Ithobaal I
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ithobaal I (or Ethbaal) (reigned 887 - 856 BC) was a king of Tyre who founded a new dynasty. During his reign, Tyre expanded its power on the mainland, making all of Phoenicia its territory as far north as Beirut, including Sidon, and even a part of the island of Cyprus. At the same time, Tyre also built new overseas colonies: Botrys (now Batrun) near Byblos, and Auza in Libya.
Ithobaal held close diplomatic contacts with king Ahab of Israel. His daughter Jezebel married Ahab, and Phoenician influence in Samaria and the other Israelite cities was extensive.
Tyrians while not present themselves were one of the most important groups who supported the anti-Assyrian forces against Shalmaneser III at the Battle of Qarqar in 855 BCE.
Josephus (as quoted by Mark Smith in The Early History of God) says that Ithobaal was a Priest of Astarte.
Smith's Bible Dictionary reports that "Josephus represents him as a king of the Tyrians as well as of the Sidonians... We may thus identify him with Eithobalus, who, after having assassinated Pheles, usurped the throne of Tyre for thirty-two years."
