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Sidon

Alternative names:

Place description

The earliest historical record about Sidon dates to the 14th century BC. King Zimridda of Sidon formed an alliance with the king of the Hittites against Egypt. From the 9th century BC onwards, the Assyrians held military campaigns to the Mediterranean. Heavy tribute and taxes were extracted from Sidon. Luli the king of Sidon refused to pay tribute, and therefore Sennacherib deposed him. Sennacherib replaced Luli with Ittobaal, but his successor Abdmilkutti also started a revolt against Assyria. The revolt was suppressed in 677BC and the city was destroyed. The new city called Kar-Asarhaddon was subsequently founded by the Assyrians on the old site of Tyre and it became the centre of Assyrian administration of the area. After the Assyrian period, Sidon was submitted to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Nevertheless, the city became the leader of commerce for a time. In the early 5th century BC, human resources and fleets were provided by Sidon to Cyrus king of Persian during his naval battles with the Greeks. In addition to this, the king of Sidon was an advisor and an ally of Cyrus. The presence of the Persian royal residence and army in the city make it prosperous. In the second half of the 5th century BC, Sidon joined an alliance with Greece against the Persians. In 392BC, Evagora’s revolt in Cyprus was also supported by the city. In 362BC, Sidon joined the revolt of the Satraps led by Straton the Philhellene. In 346, Tennes’ uprising caused the destruction of the city by its own residents. A tyrannical regime under Straton II was subsequently imposed on the city. After the conquest of Alexander the Great in the East, Sidon came under the rule of the Seleucids. It became independent in 111BC. In 64BC, Pompey reconfirmed Sidon’s autonomous status and granted it the privilege on minting its own coins. The old port of Sidon was an essential facility for the Phoenician trade, but its current remains dates back to the Roman period. An artificial hill measuring 100m long and 50m high was formed by the accumulation of refuse from the purple dye factories of the Phoenicians. Broken murex shells can still be seen at its lower part. The mosaic tiling on the top of the mound indicates that Roman buildings once stood there. Three main necropoleis were located beyond the ancient city limits. They included the necropolis of Magharat Abloun, the royal necropolis of Ayaa, and the necropolis of Ain el Helwe. They were still in use until the late Roman and early Byzantine eras. The south of the city also laid an ancient cemetery known as Kekerman. Most sarcophagi and tombs are still in situ. The sarcophagus Eshmunazar, king of Sidon and son of Tabnit, was also discovered at the southeast of the city. Moreover, a number of circular Chalcolithic foundations there is still visible. The outskirt of the city stood the Temple of Eshmoun, which dates back to the 6th century BC. A Phoenician inscription to Bodashtart and the fragment of a bull protome capital of Achaemenid type have been found there. Among the finds in excavations were statues of crouching infants, a large stone throne and a marble pedestal adorned with winged lions. A Roman geometric mosaic floor and white marble statuettes of children have also been uncovered, and it indicates that the temple was still functioning sometime during the Roman period.