List of kings of Tyre
The traditional king-list of Tyre, the ancient Phoenician city in what is now Lebanon, is derived from Josephus, Against Apion i. 18, 21, and his Antiquities of the Jews viii. 5.3; 13.2. His list was based on a lost history by Menander of Ephesus, who had drawn his information, Josephus asserts, from the chronicles of Tyre itself.[1]
Ancient Tyrian rulers based on Hellenic mythology
| Agenor | c. 1500 BC | Son of Poseidon or of Belus |
| Phoenix | He is the alleged eponym of the Phoenicians. | |
| Eri-Aku (Herakles) | c. 1400 BC | Eri Aku may be the model for such figures as the Greek Heracles, the Biblical Arioch king of Ellaser, and the Homeric Erichthonius King of Troy and Pontus. |
Late Bronze Age rulers
| Abi-Milku | c. 1350–1335 BC | Mayor/Ruler of Tyre during the period of the Amarna letters correspondence (1350–1335 BC) |
| Aribas | fl. c. 1230 | |
| Baal-Termeg (or Baalat-Remeg) | fl. c. 1220 | |
| Baal | c. 1193 | |
| Pummay | c.1163-1125[2] |
Kings of the Sidonians (with Tyre as capital), 990–785 BC
The dates for the reconstruction of the Tyrian king list from Hiram I through Pygmalion are established in three places by three independent sources: a Biblical synchronism (Hiram's assistance to Solomon in building the Temple, from 967 BC onwards), an Assyrian record (tribute of Baal-Eser II/Balazeros II to Shalmaneser III in 841 BC), and a Roman historian (Pompeius Trogus, who placed the founding of Carthage or Dido's flight from her brother Pygmalion in the latter's seventh year of reign, in 825 BC, 72 years before the founding of Rome).[3]
| Abibaal | 993–981 BC | His beginning date is conjectural. |
| Hiram I | 980 – 947 BC | Contemporary of David and Solomon |
| Baal-Eser I (Balazeros I, Ba‘l-mazzer I) | 946-930 BC | |
| Abdastartus (‘Abd-‘Astart) | 929-921 BC | |
| Astartus (‘Ashtart) | 920-901 BC | Killed predecessor. First of 4 brothers to reign. |
| Deleastartus (Dalay-‘Ashtart) | 900-889 BC | |
| Astarymus (‘Ashtar-rom) | 888-880 BC | |
| Phelles (Pilles) | 879 BC | Last of the 4 brothers |
| Ithobaal I (Ethbaal I) | 878-847 BC | Killed predecessor. Father of Biblical Jezebel. |
| Baal-Eser II (Balazeros II, Ba‘l-mazzer II) | 846-841 BC | Paid tribute to Shalmaneser III in 841 BC |
| Mattan I | 840-832 BC | Father of Pygmalion and Dido |
| Pygmalion (Pummay) | 831-785 BC | Dido fled from Pygmalion and founded Carthage during his reign. |
Assyrian ascendancy: 8th and 7th centuries BC
The Neo-Assyrian Empire established its control over the area and ruled through vassals who are named in Assyrian records.
| Ithobaal II (Tuba‘il) | 750–739 BC | Name found only on Iran Stele of Tiglath-Pileser III.[4] Gave tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III. |
| Hiram II | 739–730 BC | Also paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III[5] |
| Mattan II | 730–729 BC | |
| Elulaios (Luli) | 729–694 BC | |
| Abd Melqart | 694–680 BC | |
| Baal I | 680–660 BC |
Post-Assyrian period
Tyre regained independence with Assyria's demise, although Egypt controlled Tyre during some of the time afterwards. Eventually, Tyre fell under the control of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
| missing | -592 BC | |
| Ithobaal III (Ethbaal III) | 591–573 BC | This is the king mentioned in Ezekiel 28:2 at the time of the fall of Jerusalem.[6] Carthage became independent of Tyre in 574 BC. |
Under control of Babylon 573–539 BC
| Baal II | 573–564 BC |
| Yakinbaal | 564 BC |
Shoftim of Tyre
In the 560s the monarchy was overthrown and an oligarchic government established, headed by "judges" or shoftim (cf. Carthage). The monarchy was restored with the ascension of Hiram III to the throne.
| Chelbes | 564–563 BC |
| Abbar | 563–562 BC |
| Mattan III and Ger Ashthari | 562–556 BC |
| Baal-Eser III | 556–555 BC |
| Hiram III | 551–532 BC |
Under Persian control 539–411 BC
- Mattan IV fl. c. 490-480
- Boulomenus fl. c. 450
- Abdemon c.420–411 BC.[2] He ruled Salamis, in Cyprus.
Under control of Cypriot Salamis 411–374 BC
- Evagoras of Salamis, Cyprus. He united Cyprus under his rule and achieved independence from the Persian Empire.
Under Persian control 374–332 BC
- Eugoras fl. 340's
- Azemilcus c.340–332 BC. He was king during the siege by Alexander the Great.
- Abd-olunim 332- ?
Under the Greeks and Romans
After Alexander the Great conquered Tyre in 332 BC, the city alternated between Seleucid (Syrian Greek) and Ptolemaic (Egyptian Greek) rule. Phoenicia came under the rule of the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC.
- Marion (c. 42 BC) was the Roman tyrant of Tyre.
Middle Ages and later
Tyre was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century. The Crusaders conquered Tyre, which acted as the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem until this kingdom's fall in 1291. Tyre then became part of adjoining empires again (Ottoman Empire, Mamelukes), and finally of France and of independent Lebanon in the 20th century.
See also
- Hiram I, for a discussion of the date of Carthage's foundation
- Pygmalion of Tyre, for inscriptional evidence regarding Pygmalion and Baal-Eser II
- Dido (Queen of Carthage)
References
- ↑ Jewish Encyclopedia: "Phenicia".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Lebanon". Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
- ↑ William H. Barnes, Studies in the Chronology of the Divided Monarchy of Israel (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991), p. 31.
- ↑ Hayim Tadmor, The Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III, King of Assyria (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994) 266.
- ↑ Tadmor, Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III, 69.
- ↑ NIV Archaeological Study Bible, An Illustrated walk through Biblical History and Culture. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005 p.1350.