King of Tyre

The King of Tyre was the ruler of Tyre, the ancient Phoenician city in what is now Lebanon.

The traditional list of 12 kings, with reigns dated to 990–785 BC, is derived from the lost history of Menander of Ephesus as quoted by Josephus in Against Apion I. 116–127.[1] Josephus asserts that Menander had drawn his list from the chronicles of Tyre itself.[2]

Menander-Josephus also contains a list of 9 kings and judges, with reigns dated to 591–532 BC in Against Apion I. 154–160.[3]

Ancient Tyrian rulers based on Hellenic mythology

Agenor	c. 1500 BC	Son of Poseidon or of Belus
Phoenix		Son of Agenor. 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[4]

Kings of the Sidonians (with Tyre as capital), 990–785 BC

The dates for the reconstruction of Menander's Tyrian king list from Abibaal 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).[5]

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.[6] Gave tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III.
Hiram II	739–730 BC	Also paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III[7]
Mattan II	730–729 BC
Elulaios (Luli)	729–694 BC
Abd Melqart	694–680 BC
Baal I	680–660 BC

Post-Assyrian period

Menander's Tyrian king list also described the period from Ithobaal III through Hiram III. 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.[8] 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.[4] 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

• King of Byblos
• Hiram I, for a discussion of the date of Carthage's foundation
• Belus of Tyre, a legendary king of Tyre in Vergil's Aeneid
• Pygmalion of Tyre, for inscriptional evidence regarding Pygmalion and Baal-Eser II
• Dido of Carthage

References

1. Against Apion Book I. 116–127
2. Jewish Encyclopedia: "Phenicia".
3. Against Apion Book I. 154–160
4. "Lebanon". Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
5. William H. Barnes, Studies in the Chronology of the Divided Monarchy of Israel (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991), p. 31.
6. Hayim Tadmor, The Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III, King of Assyria (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994) 266.
7. Tadmor, Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III, 69.
8. NIV Archaeological Study Bible, An Illustrated walk through Biblical History and Culture. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005 p.1350.