| Hiram I | |
|---|---|
| King of Tyre | |
| Reign | 980 – 947 BC |
| Born | 1000 BC |
| Birthplace | Tyre, presumed |
| Died | 947 or 946 BC |
| Predecessor | Abibaal, ?? – 981 BC |
| Successor | Baal-Eser I (Beleazarus I, Ba‘l-mazzer I) 946 – 930 BC |
| Dynasty | Dynasty of Abibaal and Hiram I |
| Father | Abibaal |
| Mother | unknown |
Hiram I (Hebrew: חִירָם, "high-born"; Standard Hebrew Ḥiram, Tiberian vocalization Ḥîrām, Modern Arabic: حيرام), according to the Hebrew Bible, was the Phoenician king of Tyre. He reigned from 980 to 947 BC, succeeding his father, Abibaal. Hiram was succeeded as king of Tyre by his son Baal-Eser I.[1] Hiram is also mentioned in the writings of Menander of Ephesus, as preserved in Josephus’s Against Apion, where some additional information is given that is not found in the Bible. One such item is that Hiram lived 53 years, and reigned 34.
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During Hiram's reign, Tyre grew from a satellite of Sidon into the most important of Phoenician cities, and the holder of a large trading empire. He suppressed the rebellion of the first Tyrean colony at Utica, near the later site of Carthage (Against Apion i:18).
The Bible says that he allied himself with King David of the United Kingdom of Israel as well as that the status of both Kings was equal and that the treaty between them was a parity treaty (2 Samuel 05:11, 1 Kings 05:01, 1 Chronicles 14:01). After the death of King David, Solomon, a son of David, succeeded to David's throne and Hiram continued the relation with Israel through King Solomon, the upcoming power of the region. They were also equal ("אחי", meaning "brothers" 1 Kings 9:13, Amos 1:9)[2] Through the alliance with Solomon, Hiram ensured himself access to the major trade routes to Egypt, Arabia and Mesopotamia. The two kings also joined forces in starting a trade route over the Red Sea, connecting the Israelite harbour of Ezion-Geber with a land called Ophir (2 Chronicles 8:16,17).
Both kings grew rich through this trade and Hiram sent Solomon architects, workmen, cedar wood and gold to build the First Temple in Jerusalem. He also extended the Tyrean harbour, enlarged the city by joining the two islands on which it was built, and built a royal palace and a temple for Melqart (Against Apion i:17).
The beginning date of Hiram’s reign is derived from a statement by Josephus, citing both Tyrian court records and the writings of Menander,[3] relating that 143 years passed between the start of construction of Solomon’s Temple until the founding of Carthage (or until Dido’s flight that led to its founding). Josephus also related that Hiram’s reign began 155 years and 8 months before this event, and that construction of Solomon's Temple began in the twelfth year of Hiram's Reign, which would be 143 years before the building of Carthage. The redundancy inherent in these multiple ways of expressing the total years (the 143 years is mentioned twice, and the 155 years minus 12 years once) has guaranteed that all extant copies of Josephus/Menander that contain these passages give 155 years and 8 months between the start of Hiram’s reign and the foundation of Carthage. (One copy has 155 years and 18 months, but this is an obvious error for 155 years and eight months.) Modern historians have therefore had confidence in the 155-year figure and have used it to date Hiram’s reign.
However, classical authors give two dates for the Carthage’s founding: 825 BCE and 814 BCE. The 814 date is derived from the Greek historian Timaeus (c. 345-260 BCE) and the 825 date from the writings of Pompeius Trogus (1st century BCE). The 814 date is more generally accepted, and so earlier historians calculated the start of Hiram’s reign as occurring in 814 + 155 = 969 BCE. See the Pygmalion article for the proposal of J. M. Peñuela that 825 BCE was the date Dido left Tyre, but she did not start construction of Carthage until 11 years later, in 814 BCE
In 1951 CE, an inscription was published that showed that Shalmaneser III of Assyria received tribute, in 841 BCE from a certain Baa‘li-maanzer of Tyre.[4] The name Baa‘li-maanzer was interpreted by eminent philologists such as Frank Moore Cross[5] as referring to Baal-Eser II/Balazeros, grandfather of Pygmalion. According to Josephus/Manetho, it was during Pygmalion’s seventh year that Dido fled from Tyre. Consequently, the dates of Pygmalion have always been computed based on the date calculated for Dido’s flight, which was assumed to take place in the same that she founded Carthage. But when 814 BCE was taken as Pygmalion’s seventh year, the dates for his father and grandfather, as based on the best texts of Josephus/Manetho, were not compatible with his grandfather being on the throne in 841 BCE and giving tribute to Shalmaneser in that year. For this reason, several scholars reexamined the 825 BCE date for Dido’s flight (Pygmalion’s seventh year) and found that 825 BCE was consistent with the Assyrian inscription. For further details of the scholars involved and their reasoning, see the Pygmalion article.
Measuring the 155 years from 825 BCE gave a new date for the first year of Hiram's reign: 825 + 155 = 980 BCE. 980 BCE also proved an excellent match with another date, one calculated from the Scriptural texts related to the reign of Solomon. Based on Edwin R. Thiele’s widely accepted date of 931/930 BCE for the division of the kingdom after the end of Solomon’s 40-year reign,[6] Solomon’s fourth year, when construction of the Temple began (1 Kings 6:1) can be calculated as starting in Tishri (roughly October) of 968 BCE.[7] Josephus, citing both Tyrian court records and the writings of Menander, says that it was in Hiram’s 12th year that he sent assistance to Solomon for building the Temple. With 980 BCE as the starting date for Hiram, his twelfth year would be 969 or 968 BCE, in excellent agreement with the Biblical date for this event.
As pointed out by William Barnes, the date for the start of Temple construction using the Tyrian data is derived “wholly independently” of the way that date is derived using the Scriptural data.[8] It is this consideration, plus the evidence of the tribute from Baa‘li-maanzer/Baal-Eser II to Shalmaneser III, that has led to the adoption of the chronologies of Frank M. Cross and other scholars for the Tyrian kings in the present article. Hiram’s first year is therefore accepted as 980 BC instead of the 969 BC that was favored before publication of the Shalmaneser inscription.
The alleged sarcophagus of Hiram is located "two hours" walk southeast of Tyre, a colossal limestone sarcophagus on a high pedestal",[9] so-called Qabr Hiram.[10] It is not to be confused with the famous Ahiram sarcophagus.
King Hiram is a character in the time travel story Ivory, and Apes, and Peacocks (1983) by Poul Anderson.