Legends about the ancient city of Tyre. Travel to Lebanon. Sidon and Tyre. How to navigate the city
The ancient city of Thira is located on the right bank of the Dniester estuary, which was called Tiras. This is the territory modern city Belgorod-Dnestrovsky.
Story
The city was founded in the 6th century BC. For the first time, settlers came here from Miletus. In the 6th-3rd centuries BC there were times of greatest prosperity for the territory’s economy. Agriculture and viticulture, fishing, crafts and trade developed. All relations were mainly with the population of Transnistria. The city even minted its own coin.
In the 2nd century BC, Tire was ruled by local kings, whose names appear on the coins. In the middle of the 1st century BC the city was destroyed by the Getae.
In 56 BC, during the reign of Nero, the ancient city of Tire was restored by the Romans. Further, being part of the province of Moesia Inferior, it was renamed Alba Iulia, regaining its importance. Autonomous coinage in the city began during the reign of Emperor Domitian in 81 AD and continued until the end of the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus (235 AD. The coins of Tire at that time were copper, they depicted members of the imperial house of the Roman Empire. Then in ancient city There was a detachment of Roman legionnaires.
In the second half of the 3rd century the city suffered an invasion by the Goths. Archaeological finds showed that the Romans remained in these lands until the end of the 4th century. Later, the city was renamed by the Byzantines and restored after the barbarian invasions. The new name of the ancient city of Tyre became Maurokastron, which translated from Greek means “Black Fortress”.
At different times, the city was governed by five archons, a king, a senate, and a people's assembly. The types of coins suggest trade in wine, wheat and fish. Some inscriptions are also related to trade.
Studying
Archaeological excavations of the area have been carried out since the beginning of the 20th century. The surviving remains and artifacts are quite scarce, since the cultural layers of the Greek and Roman periods were completely destroyed or inaccessible; in the Vedas, a medieval fortress was built on the territory, which different times was called Maurocastro, Cetatea Alba (" White City"), Akkerman ("White Fortress"). Today it is Belgorod-Dnestrovsky.
The city is divided into two parts along its entire length. The separator is the “Sacred Road”. Here tourists will see blocks of houses of different eras, sanctuaries, Agora, theaters, the home of Ptolemy the Benefactor, graves of the archaic and classical eras, remains of buildings of the early Christian period, hot springs. The names of the god Apollo, male and youthful names are carved on the rocks.
The ancient city of Thira is one of the most interesting attractions in Greece. It was discovered in 1895 by German archaeologists, and... The local ruins date back to the 9th century BC.
Many of the ruins here date back to the Hellenistic era, but remains of Byzantine and Roman architecture have also been found.
Tire (properly Tsur, lit. "Rock"), a coastal city-state in Phenicia (modern Sur in Lebanon). According to legend and archaeological data, it was founded around the 28th century. BC e. Proto-Phoenicians-Canaanites (see Canaan). It existed as an independent urban community, later a city-state, where the royal government had to reckon with a strong communal organization. Since ancient times, the city, inaccessible to the enemy who did not have a powerful fleet, consisted of two parts - a settlement on the mainland (Wushu) and an island citadel, where the population took refuge in case of danger. The main center of city life was the temple of the city's patron god Melqart.
Around 1468 Tire was conquered by the pharaoh and entered the Asian territories of Egypt (around 1355-1300 under Hittite influence). Initially inferior to neighboring Sidon, after the defeat of which by the “peoples of the sea” around 1175 (which also caused a massive resettlement of the Sidonians to Tire, so that all southern Phoenicians, including the Tyrians, were subsequently called “Sidonians”; perhaps the newcomers even dominated Tire at first) moved to first plan. In the late 12th and early 11th centuries, Tire carried out the first stage of Phoenician colonization of the Mediterranean [colonies in Spain (Gadir, modern Cadiz), Africa (Utica, Lix), Sicily and some Aegean islands], becoming a Mediterranean maritime power.
Around 1075, Egypt loses power in Asia, and Tire begins an era of independence. By the beginning of the 10th century, the kings of Tire subjugated Sidon, in memory of its power, took the title “kings of the Sidonians” (meaning “all Phoenicians in general”) and controlled all of Southern Phenicia. The greatest prosperity of the Tyro-Sidonian kingdom falls during the reign of Hiram I (969-936), who turned Tire into an impregnable fortress. Hiram strengthened the Mediterranean power of Tyre, bought part of Galilee and included some cities of Cyprus in the Tyrian sphere of influence. The alliance he concluded with Israel, whose king at this time was Solomon, lasted about a century. In the 10th century The shooting gallery turns into the largest shopping mall Mediterranean, living primarily through shipping, piracy and the sale of purple, glass, and slaves. In the 9th century The Phoenicians were driven out of the Aegean by the Greeks. The usurper Itobaal (from 879) strengthened the position of Tire and resumed the colonization of the Western Mediterranean (including Sardinia), where many new Phoenician centers appeared (including Carthage, 823).
In 743, Tire recognized dependence on Assyria (before that, in 876 - about 780 it paid tribute), however, excessive tribute and Assyria’s attempt to tear away all its possessions in Phenicia from Tire (725) led to a war (724-720), as a result of which Eluli of Tire finally recognized Assyrian power, but regained everything lost. A new revolt of Eluli (about 704) ended with the siege of Tire by the Assyrians, the flight of the king overseas and the loss of all Phoenician cities previously subject to Tire (701). After the recognition (about 696) of Assyrian supremacy, Tire rebelled repeatedly, incurring new Assyrian campaigns, and in 644 it was defeated on its mainland by Ashurbanipal. At the turn of the 8th-7th centuries. BC e. lost his overseas possessions (although ideas about the seniority of Tire persisted until the 5th century BC).
Around 630, as a result of the sharp weakening of Assyria in the war with the Scythians, Tire again became a virtually independent city, its merchants controlling the trade routes of the Mediterranean, right up to east-central Asia Minor, southern Arabia, Spain, and perhaps even Britain. However, the invasion of the region by the Egyptians (early 610s) and then the Babylonians (605) put Tire between two fires. Coming out on the Babylonian side and pressed by the Egyptians, Tire went over to the side of the latter (588), but a 13-year siege (about 587-575), organized by the king of Babylon
Turaev. Decree. cit., volume 2, p. 14
Dhorm E. Les peuples issues de japhet d "apres le chapitre X de la Genese - Syria, 1932, T13, p 36, 46
Tyloch W. Le probleme de Tarsis la lumiere de la philology et de l"exegese // Actes du deuxieme congress international d"etudes des cultures de la Mediterranee Occidental. Alger, 1978, p 50
Tsirkin Yu. B. Phoenician culture in Spain, M, GRVL, 1976, p. 9-18
Pericot L. Historia de Espana, t I, Barcelona, 1965, p 179-180
Tsirkin. Phoenician culture in Spain. Decree. cit., p. 20-24
Strabo. Decree. cit., book III, chapter 2, 9; Diodorus Siculus. Decree. cit., book V, 36, 1-3
Hennich R. Unknown lands, vol. 1, M, 1961, p. 120; Tsirkin. Phoenician culture in Spain. Decree. op. With. 18
Almagro M. A proposito de la fecha de las fibulas de Huelva - Ampurias, t 19-20, 1957-1958, p 207
Strabo. Decree. cit., book III, chapter 2, 9
Tsirkin. From Canaan to Carthage. Decree. cit., p. 153
Bunners. Ibid, p 88
Galling K. Der. Weg der Phonizier nach Tarsis // ZDPV, 1972, Bd 88, p. 7
Negbi O. Early Phoenician Presence in the Mediterranean Islands // American journal of Archaeology, 1992, V 96, p 606-609
Doumet C., Kawakabani I. Les tombes de Rachidieh: remarques sur les contacts internationaux et le commerce phenicien au VIII e siecle av. J. - C. // Actes du III congress international des etudes pheniciennes et puniques. Tunis, 1995, p. 391
Dyakonov I. M. Phrygian language. - Ancient languages of Asia Minor, M, 1980, p. 260-263
McQueen J. G. The Hittites and their contemporaries in Asia Minor, M, Nauka, 1983, p. 54
Barnett R.D. Phrygia and the Peoples of Anatolia in the Iron Age // CAH, 1975, V. II, 2, p 422
Weiss G. History of civilization. Decree. cit., T1, p. 291-292
Iliad, XI, 632
Diodorus Siculus. Decree. cit., book 13, 57, 58 and book V, 17, 3, 3
Neukirchen H. Pirates. Kyiv, ((~~Press of Ukraine~~)), 1992, p. 24-25
The Ancient Near East in Pictures (ANET). Relating to the Old Testament, by James B. Pritchard, Princetown, University Press, 1969, p. 318
Dyakonov I.M. Asia Minor and Armenia around 600 BC. e. and northern campaigns of the Babylonian kings // Bulletin ancient history, 1981, No. 2, p. 50
Weiss. Decree. cit., volume 1, p. 302
Bauer G. M. Ancient Dedan. Archaeological and epigraphic monuments // Red Sea Notes, I, M, 1994
World history in 24T. Minsk, Literature, 1996, vol. 3, p. 69, 70
Tsirkin. From Canaan to Carthage. Decree. cit., p. 145
Strabo. Decree. cit., book 15, chapter 3, 22, p. 682
Lundin A. G. State of the Mukarrib Saba, M, 1971
The World History. Decree. cit., volume 3, p. 29
Oppenheim L. Ancient Mesopotamia, M, Science, 1980, p. 120
Tsirkin. From Canaan to Carthage. Decree. cit., p. 158
By the way, why Tyr? The modern Arabic name of the city is Sur, but for some reason both in Russia and in the West it is called by the ancient Phoenician name, while in the case of Sidon the modern Arabic name Saida has taken root.
From Saida to Tire – 40 kilometers. A minibus (2 thousand liras) covers this distance in an hour, along the coastal highway with a couple of checkpoints - the second is already at the entrance to the city itself, with a propaganda poster depicting a recognizable guy with a goatee and an inscription (in English), which he translated as “Uncle Sam, don't get carried away!" :)
Tire in ancient times was one of the largest Phoenician city-states; it appeared, apparently, in the 4th millennium BC. Immigrants from Tire founded numerous colonies throughout the Mediterranean, including Carthage and Hades. At various times the city was under the rule of Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and the Achaemenids, but retained its autonomy. In 332 BC. After a long siege, the city was taken and destroyed by Alexander the Great. Then he was part of the powers of his successors, the Ptolemies and Seleucids. In 64 BC. became part of the Roman Empire and was the capital of the province of Syria Phoenician. In Byzantium, Tire was the center of an archbishopric. In 635, the Arabs conquered it and built a fleet here, with which they captured Cyprus. During the Crusades, Tire became a real symbol of resistance to the crusaders - they captured it only in 1124, after a couple of sieges. And they held it until 1291. In modern Lebanon, Tire has the fate of a “border city.” Now Tire is one of the strongholds of Hezbollah.
You can feel this right away - driving through the streets hung with Hezbollah flags (in the complete absence of Lebanese ones), portraits of Sheikh Nasrallah, his associates, young heroes of the fight against Zionism.
When you get off the minibus at the market, overpowering the noise of the Arab bazaar, your ears are immediately hit by the battle marches of Hezbollah, coming from the speakers at the door of the shop selling the corresponding symbols. So, if you are interested in “Hezbolic” exoticism in Lebanon, then it is not in Baalbek, but in Tire.
Due to the abundance of Hezbollah, the Lebanese army in Tire is not as visible as in Beirut, Tripoli and Saida - only one armored personnel carrier was seen. Much more often on the streets you came across white UN jeeps with blue-helmeted peacekeepers of Latin American appearance - they looked a little hunted :)
What else can you see in Tire? Leftovers ancient city which are even on the list World Heritage UNESCO is included - completely undeservedly, in my opinion. They are presented in a pair of archaeological zones - Al-Bass and Al-Mina (entrance - 6 thousand liras each).
Such are the archaeological excavations with various obscure columns and piles of stones with tablets.
Tire itself is located on a peninsula jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea - so they are in Tire on three sides at once.
When entering the city, the minibus first stops at the Al-Bass roundabout, where most passengers get off. Nearby is the vast Palestinian camp of Al-Bass. It is not surrounded by any wall - just semi-slum-like city blocks, decorated here and there with Palestinian flags and portraits of Arafat. Behind the camp is the archaeological zone of the same name.
Then the bus drives along a long embankment with heavy traffic - to the Al-Mina ring. This is where the local bass stand is located, combined with a branch. The local juice shop makes the best juices in all of Lebanon - orange in real Syrian large mugs cost 3 thousand lire.
From the ring, walk a little south and you will reach the archaeological zone of Al-Mina.
On the other hand, it looks like ancient quarters with mosques.
At the very end of the peninsula are the former Christian quarters with a lighthouse.
Tire is a Lebanese city founded in the third millennium BC by the Phoenicians. Located near the Israeli border, 20 km. The area is under close surveillance by Israeli troops, but if the situation is calm, then there is no reason for concern or fear before visiting the city.
Initially, Tire consisted of two parts, one of which was an island. Alexander the Great connected the island to the mainland by building roads using stones from the old city.
Tire was founded in 2750 BC, according to Herodotus, and the name Tire does not appear on monuments until 1300 BC. The inscriptions tell of the coast, the sea, the mainland, and the influence of Tire on neighboring lands.
Commerce ancient world was centered around Tire. The merchants of Tire were the first in the Mediterranean to open sea trade routes, and founded colonies in northern Africa, Sicily, Corsica and other places. Tire was attacked by Shalmaneser V, then by Nebuchadnezzar (586-573 BC).
Tire is the mother of the Phoenician peoples. One legend tells about the founding of the city. The appearance of Tire is associated with the Phoenician god Melqart, who was the son of the goddess Astarte. According to legend, it was at the birthplace of Melqart that the ancient Phoenician city was founded. The same legend reports that even before the appearance of the first settlement on the site of Tire, this small piece of land moved freely across Mediterranean Sea. Later, by order of Melkar, they found the place where he was born and sacrificed an eagle; when the blood of a majestic bird fell on the rocks of the island, the island stopped at a distance of about 800 meters from the shore. In the 28th century BC, the residents of the town built a temple in honor of Melqart, in gratitude for which he allowed the townspeople to colonize a fairly large area of the Mediterranean coast. In front of the entrance to the temple there were two columns made of pure gold, each 9 meters high. People walked around the temple territory barefoot; a ritual of sacrifice took place here every day, which was accompanied by dancing. 
In the 6th century BC, Tyre was destroyed by the army of Nebuchadnezzar, but the conquerors did not achieve their goal, they wanted to get gold and jewelry, and most of the inhabitants managed to collect all their property with them and move to an island near Tyre. A new shooting gallery was built there. The mainland, next to which these two islands were located, was for them protection from storms. In the 9th century BC. The islands were connected by an isthmus to the mainland by order of King Hiram, thereby forming an artificial cape. During the time of Alexander the Great, the isthmus was destroyed, and in its place a pier was built, which was much larger than the isthmus. Makedonsky personally poured the first two buckets of sand into the base of the dam. All work on the construction of the dam was carried out manually. Cedar trunks brought from the mountains of Lebanon were driven into the bottom of the sea, and in order to fully provide building materials, residents were forced to demolish their houses. Thus, the island eventually turned into a peninsula. By the way, it is worth noting that Tire is the only city that did not surrender to Alexander the Great without a fight; the inhabitants preferred a bloody war to a humiliating peace and fought for honor as best they could hometown. Some details of the battles and examples of heroic deeds of the inhabitants that have survived to this day are known. When the ships of Alexander the Great anchored, thereby blocking the harbor, the inhabitants of Tire swam to them and cut the anchor ropes. After this incident, by order of Alexander the Great, the ropes on all ships were replaced with anchor chains. The siege lasted seven months, after which Alexander the Great seized power into his own hands. A significant part of the population of Tire was killed, and those who managed to survive were soon sold into slavery. It was during the reign of Alexander the Great that the Lebanese cedar became a rare tree, this was caused by the fact that Alexander, in addition to building a dam, also used cedar in the manufacture of ships; cedar forests were massively cut down. During Phoenician times, Tire was famous for its glass and textiles. The traders of Tire carried out a peaceful expansion of the Mediterranean in order to find sources of raw materials and markets for their products. It was Tire that was the first city where they began to use money - minted coins. The development of the city was influenced by Phenicia. The shooting range developed quite quickly. A number of naval expeditions across the Mediterranean began from Tyre, including to Spain and beyond Gibraltar. In the 18th century the city became one of the most important suppliers building materials Total Mediterranean coast. At different times the city was in power different countries and rulers, experienced many events, in memory of which interesting monuments, temples, ruins, etc. remained. 
Tire is also an important religious center; it was here that the first Christian communities appeared. The city is also mentioned in the Bible as one of the places where Jesus Christ visited; here he performed his first miracle.
Since 1979, Tire has been protected by UNESCO as a city classified as a world treasure.
Now the old part of Tire is located on the peninsula, and the new one is on the mainland. There are few hotels in the city (about 2-3), but tourists do not have problems with accommodation; there is enough room for everyone. Prices for hotel rooms are quite reasonable.
Tourists are mainly attracted by the ruins of Tire from the Roman Empire. The Roman road leading to Arc de Triomphe, which in Roman times was the entrance to the city. On both sides of the road along the entire route there are many sarcophagi carved from stone and marble. And one of the sides of the road is accompanied by an aqueduct.
In the 2nd century. A hippodrome was built on the territory of Tire, the ruins of which are well preserved. Every summer the hippodrome hosts an arts festival. During the Roman Empire, the hippodrome accommodated 20,000 spectators and was 480 meters long.
Tire is a city of inexhaustible power and wealth, founded in the third millennium BC by the Phoenicians. Homer called the city the lord of the seas, purple dye was mined here, and one of the largest hippodromes of the ancient world has survived to this day.
In Tyre, it is also worth seeing the Eshmun Palace, the Colosseum, two ports from the time of King Hiram, and the ruins of a Crusader temple.
Perhaps the most colorful part of Tire is the fishing harbor: a quiet pier, an abundance of fishing boats, workshops where these same boats are made using technology that has remained unchanged for several centuries. You can relax in one of the cafes or restaurants located in the harbor.
Walking from the fishing harbor towards the lighthouse, you will see the al-Mina excavations. Be sure to take a walk here and get to know the city as it was many centuries ago. At the entrance there is a large trade area era of the Roman Empire, passing through the square, on main street The theater will appear before you. Water games were once held here. The theater is a rectangular building, the seats are arranged in five tiers, and a system of tanks is placed around the theater. Theater follows sports complex with bathhouses where wrestlers trained. Very interesting place- Cathedral of the Holy Cross, built in the 12th century. Now all that remains of it are the base of granite columns, and previously the cathedral was the place of coronation of the rulers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. According to some reports, it is here that the remains of Frederick Barbarossa, an outstanding German emperor, are buried. During the existence of Phenicia, on the site of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross there was a temple of the god Melqart, who was considered the patron saint of Tyre.