Tyre District 3.6

The Tyre District is a district in the South Governorate of Lebanon.HistoryAncient historyFounded 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 periodAlexander the Great, in 332 BC, set out to conquer this strategic coastal city during the war between the Greeks and the Persians. Unable to storm the city, he blockaded it for seven months. Tyre held on but the conqueror used the debris of the abandoned mainland city to build a causeway and once within reach of the city's walls, Alexander used his siege engines to batter and finally breach the fortifications.