page_title: Tyre, Lebanon
section_title: Neo-Assyrian period (868–612 BCE)
hierarchical_section_title: Tyre, Lebanon / History / Neo-Assyrian period (868–612 BCE)
caption_attribution_description: English: Phoenician terracotta funerary mask from Tyre/Sour, Southern Lebanon, from the 7th century BCE (Assyrian period) on display at the National Museum of Beirut العربية: قناع جنائزي من الطين النضيج عُثر عليه في صور، جنوب لبنان، من القرن السابع قبل الميلاد (العصر الآشوري) معروض في متحف بيروت الوطني.
context_page_description: Tyre is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, though in medieval times for some centuries by just a tiny population. It was one of the earliest Phoenician metropolises and the legendary birthplace of Europa, her brothers Cadmus and Phoenix, as well as Carthage's founder Dido. The city has many ancient sites, including the Tyre Hippodrome, and was added as a whole to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1984.
  The historian Ernest Renan noted:
  One can call Tyre a city of ruins, built out of ruins.
  Today Tyre is the fifth largest city in Lebanon after Beirut, Tripoli, Aley and Sidon, It is the capital of the Tyre District in the South Governorate. There were approximately 200,000 inhabitants in the Tyre urban area in 2016, including many refugees.
context_section_description: In the course of the 9th century BCE, the city remained close to the Israelites, as evident through the marriage of Jezebel from a royal Tyrian family with Ahab, King of Israel.
  However, Tyre started paying tribute to the Neo-Assyrians who gradually established sovereignty over Phoenicia. It seems though that Tyre only made a nominal subjection and kept a large degree of independence, while benefiting in its commerce from the stability of a strong regional power. Thus, Tyre itself remained one of the more powerful cities in the Eastern Mediterranean. One of its kings, the priest Ithobaal I (887–856 BCE), ruled as far north as Beirut, and part of Cyprus.
  According to the myth, the Northern African city of Carthage (Qart-Hadašt = "New City") was founded in 814 BCE by Tyre's Princess Elissa, commonly known as Dido ("the wanderer"), who escaped after a power struggle with her brother Pygmalion with a fleet of ships. She has also widely been credited as a pioneer mathematician in planimetrics: Legend has it that she purchased a large piece of land from the local Numid ruler, who granted her the size of land that an oxhide could cover, by having it cut into thin threads. The ancient historians Josephus and Justin give elaborate accounts that a political conflict between the king and the priestly class was at the core of the break-up.
  In the course of the 8th century BCE, the Assyrian kings attempted to increase their sovereignty over Tyre. Tiglath-Pileser III (744–727 BCE) demanded tribute from Hiram II and tried to prohibit trade between Tyre and settlements to the South. His successor Shalmaneser V besieged the city with support from Phoenicians of the mainland from around 725 to 720 BCE, but was not able to take it. Cyprus – on the other hand –  liberated itself from Tyrian domination in 709 BCE.
  Sennacherib, who ruled the Neo-Assyrian kingdom from 705 to 681 BCE, failed to conquer Tyre in his military campaigns, but Tyrian king Luli lost control over the territories outside the city and was forced to flee. He was succeeded by pro-Assyrian monarchs and governors. Tyrian king Balu – or Baal I –  reportedly assisted the Neo-Assyrian ruler Esarhaddon (680–669 BCE) in suppressing a Sidonian revolt and as an award gained control over much of the coast of Palestine. Yet, Balu apparently entered an alliance with Egyptian pharaoh Taharqa and was punished by Esarhaddon.
  Asurbanipal, Esarhaddon's successor from 669 to 631, reportedly destroyed the hinterland of Tyre, but because of its economic potential preserved the once again rebellious city which reactivated its trade and continued to prosper.
  As the Neo-Assyrian empire crumbled during the 7th century BCE, Tyre and the other Phoenician city-states not only enjoyed considerable independence, but also booming trade activities.:
caption: Funerary mask from Tyre, 7th c. BCE, National Museum of Beirut
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