Abibaal
Abibaal (Phoenician: 𐤀𐤁𐤅𐤁𐤏𐤋,, romanized: ʾabīyabaʿal; Hebrew: אביבעל, Modern: ʾavibaʿal, Tiberian: ʾɔbij'baʿal; both meaning "My father is Baal") was a king of Tyre in the 10th century BC,[1] father of the famous Hiram I. The only information known about him is derived from two passages in Josephus's Against Apion, i.17 and i.18.[2] All that is said in these passages is that he preceded his son Hiram on the throne of Tyre. Neither his length of reign nor his immediate predecessors are known. The dating of Abibaal is therefore dependent on the dates assigned to his son, and here it is only the date of Abibaal's death that can be determined, based on the information preserved in Josephus regarding the length of time between the founding of Carthage (or from Dido's flight from Tyre) until the first year of Hiram. See the Hiram I article for details on the determination of this date.
| Abibaal | |
|---|---|
| King of Tyre | |
| Reign | ended 981 BC |
| Predecessor | unknown |
| Successor | Hiram I 980 – 947 BC |
| Born | unknown Tyre, presumed |
| Died | 981 or 980 BC |
| Dynasty | Dynasty of Abibaal and Hiram I |
| Father | unknown |
| Mother | unknown |
See also
- Hiram I
- Pygmalion for discussion of date of founding of Carthage used by Menander
- King of Tyre
References
- Miles, Richard (2010). Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization. United States: Penguin Books. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-14-312129-9.
- Lowell K. Handy, The Age of Solomon (Leiden: Brill, 1997) 162