Tyre
Ṣūr · Sour · Tyrus · Sur
Bronze Age to Ottoman (c.2750 BCE–present; Phoenician peak 1100–332 BCE)·Phoenician / Persian / Hellenistic / Roman / Byzantine / Crusader·🇱🇧 South Governorate, Lebanon
About
About Tyre
Phoenician island-city and legendary birthplace of Europa and Dido, Tyre dominated Mediterranean purple-dye trade. Mainland Ushu and island Tyre besieged by Alexander the Great (332 BCE) who built a causeway. Roman period left vast Al-Bass necropolis, monumental arch, aqueduct, and one of the largest hippodromes (480 m long) in the Roman world. Crusader cathedral over former cathedral of William of Tyre.
Why it mattersGreatest Phoenician city-state, exemplar of island urbanism and Roman hippodrome architecture
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Exact line of Alexander's causeway beneath modern isthmus
- 02Location of Phoenician Temple of Melqart
Theories
- 01Island-city strategy explains Tyrian resilience until Alexander
- 02Purple dye monopoly financed Carthage colonization
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Early Bronze Age settlement c.2750 BCE; island city fortified early 1st millennium BCE
- Period
- Bronze Age to Ottoman (c.2750 BCE–present; Phoenician peak 1100–332 BCE)
- Culture
- Phoenician / Persian / Hellenistic / Roman / Byzantine / Crusader
- Purpose
- Phoenician thalassocracy capital, purple-dye and glass production, and Roman colonisation
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
Early Bronze Age settlement c.2750 BCE; island city fortified early 1st millennium BCE
Initial construction
c. 1459 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
33.2722° N · 35.2097° E · 5 m · 3 mapped features
Al-Bass Hippodrome
hippodromeRoman hippodrome 480×90 m, largest and best preserved in Levant
33.2717° N · 35.2143° ETyre Necropolis (Al-Bass)
necropolisExtensive Roman-Byzantine cemetery with sarcophagi and arch
33.2689° N · 35.2130° ECrusader Cathedral
cathedral12th-century cathedral incorporating Roman granite columns
33.2742° N · 35.1917° E
Gallery