The civilization’s own name has been lost to history, but its Greek name, which means “land of purple”, endures. Phoenicia was well-known for its purple dye, Tyrian purple. According to Acts 21, Paul landed there & stayed with local Christians on his way to Jerusalem.In the Levant, 2,500 years ago, the Phoenician city-states, which eventually became modern Beirut, were among the world’s first manufacturing and maritime trade centers. According to the synoptic gospels, Jesus traveled through the region around Tyre & found supporters among its inhabitants. Tyrian silver coinage was so pure that it was the only currency accepted in the temple at Jerusalem.

Under Hellenistic and Roman empires, Tyre continued to flourish. Tyre's island location made it hard for ancient empires to subdue, until Alexander conquered it. But a century later the marriage of Jezebel, the daughter of Eshba'al of Tyre, to Ahab provoked a cultural crisis in Israel that challenged Mosaic tradition and led Elijah to launch a holy war. Hiram supplied the craftsmen and cedar wood for the temple at Jerusalem and other building projects of Solomon.

Hiram built a breakwater that gave Tyre the best harbor on the eastern Mediterranean coast & established a mutually beneficial trade-alliance with David and Solomon. Tyrian purple dye from shellfish was so-highly prized in ancient times that it gave these seafaring traders their name: Phoenician. As the first Canaanite city to attain independence from Egypt it took the lead in the Phoenician colonization of the Mediterranean including the founding of Carthage.

Tyre is a Phoenician city about 30 miles north of Ptolemaïs, built on a rocky island that Alexander the Great connected to the mainland with a half-mile causeway. Ancient Jewish Cities & Regions: Ancient Jewish Cities: Table of Contents

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