Tyre (Civ5)/Civilopedia

Tyre is an ancient Phoenician city located in the southern portion of Lebanon, approximately 12 miles north of the Lebanese border with Israel. Tyre was built on the mainland and a nearby offshore island. Founded in approximately 2700 BC by colonists from the city of Sidon, the city soon grew to rival and eventually surpass its sister city as a fishing and mercantile center for Phoenicia. In the 9th century BC settlers from Tyre founded the city of Carthage in North Africa.
Like Sidon, Tyre is frequently mentioned in the Bible. Relations between Israel and Tyre were generally cordial; in fact, Hiram, king of Tyre, furnished building materials for Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.
Because of its wealth and strategic location, Tyre was subjected to repeated attacks by whatever power happened to be rampaging in the area. In the 8th and 7th centuries BC it was under Assyrian dominance. In the 6th century BC it withstood a long siege by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, though it was captured shortly thereafter by the Persians. Then, in the third century BC, Alexander of Macedon happened by at the head of his army.
Alexander's siege of Tyre lasted some seven months. To defeat the stubborn defenders, Alexander completely destroyed the mainland city and used the rubble to construct a causeway out to the island. After capturing the city, the great Alexander showed his appreciation for the citizens' valor and courage by putting 10,000 of them to death and selling 30,000 others into slavery. Though it revived somewhat under later Egyptian and Roman rule, Tyre never fully recovered from Alexander's exuberance.
Today Tyre is a city of approximately 120,000 residents. Because of its proximity to Israel, it tends to suffer whenever violence occurs along the Lebanese-Israeli border, which seems to happen with depressing frequency, as bombs, bullets and missiles from all sides make the ancient ruins even more ruined. Still, Tyre has survived worse than this - much worse - and it will hopefully live to see peace and prosperity once again.