Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1275

 TYKUS. zar, Alexander, and Antigonus. [Phoenicia, pp. 610 — 613]. That by Alexander was so remark- able, and bad so much influence on the topography of Tyre, that we reserved the details of it for this ])lace, as they may be collected from the narra- tives of Arrian (A7mb. ii. 17 — 26), Diodorus Si- culus (xvii. 40 — 45), and Q. Curtius (iv. 4—27). The insular situation of Tyre, the height and strength of its walls, and the command which it possessed of the sea, seemed to render it impregnable ; and hence the Tyrians, when summoned by Alexander to surrender, prepared for an obstinate resistance. The only method which occurred to the mind of that conqueror of overcoming the difficulties presented to his arms by the site of Tyre, was to connect it with the mainland by means of a mole. The materials for such a structure were at hand in abundance. The deserted buildings of Palae-Tyrus aflbrded plenty of stone, the mountains of Lebanon an inex- haustible supply of timber. For a certain distance, the mole, which was 200 feet in breadth, proceeded rapidly and successfully, though Alexander's work- men were often harassed by parties of Tyrian troops, who landed in boats, as well as by the Arabs of the Syrian desert. But as the work approached the island, the difficulties increased in a progressive ratio. Not only was it threatened with destruction from the depth and force of the current, often increased to violence by a southerly wind, but the workmen were also exposed to the missiles of the Tyrian slingers and bowmen, aimed both from vessels and from the battlements of the city. To guard them- selves from these attacks, the Macedonians erected two lofty wooden towers at the extremity of the mole, and covered them with hides as a protection against fire. The soldiers placed on these towers occasioned the Tyrians considerable annoyance. At length, however, the latter succeeded in setting fire to the towers by means of a fire-ship filled with com- bustibles; and afterwards, making a sortie in their boats, pulled up the stakes which protected the mole, and destroyed the machines which the fire had not reached. To complete the discomfiture of the Macedonians, a great storm arose and carried away the whole of the work which had been thus loosened. This misfortune, which would have damped the ardour of an ordinary man, only incited Alexander to renew his efforts with greater vigour and on a surer plan. He ordered a new mole to be con- structed, broader than the former one; and in order to obviate the danger of destruction by the waves, he caused it to incline towards the SW., and thus to cross the channel diagonally, instead of in a straight line. At the same time he collected a large fleet from Sidon, whither he went in person, from Soli, Mallus, and otiier places; for, with the exception of Tyre, all Phoenicia was already in the hands of Alexander. He then made an incursion into Coelesyria, and chased away the Arabs who annoyed his workmen employed in cutting limber in Antilibanus. When he again returned to Tyre with his fleet, which he had joined at Sidon, the new mole had already made great progress. It was formed of whole trees with their branches, covered with layers of stone, on which other trees were heaped. The Tyrian divers, indeed, sometimes succeeded in loosening the structure by pulling out the trees; but, in spite of these efforts, the work proceeded steadily towards com- pletion. The large fleet which Alexander had assembled TYRUS. 1251 struck terror into the Tyrians, who now confined themselves to defensive measures. They sent away the old men, women, and children to Carthage, and closed the mouths of their harbours with a line of triremes. It is unnecessary to recount all the inci- dents which followed, and we shall therefore confine ourselves to the most important. Alexander had caused a number of new machines to be prepared, under the direction of the ablest engineers of Phoe- nicia and Cyprus. Some of these were planted on the mole, which now very nearly approached the city; others were placed on board large vessels, in order to batter the walls on other sides. Various were the devices resorted to by the Tyrians to frus- trate these attempts. They cut the cables of the vessels bearing the battering rams, and tlius sent them adrift; but this mode of defence was met by the use of iron mooring chains. To deaden the blows of the battering engines, leathern bags filled with sea-weed were suspended from the walls, whilst on their summit were erected large wheel-like ma- chines filled with soft materials, which being set in rapid motion, either averted or intercepted the mis- siles hurled by the Macedonians. A second wall also was commenced within the first. On the other hand, the Jlacedonians, having now carried the mole as far as the island, erected towers upon it equal in height to the walls of the town, from which bridges were projected towards the battlements, in order to take the city by escalade. Yet, after all the la- bour bestowed upon the mole, Tyre was not captured by means of it. The Tyrians annoyed the soldiers who manned the towers by throwing out grappling hooks attached to lines, and thus dragging them down. Nets were employed to entangle the hands of the assailants; masses of red-hot metal were hurled amongst them, and quantities of heated sand, which, getting between the interstices of the armour, caused intolerable pain. An attempted assault from the bridges of the towers was repulsed, and does not ap- pear to have been renewed. But a breach was made in the walls by battering rams fixed on vessels; and whilst this was assaulted by means of ships provided with bridges, simultaneous attacks were directed against both the harbours. The Phoenician fleet burst the boom of the Egyptian harbour, and took or destroyed the ships within it. The northern har- bour, the entrance of which was undefended, was easily taken by the Cyprian fleet. Meanwhile Alexander had entered with his troops through the breach. Provoked by the long resistance of the Tyrians and the obstinate defence still maintained from the roofs of the houses, the Macedonian soldiery set fire to the city, and massacred 8000 of the inha- bitants. Tlie remainder, except those who found shelter on board the Sidonian fleet, were sold into slavery, to the number of 30,000; and 2000 were crucified in expiation of the murders of certain Ma- cedonians during the course of the siege. Tiie lives of the king and chief magistrates were spared. Thus was Tyre captured, after a siege of seven months, in July of the year u. c. 332. Alexander then ordered sacrifices and games in honour of the 'Jyrian Hercules, and consecrated to him the batter- ing ram which had made the first breach in the walls. The population, which had beeu almost de- stioyi'd, was replaced by new colonists, of whom a considerable portion seem to have been Carians. The subse(iuent fortunes of Tyre have already been re- corded. [Phoenicia, p. 613.] I'or the coins of Tyre see Eckhel, Boctr. Xnm. 4 L 2