Tyre District

Coordinates: 33°16′23″N 35°13′01″E / 33.2731°N 35.2169°E / 33.2731; 35.2169
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tyre District
District
UTC+3 (EEST
)

The Tyre District is a district in the South Governorate of Lebanon.

History

Ancient history

Founded at the start of the third millennium BC, Tyre originally consisted of a mainland settlement and a modest island city that lay a short distance off shore. It became an increasingly important port city in the region in the first millennium BC Phoenicia.

In the 10th century BC, Hiram I, king of Tyre, joined two islets by landfill. Later, he extended the city further by reclaiming a considerable area from the sea. Phoenician expansion began around 815 BC when traders from Tyre founded Carthage in North Africa. Eventually its colonies spread around the Mediterranean and Atlantic, bringing to the city a flourishing maritime trade. Early in the sixth century BC, Nebuchadnezzar II, king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, laid siege to the walled city for thirteen years. Tyre stood firm, but it was probable that at this time the residents of the mainland city abandoned it for the safety of the island. The conflict ended with Tyre accepting Babylonian rule.

Hellenistic period

fortifications
.

So enraged at the Tyrians' defense and the number of men lost in the battle, Alexander destroyed half of the city. The town's 30,000 residents were massacred or sold into slavery. Tyre and the whole of

ancient Syria
fell under Roman rule in 64 BC. Nonetheless, for some time Tyre continued to mint its own silver coins.

Roman era

The

Archbishop of Tyre was the primate of all the bishops of Phoenicia. At that time, the city once again became very important in the region, as can be seen in the remains of its buildings and the inscriptions in the necropolis
.

Islamic era

Tyre surrendered to the

Islamic armies in 634, the city offered no resistance and continued to prosper under its new rulers, exporting of sugar as well as objects made of pearl
and glass making was a good source of income for the city. With the decline of the
Abbasid caliphate, Tyre acquired some independence under the dynasty of Banu Aqil, vassals of the Fatimid Caliphate. This was a time when Tyre was adorned with fountains and its bazaar
were full of different kinds of merchandise including carpets and jewelry of gold and silver.

Via Romana, Tyre District

Tyre was conquered by the

Crusaders in 1124. After about 180 years of Crusader rule, the Mamluk retook the city in 1291, until it fell under the control of the Ottomans
at the start of the 16th century.

Lebanese era

With the end of World War I, Tyre was integrated into the new nation of Lebanon.

External links

33°16′23″N 35°13′01″E / 33.2731°N 35.2169°E / 33.2731; 35.2169