging to Maronites,
with a few which are occupied by Greeks and Turks. (Chesney, Exped. Euphrat. vol.
i. p. 454.)
LEBANON (Country) MIDDLE EAST
Antilibanus (Antilibanos: Jebel esh-Shurki), the eastern of the two
great parallel ridges of mountains which enclose the valley of Coele-Syria Proper.
(Strab. xvi. p. 754; Ptol. v. 15. § 8; Plin. v. 20.) The Hebrew name of Lebanon
(Aibanos, LXX.), which has been adopted in Europe, and signifies white, from the
white-grey colours of the limestone, comprehends the two ranges of Libanus and
Antilibanus. The general direction of Antilibanus is from NE. by SW. Nearly opposite
to Damascus it bifurcates into diverging ridges; the easternmost of the two, the
Hermon of the Old Testament (Jebel esh-Sheikh), continues its SW. course, and
is the proper prolongation of Antilibanus, and attains, in its highest elevation,
to the point of about 10,000 feet from the sea. The other ridge takes a more westerly
course, is long and low, and at length unites with the other bluffs and spurs
of Libanus. The E. branch was called by the Sidonians Sirion, and by the Amorites
Shenir (Deut. iii. 9), both names signifying a coat of mail. (Rosenmuller, Alterth.
vol. ii. p. 235.) In Deut. (iv. 9) it is called Mt. Sion, an elevation. In the
later books (1 Chron. v. 23; Sol. Song, iv. 8) Shenir is distinguished from Hermon,
properly so called. The latter name in the Arabic form, Sunir, was applied in
the middle ages to Antilibanus, north of Hermon. (Abulf. Tab. Syr. p. 164.) The
geology of the district has not been thoroughly investigated; the formations seem
to belong to the upper Jura formation, oolite, and Jura dolomite; the poplar is
characteristic of its vegetation. The outlying promontories, in common with those
of Libanus, supplied the Phoenicians with abundance of timber for ship-building.
(Grote, Hist. of Greece, vol. iii. p. 358; Ritter, Erdkunde, vol. ii. p. 434;
Raumer, Palastina, pp. 29-35; Burkhardt, Travels in Syria; Robinson's Researches,
vol. iii. pp. 344, 345.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ORTHOSSIA (Ancient city) PHOENICE
A town of Syria mentioned by Strabo and Ptolemy, near the river Eleutherus,
contiguous to Simyra, between it and Tripoli. (Strab. xvi. p.. 753; Ptol. v. 15.
§ 4.) The former makes it the northern extremity of Phoenice, Pelusium being the
southern (p. 756), a distance, according to Artemidorus, of 3650 stadia (p. 760).
It was 1130 stadia south of the Orontes. (lb.) Ptolemy places both Simyta and
Orthosia south of the Eleutherus; but Strabo to the north of it: agreeable whereunto,
writes Shaw, we still find, upon the north banks of this river (Nahr-el-Berd),
the ruins of a considerable city in a district named Ortosa. In Peutinger's table,
also, Orthosia is placed 30 miles south of Antaradus and 12 miles north of Tripoli.
The situation of it is likewise further illustrated by a medal of Antoninus Pius,
struck at Orthosia, upon the reverse of which we have the goddess Astarte treading
upon a river; for this city was built upon a rising ground, on the northern banks
of the river, within half a furlong of the sea: and as the rugged eminences of
Mount Libanus lie at a small distance, in a parallel with the shore, Orthosia
must have been a place of the greatest importance, as it would have hereby the
entire command of the road (the only one there is) betwixt Phoenice and the maritime
parts of Syria. (Travels, p. 270, 271.) The difficulties and discrepancies of
ancient authors are well stated by Pococke. (Observations, vol. ii. pp. 204, 205,
notes d. e.) He assumes the Nahr Kibeer for the Eleutherus, and places Orthosia
on the river Accar, between Nahr Kibeer and El-Berd. (Maundrell, Journey, March
8.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PORFIRION (Ancient city) PHOENICE
Porphyreon (Porphureon: Eth. Porphureonios, Porphureonites), a city
of Phoenicia, mentioned by Scylax (p. 42, Hudson) between Berytus and Sidon, and
marked in the Jerusalem Itinerary (where it is written Parphirion, p. 583, Wesseling)
as 8 Roman miles N. of Berytus. Procopius calls it a village upon the coast. (Hist.
Arc. c. 30, p. 164, Bonn.) It is mentioned by Polybius (v. 68), from whose narrative
we learn that it was in the neighbourhood of Platanus. Hence it seems to be correctly
placed at the Khan Neby Yunas, where Pococke relates (vol. ii. p. 432) that he
saw some broken pillars, a Corinthian capital, and ruins on each side of a mountain
torrent. In the side of the mountain, at the back of the Khan, there are extensive
excavated tombs, evidently once belonging to an ancient city. The Crusaders regarded
Haifa as the ancient Porphyreon; but there is no authority that a city of this
name ever stood in the bay of ‘Akka. Justinian built a church of the Virgin at
Porphyreon (Procop. de Aedif. v. 9, p. 328); and it was a place of sufficient
importance to be made a bishopric under the metropolitan of Tyre. (Robinson, Biblical
Researches, vol. iii. p. 432.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
SIDON (Ancient city) LEBANON
Sidon (Sidon: Eth. Sidonios,), a very ancient and important maritime
city of Phoenicia, which, according to Josephus, derived its origin and name from
Sidon, the firstborn son of Canaan (Gen. x. 15; Joseph. Ant. i. 6. § 2), and is
mentioned by Moses as the northern extremity of the Canaanitish settlements, as
Gaza was the southernmost (Gen. x. 19); and in the blessing of Jacob it is said
of Zebulun his border shall be unto Sidon (xlix. 13). At the time of the Eisodus
of the children of Israel, it was already distinguished by the appellation of
the Great (Josh. xi. 8; compare in LXX. ver. 2), and was in the extreme north
border which was drawn from Mount Hermon (called Mount Hor in Num. xxxiv. 7) on
the east to Great Sidon, where it is mentioned in the border of the tribe of Asher,
as also is the strong city of Tyre. (Josh. xix. 28, 29.) It was one of several
cities from which the Israelites did not disposses the old inhabitants. (Judg.
i. 31.)
As the origin of this ancient city, its history, and manufactures,
have been noticed under Phoenicia, it only remains in this place to speak of its
geographical position and relations so far as they either serve to illustrate,
or are illustrated by, its history.
It is stated by Josephus to have been a day's journey from the site
of Dan, afterwards Paneas (Ant. v. 3. § 1). Strabo places it 400 stadia S. of
Berytus, 200 N. of Tyre, and describes it as situated on a fair haven of the continent.
He does not attempt to settle the questions between the rival cities, but remarks
that while Sidon is most celebrated by the poets (of whom Homer does not so much
as name Tyre), the colonists in Africa and Spain, even beyond the Pillars of Hercules,
showed more honour to Tyre (xvi. 2. § 22, 24). Herodotus's account of the origin
of the race has been given under Phoenicia, and is shown to be in accordance with
that of other writers. Justin follows it, but gives a different etymology of the
name: Condita urbe, quam a piscium uberitate Sidona appellaverunt, nam piscem
Phoenices Sidon vocant; but this is an error corrected by Michaelis and Gesenius
(Lex. s. v. Hebrew), who derive it from Hebrew to hunt or snare game, birds, fish,
&c., indifferently, so that the town must have derived its name from the occupation
of the inhabitants as fishers, and not from the abundance of fish; and Ritter
refers to the parallel case of Beth saida on the sea of Tiberias. (Erdkunde, Syrien,
vol. iv. p. 43.) Pliny, who mentions it as artifex vitri Thebarumque que Boeotiarmn
parens, places Sarepta et Ornithon oppida between it and Tyre (v. 19). It is reckoned
xxx. M. P. from Berytus, xxiv. from Tyre, in the Itinerary of Antoninus (p. 149).
But the Itinerarium Hierosolymitanum reckons it xxviii. from Berytus, placing
Heldua and Parphirion between. Scylax mentions the closed harbour of Sidon (limen
kleitos, p. 42, ed. Hudson), which is more fully described by a later writer,
Achilles Tatius (circ. A.D. 500), who represents Sidon as situated on the Assyrian
sea, itself the metropolis of the Phoenicians, whose citizens were the ancestors
of the Thebans. A double harbour shelters the sea in a wide gulf; for where the
bay is covered on the right hand side, a second mouth has been formed, through
which the water again enters, opening into what may be regarded as a harbour of
the harbour. In this inner basin, the vessels could lie securely during the winter,
while the outer one served for the summer. (Cited by Reland, Palaes. p. 1012).
This inner port Reland conjectures, with great probability, is the closed port
of Scylax, and to be identified with the second harbour described by Strabo at
Tyre, where he says there was one closed and another open harbour, called the
Egyptian. The best account of the site is given by Pococke. It was situated, he
says, on a rising ground, defended by the sea on the north and west. The present
city is mostly on the north side of the hill. The old city seems to have extended
further east, as may be judged from the foundations of a thick wall, that extends
from the sea to the east; on the south it was probably bounded by a rivulet, the
large bed of which might serve for a natural fosse; as another might which is
on the north side, if the city extended so far, as some seem to think it did,
and that it stretched to the east as far as the high hill, which is about three
quarters of a mile from the present town. ... On the north side of the town, there
are great ruins of a fine fort, the walls of which were built with very large
stones, 12 feet in length, which is the thickness of the wall; and some are 11
feet broad, and 5 deep. The harbour is now choked up. ... This harbour seems to
be the minor port mentioned by Strabo (xvi. p. 756) for the winter; the outer
one probably being to the north in the open sea between Sidon and Tyre (?), where
the shipping rides in safety during the summer season. (Observations on Palestine,
p. 86.) The sepulchral grots are cut in the rock at the foot of the hills; and
some of them are adorned with pilasters, and handsomely painted.
The territory of the Sidonians, originally circumscribed towards the
north by the proximity of the hostile Gibbites, extended southwards to the tribe
of Zebulon, and Mount Carmel; but was afterwards limited in this direction also
by the growing power of their rivals the Tyrians.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
TRIPOLIS (Ancient city) LEBANON
Tripolis (Tripolis, Ptol. v. 15. § 4: Eth. Tripolites: Adj. Tripoliticus,
Plin. xiv. 7. s. 9), an important maritime town of Phoenicia, situated on the
N. side of the promontory of Theuprosopon. (Strab. xvi. p. 754.) The site of Tripolis
has been already described, and it has been mentioned that it derived its name,
which literally signifies the three cities, from its being the metropolis of the
three confederate towns, Tyre, Sidon, and Aradus [Phoenicia, Vol. II. p. 606].
Each of those cities had here its peculiar quarter, separated from the rest by
a wall. Tripolis possessed a good harbour, and, like the rest of the Phoenician
towns, had a large maritime commerce. (Cf. Joannes Phocas, c. 4; Wesseling, ad
Itin. Ant., p. 149.) Respecting the modern Tripoli (Tarablus or Tripoli di Soria);
see Pococke, vol. ii. p. 146, seq.; Maundrell, p. 26; Burckhardt, p. 163, seq.,
&c.; cf. Scylax, p. 42; Mela, i. 12; Plin. v. 20. s. 17; Diod. xvi. 41; Steph.
B. s. v.; Eckhel, vol. iii. p. 372.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
TYROS (Ancient city) LEBANON
Tyrus (Turos, Herod. ii. 44, &c.: Eth. Turios, Tyrius), the most celebrated
and important city of Phoenicia. By the Israelites it was called Tsor (Josh. xix.
29, &c.), which means a rock but by the Tyrians themselves Sor or Sur (Theodoret.
in Ezek. xxvi.), which appellation it still retains. For the initial letter t
was substituted by the Greeks, and from them adopted by the Romans; but the latter
also used the form Sara or Sarra, said to be derived from the Phoenician name
of the purple fish; whence also the adjective Sarranus. [p. 1249] (Plaut. Truc.
2, 6, 58; Virg. Georg. ii. 506; Juv. x. 38; Gell. xiv. 6, &c.) The former of these
etymologies is the preferable one. (Shaw, Travels, ii. p. 31.) The question of
the origin of Tyre has been already discussed, its commerce, manufactures and
colonies described, and the principal events of its history narrated at some length
[Phoenicia, p. 608, seq.],and this article will therefore be more particularly
devoted to the topography, and to what may be called the material history, of
the city.
Strabo (xvi. p. 756) places Tyre at a distance of 200 stadia from
Sidon, which pretty nearly agrees with the distance of 24 miles assigned by the
Itin. Ant. (p. 149) and the Tab. Peuting. It was built partly on an island and
partly on the mainland. According to Pliny (v. 19. s. 17) the island was 22 stadia,
or 2 3/4 miles, in circumference, and was originally separated from the continent
by a deep channel 7/10ths of a mile in breadth. In his time, however, as well
as long previously (cf. Strab. l. c.), it was connected with the mainland by an
isthmus formed by the mole or causeway constructed by Alexander when he was besieging
Tyre, and by subsequent accumulations of sand. Some authorities, state the channel
to have been only 3 stadia (Scylax, p. 42) or 4 stadia broad (Diodor. Sic. xvii.
60; Curt. iv. 2), and Arrian (Anab. ii. 18) describes it as shallow near the continent
and only 6 fathoms in depth at its deepest part near the island. The accretion
of the isthmus must have been considerable in the course of ages. William of Tyre
describes it in the time of the Crusades as a bow-shot across (xiii. 4); the Pere
Roger makes it only 50 paces (Terre Sainte, p. 41); but at present it is about
1/3 of a mile broad at its narrowest part, near the island.
That part of the city which lay on the mainland was called Palae-Tyrus,
or Old Tyre; an appellation from which we necessarily infer that it existed previously
to the city on the island; and this inference is confirmed by Ezekiel's prophetical
description of the siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the particulars
of which are not suitable to an island city. Palae-Tyrus extended along the shore
from the river Leontes on the N., to the fountain of Ras-el-Ain on the S., a space
of 7 miles; which, however, must have included the suburbs. When Strabo says (xvi.
p. 758) that Palae-Tyrus was 30 stadia, or 3 3/4 miles, distant from Tyre, he
is probably considering the southern extremity of the former. Pliny (l. c.) assigns
a circumference of 19 miles to the two cities. The plain in which Palae-Tyrus
was situated was one of the broadest and most fertile in Phoenicia. The fountain
above mentioned afforded a constant supply of pure spring water, which was received
into an octagon reservoir, 60 feet in diameter and 18 feet deep. Into this reservoir
the water gushes to within 3 feet of the top. (Maundrell, Journey, p. 67.) Hence
it was distributed through the town by means of an aqueduct, all trace of which
has now disappeared (Robinson, Palest. iii. p. 684.) The unusual contrast between
the bustle of a great seaport and the more tranquil operations of rural life in
the fertile fields which surrounded the town, presented a striking scene which
is described with much felicity in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus (40, 327, sqq.).
The island on which the new city was built is the largest rock of
a belt that runs along this part of the coast. We have no means of determining
the origin of the island city; but it must of course have arisen in the period
between; Nebuchadhezzar and Alexander the Great. The alterations which the coast
has undergone at this part render it difficult to determine the original size
of the island. Maundrell (p. 66) estimated it at only 40 acres; but he was guided
solely by his eye. The city was surrounded with a wall, the height of which, where
it faced the mainland, was 150 feet. (Arrian, Anab. ii. 18.) The foundations of
this wall, which must have marked the limits of the island as well as of the city,
may still be discerned, but have not been accurately traced. The measurement of
Pliny before cited must doubtless include the subsequent accretions, both natural
and artificial. The smallness of the area was, however, compensated by the great
height of the houses of Tyre, which were not built after the eastern fashion,
but story upon story, like those of Aradus, another Phoenician island city (Mela,
ii. 7), or like the insulae of Rome. (Strab. l. c.) Thus a much larger population
might be accommodated than the area seems to promise. Bertou, calculating from
the latter alone, estimates the inhabitants of insular Tyre at between 22,000
and 23,000. (Topogr. de Tyr, p. 17.) But the accounts of the capture of Tyre by
Alexander, as will appear in the sequel, show a population of at least double
that number; and it should be recollected that, from the maritime pursuits of
the Tyrians, a large portion of them must have been constantly at sea. Moreover,
part of the western side of the island is now submerged, to the extent of more
than a mile; and that this was once occupied by the city is shown by the bases
of columns which may still be discerned. These remains were much more considerable
in the time of Benjamin of Tudela, in the latter part of the 12th century, who
mentions that towers, markets, streets, and halls might be observed at the bottom
of the sea (p. 62, ed. Asher).
Insular Tyre was much improved by king Hiram, who in this respect
was the Augustus of the city. He added to it one of the islands lying to the N.,
by filling up the intervening space. This island, the outline of which can no
longer be traced, previously contained a temple of Baal, or, according to the
Greek way of speaking, of the Olympian Jupiter. (Joseph. c. Apion, i. 17.) It
was by the space thus gained, as well as by substructions on the eastern side
of the island, that Hiram was enabled to enlarge and beautify Tyre, and to form
an extensive public place, which the Greeks called Eurychorus. The artificial
ground which Hiram formed for this purpose may still be traced by the loose rubbish
of which it consists. The frequent earthquakes with which Tyre has been visited
(Sen. Q. N. ii. 26) have rendered it difficult to trace its ancient configuration;
and alterations have been observed even since the recent one of 1837 (Kenrick,
Phoenicia, p. 353, &c.).
The powerful navies of Tyre were received and sheltered in two roadsteads
and two harbours, one on the N., the other on the S. side of the island. The northern,
or Sidonian roadstead, so called because it looked towards Sidon (Arrian, ii.
20), was protected by the chain of small islands already mentioned. The harbour
which adjoined it was formed by a natural inlet on the NE. side of the island.
On the N., from which quarter alone it was exposed to the wind, it was rendered
secure by two sea-walls running parallel to each other, at a distance of 100 feet
apart, as shown in the annexed plan. Portions of these walls may still be traced.
The eastern side of the harbour was enclosed by two ledges of with the assistance
of walls, having a passage between them about 140 feet wide, which formed the
mouth of the harbour. In case of need this entrance could be closed with a boom
or chain. At present this harbour is almost choked with sand, and only a small
basin, of about 40 yards in diameter, can be traced (Shaw, Travels, vol. ii. p.
30); but in its original state it was about 300 yards long, and from 230 to 240
yards wide. part of the modern town of Sur, or Sour, is built over its southern
portion, and only vessels of very shallow draught can enter.
The southern roadstead was called the Egyptian, from its lying towards
that country, and is described by Straho (l. c.) as unenclosed. If, however, the
researches of Bertou may be relied upon (Topogr. de Tyr. p. 14), a stupendous
sea-wall, or breakwater, 35 feet thick, and running straight in a SW. direction,
for a distance of 2 miles, may still be traced. The wall is said to be covered
with 2 or 3 fathoms of water, whilst within it the depth is from 6 to 8 fathoms.
Bertou admits, however, that this wall has never been carefully examined; and
if it had existed in ancient times, it is impossible to conceive how so stupendous
a work should have escaped the notice of all the writers of antiquity. According
to the same authority, the whole southern part of the island was occupied by a
cothon, or dock, separated from the roadstead by a wall, the remains of which
are still visible. This harbour, like the northern one, could be closed with a
boom; whence Chariton (vii. 2. p. 126, Reiske) takes occasion to compare the security
of Tyre to that of a house with bolted doors. At present, however, there is nothing
to serve for a harbour, and even the roadstead is not secure in all winds. (Shaw,
ii. p. 30.) The northern and southern harbours were connected together by means
of a canal, so that ships could pass from one to the other. This canal may still
be traced by the loose sand with which it is filled.
We have already adverted to the sieges sustained by Tyre at the hands
of Shalmaneser, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, and Antigonus. [Phoenicia, pp. 610-613].
That by Alexander was so remarkable, and had so much influence on the topography
of Tyre, that we reserved the details of it for this place, as they may be collected
from the narratives of Arrian (Anab. ii. 17-26), Diodorus Siculus (xvii. 40-45),
and Q. Curtius (iv. 4-27). The insular situation of Tyre, the height and strength
of its walls, and the command which it possessed of the sea, seemed to render
it impregnable; and hence the Tyrians, when summoned by Alexander to surrender,
prepared for an obstinate resistance. The only method which occurred to the mind
of that conqueror of overcoming the difficulties presented to his arms by the
site of Tyre, was to connect it with the mainland by means of a mole. The materials
for such a structure were at hand in abundance. The deserted buildings of Palae-Tyrus
afforded plenty of stone, the mountains of Lebanon an inexhaustible supply of
timber. For a certain distance, the mole, which was 200 feet in breadth, proceeded
rapidly and successfully, though Alexander's workmen were often harassed by parties
of Tyrian troops, who landed in boats, as well as by the Arabs of the Syrian desert.
But as the work approached the island, the difficulties increased in a progressive
ratio. Not only was it threatened with destruction from the depth and force of
the current, often increased to violence by a southerly wind, but the workmen
were also exposed to the missiles of the Tyrian slingers and bowmen, aimed both
from vessels and from the battlements of the city. To guard themselves from these
attacks, the Macedonians erected two lofty wooden towers at the extremity of the
mole, and covered them with hides as a protection against fire. The soldiers placed
on these towers occasioned the Tyrians considerable annoyance. At length, however,
the latter succeeded in setting fire to the towers by means of a fire-ship filled
with combustibles; and afterwards, making a sortie in their boats, pulled up the
stakes which protected the mole, and destroyed the machines which the fire had
not reached. To complete the discomfiture of the Macedonians, a great storm arose
and carried away the whole of the work which had been thus loosened.
This misfortune, which would have damped the ardour of an ordinary
man, only incited Alexander to renew his efforts with greater vigour and on a
surer plan. He ordered a new mole to be constructed, broader than the former one;
and in order to obviate the danger of destruction by the waves, he caused it to
incline towards the SW., and thus to cross the channel diagonally, instead of
in a straight line. At the same time he collected a large fleet from Sidon, whither
he went in person, from Soli, Mallus, and other places; for, with the exception
of Tyre, all Phoenicia was already in the hands of Alexander. He then made an
incursion into Coelesyria, and chased away the Arabs who annoyed his workmen employed
in cutting timber in Antilibanus. When he again returned to Tyre with his fleet,
which he had joined at Sidon, the new mole had already made great progress. It
was formed of whole trees with their branches, covered with layers of stone, on
which other trees were heaped. The Tyrian divers, indeed, sometimes succeeded
in loosening the structure by pulling out the trees; but, in spite of these efforts,
the work proceeded steadily towards completion.
The large fleet which Alexander had assembled struck terror into the
Tyrians, who now confined themselves to defensive measures. They sent away the
old men, women, and children to Carthage, and closed the mouths of their harbours
with a line of triremes. It is unnecessary to recount all the incidents which
followed, and we shall therefore confine ourselves to the most important. Alexander
had caused a number of new machines to be prepared, under the direction of the
ablest engineers of Phoenicia and Cyprus. Some of these were planted on the mole,
which now very nearly approached the city; others were placed on board large vessels,
in order to batter the walls on other sides. Various were the devices resorted
to by the Tyrians to frustrate these attempts. They cut the cables of the vessels
bearing the battering rams, and thus sent them adrift; but this mode of defence
was met by the use of iron mooring chains. To deaden the blows of the battering
engines, leathern bags filled with sea-weed were suspended from the walls, whilst
on their summit were erected large wheel-like machines filled with soft materials,
which being set in rapid motion, either averted or intercepted the missiles hurled
by the Macedonians. A second wall also was commenced within the first. On the
other hand, the Macedonians, having now carried the mole as far as the island,
erected towers upon it equal in height to the walls of the town, from which bridges
were projected towards the battlements, in order to take the city by escalade.
Yet, after all the labour bestowed upon the mole, Tyre was not captured by means
of it. The Tyrians annoyed the soldiers who manned the towers by throwing out
grappling hooks attached to lines, and thus dragging them down. Nets were employed
to entangle the hands of the assailants; masses of red-hot metal were hurled amongst
them, and quantities of heated sand, which, getting between the interstices of
the armour, caused intolerable pain. An attempted assault from the bridges of
the towers was repulsed, and does not appear to have been renewed. But a breach
was made in the walls by battering rams fixed on vessels; and whilst this was
assaulted by means of ships provided with bridges, simultaneous attacks were directed
against both the harbours. The Phoenician fleet burst the boom of the Egyptian
harbour, and took or destroyed the ships within it. The northern harbour, the
entrance of which was undefended, was easily taken by the Cyprian fleet. Meanwhile
Alexander had entered with his troops through the breach. Provoked by the long
resistance of the Tyrians and the obstinate defence still maintained from the
roofs of the houses, the Macedonian soldiery set fire to the city, and massacred
8000 of the inhabitants. The remainder, except those who found shelter on board
the Sidonian fleet, were sold into slavery, to the number of 30,000; and 2000
were crucified in expiation of the murders of certain Macedonians during the course
of the siege. The lives of the king and chief magistrates were spared.
Thus was Tyre captured, after a siege of seven months, in July of
the year B.C. 332. Alexander then ordered sacrifices, and games in honour of the
Tyrian Hercules, and consecrated to him the battering ram which had made the first
breach in the walls. The population, which had been almost destroyed, was replaced
by new colonists, of whom a considerable portion seem to have been Carians...
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
BEIRUT (Town) LEBANON
Called in the Old Test. Berotha and Berothai. The modern Beirut;
an ancient town of Phoenicia, about twenty-four miles south of Byblus, famous
in the age of Justinian for the study of law, and styled by that emperor "the
mother and nurse of the laws." The civil law was taught there in Greek, as
it was at Rome in Latin. It had also the name of Colonia Felix Iulia, from Augustus
Caesar, who made it a Roman colony, and named it in honour of his daughter. The
adjacent plain is renowned as the place where St. George, the patron saint of
England, slew the dragon; in memory of which a small chapel was built upon the
spot, dedicated at first to that Christian hero, but now changed to a mosque.
It was frequently captured and recaptured during the Crusades.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
BYBLOS (Ancient city) PHOENICE
The modern Jebeil; a very ancient city on the coast of Phoenicia,
between Berytus and Tripolis, a little north of the river Adonis. It was the chief
seat of the worship of Adonis. Here are the remains of a Roman theatre, of which
the cavea or auditorium is nearly perfect. The name was anciently applied to the
whole of Phoenicia.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PHOENICE (Ancient country) LEBANON
(Phoinike); Phoenicia is found in only one passage. Phoenicia;
an Asiatic country on the Syrian coast. It was bounded on the north by the river
Eleutherus, on the south by Mount Carmel, and on the east by Palestine and Coelesyria.
It largely consisted of fertile, well-watered valleys, its chief rivers being
the Eleutherus, the Sabbaticus, the Tripolis, the Adonis, the Lycus , the Magoras,
the Tamyras, the Leo, the Lita, the Belus, and the Kishon. Its principal cities
were Sidon, Tripolis, Byblus, Tyrus, Berytus, and Ptolemais. Phoenicia being little
more than a narrow strip of coast, was almost necessarily a maritime country,
and its cities for many centuries were at the head of naval power in ancient times.
See Sidon; Tyrus.
Their commerce extended over the known world, and they became
everywhere known for their traffic and dyestuffs, especially the Tyrian purple,
glass, tin, and amber. They also, in connection with their commerce, established
many colonies within the Mediterranean on various islands, on the north coast
of Africa, and even on the western coasts of Spain and Africa. They also had settlements
on the Euxine Sea. In Gaul the city of Massilia was founded by the Phoenicians.
In race the Phoenicians must be classed as Semitic, as is evident
from the language which they spoke and of which our knowledge is derived from
a large number of inscriptions, mostly mortuary and votive, found in Phoenicia
itself and more numerously on the site of Carthage and Citium. A number of Phoenician
phrases are found transliterated in the comedy of Plautus mentioned below. The
native Phoenician literature seems not to have been extensive, and of it nothing
has been preserved except some fragments such as the Greek translation of Sanchuniathon
and Hanno. The inscriptions, such as they are, cover, roughly speaking, a period
extending from B.C. 600 to A.D. 250. Like the other Semitic languages the Phoenician
is written without the vowel points. Some scholars have regarded the language
as being so closely allied to Hebrew as to be almost capable of classification
as a Hebrew dialect. Phoenician is more archaic in its structure, simpler in its
syntax, and with an apparently limited vocabulary, but this last is perhaps an
unsafe generalization owing to the fact that so little material has survived from
which to judge of it. The Phoenician script is the prototype of the Greek and
Roman alphabets as well as of the principal Semitic scripts. The oldest specimen
of it is the Moabite Stone. The origin of the Phoenician itself is doubtful. Some
scholars, like De Rouge, consider it a derivative from the Egyptian hieroglyphics.
The language spoken in Carthage was practically the same as the original Phoenician,
with differences in the pronunciation and orthography, and to some extent in the
script. A curious bit of Phoenician exists in the Poenulus of Plautus, where one
of the speakers utters some sentences in Carthaginian. The interpretation of the
passage has puzzled scholars for generations.
The influence of the Phoenicians upon Greek art has some importance,
as from them the Greeks borrowed the types for all their early gold and silver
work and for their vase patterns. The Greek religion was also influenced by them,
on which see the article Aphrodite.
The internal history of Phoenicia is not very well known, nor
is its form of government thoroughly understood. Particularism seems to have been
its character, and the different cities of Phoenicia were practically independent
of one another. Hence, at different periods, they fell an easy prey to invaders
from Egypt, Assyria, Macedon, and Rome. At the earliest period of which we have
any knowledge Phoenicia is found a dependency of Egypt, ruled by Egyptian governors
and paying an annual tribute. About B.C. 1300 Egypt lost this hold owing to internal
disturbances, which compelled her to give up her foreign possessions, and for
several centuries after this the importance of the Phoenicians attains its height.
About B.C. 800 the Assyrians obtained at least a nominal control and exacted tribute
from the Phoenician cities, though without interfering with their commercial importance.
Subsequently they were subdued by the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Macedonians,
and under the Romans Phoenicia was incorporated into the province of Syria, while
under the Empire it became the province of Phoenice Libanensis.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
SIDON (Ancient city) LEBANON
(Sidon, Old Test. Zidon). Now Saida; a city of Phoenicia, long
the most powerful of that country's towns. It stood in a plain about a mile from
the Mediterranean Sea, and some twenty miles north of Tyre, and with a double
harbour of considerable extent, now filled with sand. Until Tyre wrested from
it the maritime supremacy, it was the greatest commercial city of the Phoenicians.
When Xerxes invaded Greece, the people of Sidon furnished his expedition with
the best ships in the whole fleet, so that the king of Sidon had the chief place
in the council of the Persian king. The city was burned at the time of its revolt
against Artaxerxes III. (B.C. 351), but was rebuilt, and later fell with the whole
of Phoenicia under the control of the Romans.
TRIPOLIS (Ancient city) LEBANON
Now Tripoli, Tarabulus; on the coast of Phoenicia, consisted
of three distinct cities, one stadium (600 feet) apart, each having its own walls,
but all united in a common constitution, having one place of assembly, and forming
in reality one city. They were colonies of Tyre, Sidon, and Aradus respectively.
This extract is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
TYROS (Ancient city) LEBANON
(Turos: Aram. Tura: O. T. Tsor). Now Sur; one of the greatest
and most famous cities of the ancient world, standing on the coast of Phoenice,
about twenty miles south of Sidon. It was a colony of the Sidonians, but gradually
eclipsed the mother city, and came to be the chief place of all Phoenice for wealth,
commerce, and colonizing activity. Respecting its colonies and maritime enterprise,
see Phoenice and Carthago. The Assyrian king Shalmaneser laid siege to Tyre for
five years, but without success. It was again besieged for thirteen years by Nebuchadnezzar,
and there is a tradition that he took it, but the matter is not quite certain.
At the period when the Greeks began to be well acquainted with the city, its old
site had been abandoned, and a new city erected on a small island about half a
mile from the shore and a mile in length, and a little north of the remains of
the former city, which was now called Old Tyre (Palaituros). This island, which
Pliny estimated at two and three-quarter miles in circumference, was separated
from the mainland by a channel seven-tenths of a mile broad, or according to Diodorus
and Curtius, four stadia. At present the breadth is only one-third of a mile.
With the additional advantage of its insular position, this new city soon rose
to a prosperity scarcely less than that of its predecessor; though under the Persian
kings it seems to have ranked again below Sidon. There were two harbours: one
on the north of the island, known as the Sidonian Harbour, and the other on the
south side, known as the Egyptian Harbour, the names expressing the direction
in which they faced. In B.C. 322 the Tyrians refused to open their gates to Alexander,
who laid siege to the city for seven months, and united the island on which it
stood to the mainland by a mole constructed chiefly out of the ruins of Old Tyre.
This mole has ever since formed a permanent connection between the island and
the mainland. After its capture and sack by Alexander, Tyre never regained its
former consequence, and its commerce was for the most part transferred to Alexandria.
It was subject to the Syrian kings, but became a free city with its own coinage
in B.C. 126, and till the time of Augustus, when it lost its independence. Septimius
Severus made it a Roman colony. It was the see of a Bishop, and St. Jerome calls
it the most beautiful city of Phoenicia. It was a place of considerable importance
in mediaeval history, especially as one of the last points held by the Christians
on the coast of Syria.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PHOENICE (Ancient country) LEBANON
Province along the Mediterranean coast of Syria.
Phoenicia was the homeland of the Phoenicians, a semitic people. The Phoenician
civilisation could be traced back as far as the XIIIth century B. C.. In biblical
times, the Phoenicians were heavily involved in maritime trade and Tyre
was one of the busiest harbours of the whole Mediterranean, an extremely wealthy
city. They had established trading posts in various parts of the Mediterranean,
as far as Carthage, founded
toward the end of the IXth century B. C.
For the Greeks, Phoenicians were the descendants of Phoenix, a son
of Agenor and brother of Cadmus, Cilix , Thasus and Europa. Agenor traced his
origins to Io, the Argive princess abducted by Zeus and changed by Hera into a
heifer: Epaphus, Io's son by Zeus, who was born after she had arrived in the Nile
region, had married Memphis, the daughter of the River-God Nile, from which he
had had a daughter named Libya, who, from Poseidon, became the mother of twins,
Belus, who became king of Egypt,
and Agenor, who settled in Syria.
After Agenor's daughter Europa had been loved and abducted by Zeus under the guise
of a bull to become the mother of the Cretan king Minos, he asked his four sons
to run the world and not come back until they had found her, which led them in
all sorts of places where they founded cities and established settlements: Phoenix
in Tyre and Sidon,
where he gave his name to the Phoenicians, Cilix in Cilicia
, Thasus in the island of Thasos,
Cadmus in various places including the island of Thera,
before settling in Boeotia
where he founded Thebes.
These wanderings preserve a legendary version of the expeditions of
Phoenicians throughout the Mediterranean and of their settlements in various places.
Through these wanderings, Phoenicians introduced in other parts of the Mediterranean
world various inventions of theirs, including the alphabet which they probably
invented around 1100 B. C. and which was introduced in Greece
toward the end of the IXth century B. C. or beginning of the VIIIth, replacing
earlier syllabic systems known as Linear A and B to give birth to the Greek alphabet.
Bernard Suzanne (page last updated 1998), ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Plato and his dialogues URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
TYROS (Ancient city) LEBANON
City of Syria.
Tyre was one of the main cities of the Phoenicians, a Semitic people
settled along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean that is part of today's Syria.
Along with Sidon, another
Phoenician city a few miles north, Tyre is often mentioned in the Bible.
In biblical times, Tyre was one of the busiest harbours of the whole
Mediterranean, an extremely wealthy city, due to Phoenicians' heavy involvment
in maritime trade.
Bernard Suzanne (page last updated 1998), ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Plato and his dialogues URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
BYBLOS (Ancient city) PHOENICE
PHOENICE (Ancient country) LEBANON
Phoenicia is a narrow strip of land, about one hundred and fifty miles
long and thirty miles wide, shut in between the Mediterranean on the west and
the high range of Lebanon on the east, and consisting mostly of a succession of
narrow valleys, ravines, and hills, the latter descending gradually towards the
sea. On the north it is bounded by the River Orontes and Mount Casius, and by
Mount Carmel on the south. The land is fertile and well irrigated by numerous
torrents and streams deriving their waters mainly from the melting snows and rain-storms
of the winter and spring seasons. The principal vegetation consists of the renowned
cedars of Lebanon, cypresses, pines, palms, olive, vine, fig, and pomegranates.
On this narrow strip of land, the Ph?;nicians had twenty-five cities of which
the most important were Tyre, Sidon, Aradus, Byblus, Marathus, and Tripolis. Less
important were Laodicea, Simyra, Arca, Aphaca, Berytus, Ecdippa, Akko, Dor, Joppa,
Gabala, Betrys, and Sarepta. The name "Phoenicia" is in all probability of Greek
origin, phoiniks being a Greek derivative of phoinos, blood-red. Our principal
sources of information concerning Phoenicia are: first, numerous Phoenician inscriptions
found in Phoenicia, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Sicily, Spain, Africa, Italy, and France,
and published in the "Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum", the oldest being a simple
one of the ninth century B. C.; the rest of little historical value, and of comparatively
late date, i.e., from the fourth century B.C. down; second, Egyptian and Assyro-Babylonian
historical inscriptions, especially the Tell-el-Amarna letters of the fifteenth
century B.C., in which are found frequent and valuable references to Phoenicia
and its political relations with Western Asia and Egypt; the Old Testament, especially
in III Kings, v, xvi; Isaias, xxiii; Jeremias, xxv, xxvii, and Ezechiel, xxvi-xxxii;
finally, some Greek and Latin historians and writers, both ecclesiastical and
pagan.
The oldest historical references to Phoenicia are found in the Egyptian
inscriptions of the Pharaohs, Aahmes (1587-62 B.C.) and his successors Thothmes
I (1541-16 B.C.), and Thothmes III (1503-1449 B.C.) in which the Phoenicians are
called "Dahe" or "Zahi", and "Fenkhu". In the Tell-el-Amarna letters is found
much interesting information concerning their cities and especially Tyre, famous
for her wealth. During all this period Egyptian suzerainty was more or less effective.
Sidon was gradually eclipsed by the rising power and wealth of Tyre, against which
the Philistines were powerless, though they constantly attacked the former. About
the year 1250, after conquering Ashdod, Askelon, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath, they forced
the Sidonians to surrender the city of Dor. At this time Tyre became foremost
in Phoenicia and one of the greatest and wealthiest cities of the Mediterranean
region. Its first king was Hiram, the son of Abi-Baal and contemporary of David
and Solomon. His reign lasted some forty years, and to his energy Tyre owed much
of its renown. He enlarged the city, surrounding it with massive walls, improved
its harbours, and rebuilt the temple of Melkarth. He forced the Philistine pirates
to retreat, thus securing prosperity in maritime commerce and caravan trade, and
Ph?;nician colonization spread along the coast of Asia Minor, Sicily, Greece,
and Africa. He established a commercial alliance with the Hebrews, and his Ph?;nician
artists and craftsmen greatly aided them in building the temple, and palaces of
Solomon. He quelled the revolt in Utica and established Phoenician supremacy in
North Africa where Carthage, the most important of all Phoenician colonies, was
later built.
Hiram was succeeded in 922 by his son Abd-Starte I, who, after seven
years of troubled reign, was murdered, and most of his successors also met with
a violent end. About this time hostilities arose between Phoenicia and Assyria,
although two centuries earlier Tiglath-pileser I, when marching through the northern
part of Phoenicia, was hospitably entertained by the inhabitants of Aradus. In
880 Ithbaal became King of Phoenicia, contemporaneous with Asshur-nasir-pal in
Assyria and Achab in Israel. He was succeeded by Baal-azar and Metten I. Metten
reigned for nine years and died, leaving Pygmalion, an infant son, but nominating
as his successor Sicharbas, the high priest of Melkarth, who was married to Elissa,
his daughter. The tale runs that when Pygmalion came to manhood he killed Sicharbas,
upon which Elissa, with such nobles as adhered to her, fled first to Cyprus and
afterwards to Africa, where the colony of Carthage was founded (c. 850 B.C.).
Asshur-nasir-pal and his son and successor Shalmaneser II nominally conquered
Phoenicia; but in 745 B.C. Tiglath- pileser III compelled the northern tribes
to accept Assyrian governors. As soon as this scheme of complete absorption became
manifest a general conflict ensued, from which Assyria emerged victorious and
several Phoenician cities were captured and destroyed. The invasion of Shalmaneser
IV in 727 was frustrated, but in 722 he almost sacked the city of Tyre. Sargon,
his successor and great general, compelled Elul?us, King of Tyre, to come to honourable
terms with him. In 701 Sennacherib conquered the revolting cities of Syria and
Phoenicia. Elulaeus fled to Cyprus and Tubaal was made king.
In 680 Abd-Melkarth, his successor, rebelled against the Assyrian
domination, but fled before Esarhaddon, the son of Sennacherib. Sidon was practically
destroyed, most of its inhabitants carried off to Assyria, and their places filled
by captives from Babylonia and Elam. During the reign of Asshurbanipal (668-625
B.C.) Tyre was once more attacked and conquered, but, as usual, honourably treated.
In 606 the Assyrian empire itself was demolished by the allied Babylonians and
Medes, and in 605 Nabuchadonosor, son and successor of Nabopolassar, after having
conquered Elam and the adjacent countries, subdued (586 B.C.) Syria, Palestine,
Phoenicia, and Egypt. As the Tyrians had command of the sea, it was thirteen years
before their city surrendered, but the long siege crippled its commerce, and Sidon
regained its ancient position as the leading city. Phoenicia was passing through
its final stage of national independence and glory. From the fifth century on,
it was continually harassed by the incursions of various Greek colonies who gradually
absorbed its commerce and industry. It passed repeatedly under the rule of the
Medo-Persian kings, Cyrus, Cambyses, Darius, and finally Xerxes, who attacked
the Athenians at Salamis with the aid of the Phoenician navy, but their fleet
was defeated and destroyed. In 332, it was finally and completely conquered by
Alexander the Great, after whose death and subsequent to the partition of his
great Macedonian empire amongst his four generals, it fell to Laodemon. In 214,
Ptolemy attacked Laodemon and annexed Phoenicia to Egypt. In 198 B.C., it was
absorbed by the Seleucid dynasty of Syria, after the downfall of which (65 A.D.),
it became a Roman province and remained such till the Mohammedan conquest of Syria
in the seventh century. Phoenicia now forms one of the most important Turkish
vilayets of Syria with Beyrout as its principal city.
The whole political history and constitution of Phoenicia may be summarized
as follows: The Phoenicians never built an empire, but each city had its little
independent territory, assemblies, kings, and government, and for general state
business sent delegates to Tyre. They were not a military, but essentially a seafaring
and commercial people, and were successively conquered by the Egyptians, Assyrians,
Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, to whom, because of their great wealth,
they fulfilled all their obligations by the payment of tribute. Although blessed
with fertile land and well provided by nature, the Phoenicians, owing to their
small territory and comparatively large population, were compelled, from the very
remotest antiquity, to gain their livelihood through commerce. Hence, their numerous
caravan routes to the East, and their wonderful marine commerce with the West.
They were the only nation of the ancient East who had a navy. By land they pushed
their trade to Arabia for gold, agate, onyx, incense, and myrrh; to India for
pearls, spices, ivory, ebony, and ostrich plumes; to Mesopotamia for cotton and
linen clothes; to Palestine and Egypt for grain, wheat, and barley; to the regions
of the Black Sea for horses, slaves, and copper. By sea they encircled all the
Mediterranean coast, along Syria, North Africa, Asia Minor, the Aegean Sea, and
even Spain, France, and England. A logical result of this remarkable commercial
activity was the founding in Cyprus, Egypt, Crete, Sicily, Africa, Malta, Sardinia,
Spain, Asia Minor, and Greece of numerous colonies, which became important centres
of Phoenician commerce and civilization, and in due time left their deep mark
upon the history and civilization of the classical nations of the Mediterranean
world.
Owing to this activity also, the Phoenician developed neither literature
nor acts. The work done by them for Solomon shows that their architectural and
mechanical skill was great only in superiority to that of the Hebrews. The remains
of their architecture are heavy and their aesthetic art is primitive in character.
In literature, they left nothing worthy of preservation. To them is ascribed the
simplification of the primitive, pictorial or ideographic, and syllabic systems
of writing into an alphabetic one consisting of twenty-two letters and written
from right to left, from which are derived all the later and modern Semitic and
European alphabets. This tradition, however, must be accepted with some modification.
There is also no agreement as to whether the basis of this Phoenician alphabet
is of Egyptian (hieroglyphic and hieratic) or of Assyro-Babylonian (cuneiform)
origin. Those who derive it from a Cypriot prototype have not as yet sufficiently
demonstrated the plausibility and probability of their opinion. The recent discovery
of numerous Minoan inscriptions in the Island of Crete, some of them dating as
early as 2000 B.C., has considerably complicated the problem. Other inventions,
or improvements, in science and mechanics, such as weights and measures, glass
manufacture, coinage, the finding of the polar star, and navigation are perhaps
justly attributed to the Phoenicians. Both ethnographically and linguistically,
they belong to the so-called Semitic group. They were called Canaanites, and spoke
a dialectical variety of the Canaanite group of Western Semitic tongues, closely
akin to the dialects of the Semitic inhabitants of Syria, Palestine, and Canaan.
A few specimens of their language, as it was spoken by the colonies in North Africa
towards the end of the third century B.C., may still be read in Plautus, from
which it appears to have already attained a great degree of consonantal and vocal
decay. The dialect of the inscriptions is more archaic and less corrupt.
Our information concerning the religion of the Phoenicians is meagre
and mainly found in the Old Testament, in classical traditions, and legends. Of
special interest, however, are the votive inscriptions in which a great number
of proper names generally construed with that of some divinity are found. Phoenician
polytheism, like that of the other Semitic nations, was based partly on Animism
and partly on the worship of the great powers of nature, mostly of astral origin.
They deified the sun and the moon, which they considered the great forces that
create and destroy, and called them Baal and Astaroth. Each city had its divine
pair: at Sidon it was Baal Sidon (the sun) and Astarte (the moon); at Gebel, Baal
Tummuz and Baaleth; at Carthage, Baal Hamon and Tanith. But the same god changed
his name according as he was conceived as creator or destroyer; thus Baal as destroyer
was worshipped at Carthage under the name of Moloch. These gods, represented by
idols, had their temples, altars, and priests. As creators they were honoured
with orgies and tumultuous feasts; as destroyers by human victims. Astoreth (Venus),
whom the Sidonians represented by the crescent of the moon and the dove, had her
cult in the sacred woods. Baal Moloch was figured at Carthage as a bronze colossus
with arms extended and lowered. To appease him children were laid in his arms,
and fell at once into a pit of fire. When Agathocles besieged the city the principal
Carthaginians sacrificed to Moloch as many as two hundred of their children. Although
this sensual and sanguinary religion inspired the surrounding nations with horror,
they, nevertheless, imitated it. Hence, the Hebrews frequently sacrificed to Baal
on the mountains, and the Greeks adored Astarte of Sidon under the name of Aphrodite,
and Baal Melkart of Tyre under the name of Herakles. The principal Phoenician
divinities are Adonis, El, Eshmon, Baal, Gad, Moloch, Melkarth, Sakan, Anath,
Astaroth, Rasaph, Sad, and many others. (For the history of Christianity in Phoenicia
and its present condition see SYRIA.)
Gabriel Oussani, ed.
Transcribed by: WGKofron
This text is cited June 2004 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
PORFIRION (Ancient city) PHOENICE
BEIRUT (Town) LEBANON
An ancient Phoenician city on the coast at the foot of the Lebanon
mountains. It did not become important until the end of the Hellenistic period.
It was made a Roman colony about 14 B.C. Herod the Great, Agrippa I and II, and
Queen Berenice built exedras, porticos, temples, a forum, a theater, amphitheater,
and baths here. In the 3d c. A.D. the city became the seat of a famous school
of law and continued to flourish until the earthquake of A.D. 551 ravaged the
city.
The Hellenistic town lay S of the port. Its streets, laid out on a
grid plan, are spaced at roughly the same intervals as those of Beroea, Damascus,
and Laodicea. The new Roman city spread farther S and W, with its forum near the
Place de l'Etoile. On its N side was a civic basilica 99 m long with a Corinthian
portico of polychrome materials (now in front of the Beirut Museum), dating from
the 1st c. A.D. Some large baths have been uncovered on the E slope of the Colline
du Serail, and the hippodrome lay on the NW side of the same hill. Some villas
in a S suburb facing the sea had mosaic floors (now in the Beirut Museum).
Some 12 km upstream on the Beirut river are the ruined arches of an
aqueduct. The rocky spur of Deir el-Qalaa was Berytus' high place; the podium
of a large temple can still be seen.
J. P. Rey-Coquais, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
BYBLOS (Ancient city) PHOENICE
On the coast at the foot of the Lebanon mountains, 60 km N of Beirut.
Built on a site occupied since Neolithic times, Byblos was for 2000 years a flourishing
Phoenician city that had close ties with Egypt. It was a vassal of the Persian
Achaemenids, then submitted to Alexander the Great and lost its importance in
the Hellenistic period. Threatened by the Itureans in the 1st c. B.C., the city
rebuilt its ramparts with the aid of Herod the Great. In the Roman period it was
famous for its cult of Adonis.
Byblos contains few visible remains of the Greek, Roman, or Byzantine
eras. Some paved streets, a Corinthian colonnade, a theater, and a nymphaeum survive
from the 2d and 3d c. A.D., along with some marble statues and polychrome mosaics.
A deep excavation in the middle of the site marks the location of
the sacred spring. To the N is the acropolis, which faces the sea to the W and
has a mediaeval castle on the E. There are traces of Hellenistic as well as Roman
ramparts, of a large temple and a basilica, both from the Roman period, and of
some Roman streets (restored Corinthian colonnade). The acropolis was approached
by two stone ramps, one coming from the NW, from the port, the other from the
NE, where the ramp, which dates from the Early Hellenistic period, duplicates
another ramp built 1000 years earlier.
To the N, 12 m down from the acropolis, is a paved, colonnaded street
coming from the NE; it dates from the end of the 2d c. A.D. On reaching the acropolis,
the street turns W and climbs the hill to join the road from the port. At the
bend in the road is an apsidal nymphaeum that abuts on the sustaining wall of
the acropolis. Its niches were decorated with marble statues, notably a magnificent
Hygeia, a group of Achilles and Penthesilea in the Classical style, and another
of Orpheus charming the animals, which is Oriental in character (all now in the
Beirut Museum). Water fell from the great basin of the nymphaeum into a fluted
pool. The nymphaeum court was closed to the E by a four-columned portico. A staircase
led up to the acropolis.
The commercial and residential sections lay mainly to the N and E.
The Roman settlement developed along Hellenistic lines, until the 3d c. A.D. onward.
Near the Church of St. Jean des Croises some Roman mosaics have been found illustrating
the legend of Atalanta, while a large villa to the SE contained mosaics from the
2d c. A.D. (both in the Beirut Museum). The theater, which was moved toward the
sea and reconstructed, to allow deeper excavation on its original site, was SE
of the mediaeval castle and oriented NW. The orchestra was decorated with a magnificent
mosaic from the end of the 2d c. A.D. representing Bacchus (now in the Beirut
Museum).
Some bronze coins of Byblos minted in Macrinus' reign (A.D. 217-218)
show a sanctuary with a temple adjoining a huge porticoed courtyard. In the middle
of the courtyard is a square-based monument built in the shape of a cone, often
described as a baetyl, and with a balustrade running around it. No trace has been
found of such a temple at Byblos; nearby, however, at Machnaqa in the valley of
the Adonis river, there is a sanctuary often called the tomb of Adonis that has
a similar plan, with a large cubical altar surrounded by columns in the middle
of a porticoed courtyard.
J. P. Rey-Coquais, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
SIDON (Ancient city) LEBANON
Maritime city and Phoenician metropolis celebrated by Homer, subjected
to Egyptian influence, and vassal of the Achaemenids. Hellenism reached Sidon
in the 5th c. B.C., it was conquered by Evagoras of Cyprus in the 4th c., and
then by Alexander the Great, who made Abdelonymus, the gardener, king. It was
the naval shipyard of the Diadochos Antigonus. Successively ruled by the Lagids,
the Seleucids, and the Romans, Sidon always remained an important town.
The mediaeval and modern city covers the ancient town, which occupied
a huge mound, the accumulation of millennia. It extended from the Land Castle
to the W to the gardens on the E, on the other side of the wide modern street.
Only the SE corner of the Hellenistic rampart is known. A late Latin inscription
attributes the construction of the rampart facing the sea to the Diadochos Antigonus.
Recent excavations have found remains of a Roman theater on the N flank of the
castle hill. The palace of the Achaemenid viceroys has been sought farther N,
because of the discovery of marble fragments from bases and columns, and especially
of a large capital with foreparts of two kneeling bulls (now in the Beirut museum).
Clandestine excavations in the 19th c. uncovered a dozen fine Mithraic statues
from a Mithraeum of the 4th c. A.D. (now in the Louvre). On the W side of the
mound deposits of murex shells (which form an actual hill farther S) indicate
workshops where purple dye was manufactured.
Sidon had two ports, one to the S in a big cove, the other to the
N: the inner port was on the site of the modern one, and efficient dredging kept
it from silting up; the outer port was protected by a jetty and by the islet of
the Sea Castle, the open roadstead by a mole and another rocky islet.
In the valley of the Nahr el-Awali, N of the town (the ancient river
Bostrenus), the sanctuary of Eshmun (a healing god assimilated to Asklepios) stood
in the middle of orchards which recall the sacred wood mentioned by Strabo. Phoenician
inscriptions date to the Persian period the high, massive walls with bosses which
support two large terraces built on the slope. The terraces formed the podium
of a temple which has disappeared. Parts of a monumental altar about 7 m high
have been found near the NW corner of this podium, and many installations, dating
from the 4th c. B.C. to Byzantine times, were built against its N wall. Through
all of them runs a network of canals and conduits which provided running water
for the nymphaeum, the sacred basins, and therapeutic pools.
At a lower level, to the E, is a large chapel with a wide bay to the
N. The floor is a basin paved with thick slabs. To the S against the back wall
a stone throne, flanked by winged lions, stands on a high monolithic base. A sculptured
frieze depicts a hunting scene on the wall above the throne; on the side wall
to the right it shows standing figures. This chapel of Sidonian Astarte may date
to the 4th c. B.C.
A monumental stairway of the 1st c. A.D. stands against the middle
of the N wall of the podium. Somewhat in front and W of this stairway, a cubic
altar was built in the 2d c., flanked to E and W by staircases rising to half
its height. Farther W a marble base adorned with winged lions, and dating to the
2d c. B.C. at the latest, was reused in a podium of Roman date. Still farther
W is an Achaemenid or Early Hellenistic capital with four foreparts of bulls,
enclosed in a sort of chapel supported by a masonry base of the 4th c. A.D. Some
columns of a huge portico built around the swimming pools and cult installations
in the 3d c. A.D. have survived, and many fragments of sculpture (Hellenistic
putti playing with animals), dating from the 5th c. B.C. to the 2d c. A.D., have
been found in a favissa. Other statues of children and athletes are now in the
Chapel of Astarte.
The necropolis of Ayaa, E of the town, has yielded decorated marble
sarcophagi of the end of the Classical and beginning of the Hellenistic period,
called the sarcophagi of Alexander, the Lycian, the Satrap, and the Weeping Women
(now in the Istanbul museum). Anthropoid sarcophagi of Greek marble have been
found in other necropoleis, particularly at Ain el-Hilwe. The collection in the
Beirut museum illustrates the diversity of types, and the transition from Oriental
to Greek influence from the middle of the 5th c. to the 4th c. B.C. Besides the
well-known sarcophagus of king Eshmunezar, the necropolis of Mogharet-Abloun to
the S has produced a limestone sarcophagus of Roman date with an exact picture
of a ship (Beirut museum) and several Hellenistic painted stelai depicting mercenaries
(Istanbul museum). Other more recent painted and stuccoed stelai are also in the
Beirut museum.
Small cippi of Roman date, with their small columns characteristically
adorned with garlands and their cubic bases with epitaphs, are in museums in Beirut,
Istanbul, and Paris. Tombs and hypogaea have produced much gold and silver jewelry,
and particularly a number of the glass vases which were a specialty of Sidon at
the beginning of the Roman period.
J. P. Rey-Coquais, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
TRIPOLIS (Ancient city) LEBANON
City on the coast, at the N foot of the Lebanon mountains and the
end of an excellent route from the interior of Syria. As Diodorus and Strabo report,
it consisted of three separate quarters founded by the Phoenician cities of Arados,
Sidon and Tyre. It was the seat of the Council of the Phoenicians, which decided
to rebel against Artaxerxes Ochus in 351 B.C. In the 1st c. B.C. Pompey freed
it from a tyrant. As its coins show, Tripolis was the capital of a conventus of
a Roman province. In the 3d c. it had a temple of the Imperial cult and under
Diadumenus it was a base of the Roman war fleet.
Almost nothing remains of the ancient town. It was not at the foot
of the Crusaders' castle, beneath the modern and mediaeval town but on the end
of the peninsula, in the suburb of al-Mina (the navy).
The area inland from Tripolis is rich in sanctuaries of the Roman
period: Bziza, Naous, Sfire.
J. P. Rey-Coquais, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
TYROS (Ancient city) LEBANON
On the Mediterranean coast ca. 72 km S-SW of Beirut, one of the most
important Phoenician cities and a fortified major port. Tyre was a city to be
reckoned with as early as the 14th c. B.C.; it is mentioned in the Tell-el-Amarnah
archives. There is a splendid evocation of its early wealth and magnificence in
Ezekiel 27, but it does not appear in Homer. Tyre's influence was widespread in
the W Mediterranean by 800 B.C., roughly when the Tyrians founded Carthage. The
city capitulated to Alexander in 332 B.C. after a siege, and later it became involved
in Seleucid-Ptolemaic rivalry. In 64 B.C. Pompey assigned it to the new Roman
province of Syria, and Septimius Severus elevated it to the rank of colony late
in the 2d c. A.D. It is frequently mentioned by Josephus, and there are descriptions
of it by Strabo (16.2.22-24) and Pliny (HN 5.17). Trade is often the reason for
mentioning it (Luc. Phars. 10.41), and that trade flourished until at least the
late 3d c. A.D. (Hieron. Comm. ad. Ezek. 26.7; 27.2; and see Procop. Secret History
25.14). In the crusading era it was a principal city of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The city was originally on an island ca. 1.6 km long, parallel to
the shore and some 630 m from it. From early times it was connected by a causeway
to the mainland, where another region of Tyre stood. It was this causeway that
Alexander expanded into his famous mole 60 m wide; over the years a sandy isthmus
has built up.
There were two harbors, the Sidonian at the N of the island and the
Egyptian at the S. Aerial photography and both marine and land excavation have
revealed not a little about these harbors, especially the S one; this is significant
information as Tyre was one of the major ports of the ancient Mediterranean, ranking
with Portus, Carthage, and Caesarea. The S harbor was protected by a lofty mole
at least 675 m long and ca. 7.5 m wide. A system of broad terraces ran along its
inner face, and there were at least two passages through it, one of them zigzag.
Both the mole and the city proper were fortified with towers, some of them of
considerable size. Docks lined the harbors; there was even a paved dry dock. Here
lay the headquarters of a major merchant fleet that maintained offices in both
Puteoli and Rome during the Early Empire, here also was the seat of the Roman
fleet in the E Mediterranean.
Remains N of the S harbor have been uncovered; what can be seen today
is almost entirely Roman Imperial and Early Byzantine in date. Septimius Severus
was responsible for much construction here, for Tyre supported him in his struggle
with Pescennius Niger, and after his victory he rewarded the city appropriately.
The main urban element so far revealed is a colonnaded street which originally
ran the length of the island to connect the two ports (cf. Lepcis' grand colonnaded
boulevard to the Severan port). It has been partially excavated: doubled columns
flanked a street some 10.5 m wide, paved at least in part with mosaic of geometric
patterns; it was repaired at some late date with roughly-cut stone blocks. There
is a theater of Hellenistic date, rectilinear not only in outline but also in
the arrangement of the tiers of seats; there are similarities to the bouleuterion
of Priene. Nearby are cisterns of Roman date. A massive triumphal arch, with a
single opening and rather simple architectural treatment for its late 2d c. date,
has been partly restored, and this is the most visible of Tyre's monuments so
far recovered. The Roman forum has been located SE of the Cathedral, and remains
of the Hippodrome include the base of the spina and the canonical obelisk of Roman
times.
The city, once a center of philosophy, embraced Christianity enthusiastically.
It was the seat of a bishop as early as the 2d c. A.D.; Origen died there about
the middle of the 3d c. There are remains of a Byzantine basilica. The Venetian
Cathedral, begun early in the 12th c. and built partly of ancient stones, was
on the site of an early 4th c. church; it is traditionally the burial place of
Frederic Barbarossa.
There is a considerable necropolis, including a long avenue flanked
in part by late antique and early Byzantine sarcophagi (some are now in the National
Museum in Beirut). About 9.6 km SE of Tyre is the so-called Tomb of Hiram, which
would date from the 10th c. B.C. if it were his; it is celebrated as such in Freemasonry,
but it cannot be of so early a date.
W. L. Macdonald, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!
