The Historians' History of the World 02 [Israel, India, Persia, Phoenicia, Minor Nations of Western Asia]

532 Death of Hiram III. Phœnicia, Palestine, and Syria become the fifth Persian satrapy.

530 Carthage becomes an independent power.

525 The Phœnicians furnish a fleet for Cambyses’ war in Egypt.

496 Phœnician fleet shares in the Persian victory off Lade.

480 Tetranestus, king of Sidon, Mapen of Tyre and Merbaal of Aradus accompany Xerxes to Greece. Phœnician fleet takes part in the expedition. 466 Battle of Salamis. Phœnician and Persian fleet defeated by the Greeks at Eurymedon.

455 Phœnician fleet is sent to aid Persians to reconquer Egypt for Artaxerxes I.

449 Defeat of the Phœnician fleet by the Athenians off Cyprus.

405 Battle of Ægospotami. Phœnician fleet aids Athens to defeat the Spartans.

400 Straton I comes to the throne of Sidon. He is the son of Tabnit (Tennes I), and grandson of Eshmunazer I, a descendant of Tetranestus, and succeeds his elder brother Eshmunazer II, who has died a minor.

394 Phœnician fleet helps the Athenians to defeat the Spartans at Cnidus. Friendly relations between Sidon and Athens.

390 Evagoras of Salamis in Cyprus storms Tyre, which is now in an enfeebled condition.

361 Straton I of Sidon joins Tachus of Egypt against the Persians and is killed by his wife to prevent falling into the hands of the enemy. Tabnit (Tennes) II succeeds him.

352 Tennes leads a revolt of Phœnicia against Persia, Cyprus joins him.

345 Tennes betrays Sidon to Artaxerxes III, who afterwards puts the king of Sidon to death. Cyprus subdued. Tyre resumes the leading position in Phœnicia.

333 Battle of Issus. Aradus and Byblus and Sidon join Alexander the Great. Tyre besieged by Alexander.

332 Capture of Tyre by Alexander. Azemilcus, the king, is spared, but eight thousand Tyrians are slain, and thirty thousand sold as slaves. End of Tyre’s political existence. The foundation of Alexandria also makes it lose much trade. The Phœnicians cease to be a great nation. FOURTH PERIOD (332 B.C.-636 A.D.)

331 Alexander forms Phœnicia, Syria, and Cilicia into one province, over which he places Menes.

323 Death of Alexander. Phœnicia occupied alternately by Ptolemy and by Antigonus and his son Demetrius. Ptolemy finally retains possession (287).

315 Siege of Tyre by Antigonus.

246-198 Struggle between the Seleucidæ and Ptolemies for Phœnicia.

The Seleucidæ left in possession of Phœnicia after the surrender of Sidon (198).

The trade of Media and the Red Sea is diverted to Alexandria in Egypt.

125 Tyre and Sidon are practically independent after the Tyrians put Demetrius II to death.

86 Syria, worn out by the civil wars of the Seleucidæ puts itself under the dominion of Tigranes, king of Armenia.

67 Phœnicia and Syria return for a short time to the Seleucidæ after the victories of Lucullus.

63 Pompey reduces Syria to a Roman province.

44-42 Cassius divides Phœnicia into small principalities. Antony gives Phœnicia to Cleopatra, but reserves freedom of Tyre and Sidon.

20 Augustus deprives Tyre and Sidon of their liberties. He founds a Roman colony called Augustana, at Beirut (Berytus), which has a famous law school under the dominion of Rome. Tyre and Sidon have no political importance, but retain their commercial and manufacturing interests. They continue to have no historical importance until

193-194 A.D. Tyre and Laodicea take part in the struggle of Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger for the emperorship. Niger sends troops to Tyre, which burn and pillage the city.

201 Severus recruits the population of Tyre and gives it a colonial title. Tyre and Berytus enjoy the monopoly of producing that dye known as the imperial purple. As part of the second Syrian province of Rome, their prosperity 616 increases until the Persian king, Chosroes II, subjugates Syria (including Phœnicia) and rules it until 622 when the Byzantine emperor regains control.

636 Battle of the Hieromax. As a result the Emperor Heraclius abandons Syria to the Mohammedans.

FIFTH PERIOD (633-1516 A.D.)

Under the rule of the caliphs Phœnician civilisation suffers no decay. Tyre maintains its commercial importance.

1100-1110 Baldwin and the Crusaders capture all the Phœnician cities except Tyre.

1111 Siege of Tyre begun by Baldwin. He abandons it during the winter.

1124 Siege and capture of Tyre by the Crusaders.

1187 Saladin overthrows the kingdom of Jerusalem.

Tyre begins a heroic defence against him.

1189 Relief of Tyre by Guy de Lusignan. Capture of Acre (Akko) by Philip Augustus and Richard Cœur-de-Lion.

1192 Treaty of peace with the Mohammedans. The Christian territory extends from Joppa to Tyre.

Acre becomes the chief commercial centre of the Phœnician coast and 1291 is taken by the sultan of Egypt, to whom other Syrian towns also submit.

1516 Selim I conquers the whole of Syria, which since then has been included in the Ottoman empire.

CARTHAGINIAN HISTORY IN OUTLINE

FIRST PERIOD (813-410 B.C.)

814-813 B.C. Carthage, according to tradition, is founded by Elissa, sister of King Pygmalion of Tyre, who fled from her brother. The Phœnicians find the land occupied by Libyans whom they dispossess. They also manage to get some kind of control over the nomads in the outlying regions of their new domain. The official heads of the government were the suffets, similar to the Roman consuls. There may have been only two in office at a time, serving for one year, but capable of re-election.