Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/626

 610 PHOENICIA. ■worship of the national deities Astarte, Belus, and particularly Melcarth, or the Tyrian Hercules. Ac- cording to Justin, indeed, the oldest temple of Her- cules was in Palae-Tyrus (xi. 10; comp. Curt. iv. 2); but this assertion may have been made by the Tyrians in order to evade the request of Alexander, who wished to gain an entrance into their island city under pretence of sacrificing to that deity. Hiram succeeded to the crown of Tyre a little before the building of Solomon's temple (b. c. 969). He added to and improved the new city, and by means of substructions even gained space enough to build a large square or place, the eurychoms. He mainiained friendly relations with king David, which were confirmed by commerce and by intermarriages. Hiram furnished the Jewish monarch with cedar- wood and workmen to construct his palace, as well as materials for his proposed temple, the building of •which, however, was reserved for his son. The Phoenicians, on the other hand, imported the corn and oil of Judah. Under the reign of Solomon this intercourse was cemented by a formal treaty of com- merce, by which that monarch engaged to furnish parly 20,000 cors of wheat*, and the like quantity of oil, for the use of Hiram's household, while Hiram, in return, supplied Solomon with workmen to cut and prepare the wood for his temple, and others skilful in working metal and stone, in engraving, dyeing, and manufacturing fine linen. Solomon also ceded to Tyre a district in Galilee containing twenty towns. (1 Kings, ix. 13; Joseph. Ant. viii. 5.) In these transactions we perceive the relations of a commercial and an agricultural people; but Hiram was also of great assistance to Solomon in his maritime and commercial enterprises, and his searches after the gold of Ophir, when his victories over the Edomites had given him the command of the Aelan- itic, or eastern, gulf of the Red Sea. The pilots and mariners for these voyages were furnished by Hiram. Except, however, in connection with the Israelites, we know little concerning the reign of this monarch. He appears to have undertaken an expedition against Citium in Cyprus, probably a revolted colony of the Phoenicians, and to have established a festival in honour of Melcarth, or Hercules. (Joseph. I. c.) By his great works at Tyre he entailed an enormous expense upon the people; and his splendid reign, ■which lasted thirty-four years, was followed at no great interval by political troubles. His dynasty was continued for seven years in the person of his son Bale- azar, or Baleastartus, and nine years in that of his grandson Abdastartus. The latter was put to death by the four sons of his narse, the eldest of whom usurped the supreme power for a space of twelve years. This revolution is connected by Movers (ii. pt. i. p. 342) with the account of the servile insurrection at Tyre given by Justin (xviii. 3), who, however, with his usual neglect of chronology, has placed it a great deal too late. This interregnum, which, according to the account adopted, was a complete reign of terror, was terminated by a counter- revolution. The usurper, whose name is not men- tioned, either died or was deposed, and the line of Hiram was restored in the person of Astartus, — the Strato of Justin, — a sou of Baleastartus. This prince reigned twelve years, and was succeeded by his brother Astarymus, or Aserymus, who rulednine years. The latter was murdered by another brother, Phales, who after reigning a few months was in turn assas- The cor was equal to 75 gallons, or 32 pecks. PHOENICIA. sinated by Ithobaal, a priest of Astarte. Ithobaal is the Ethbaal of Scripture, father of Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, who endeavoured to restore the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth in the kingdom of her husband. (1 Kings, xvi. 31.) In the reign of Itohbaal Phoe- nicia was visited with a remarkable drought, which also prevailed in Judaea in the time of Ahab. (Joseph. Afit. viii. 13. § 2; 1 Kings, c. xvii. 7.) We know nothing further of Ithobaal's reign, except that he founded Botrys, on the coast N. of Sidon, and Auza in Numidia. (Joseph, viii. 7, 13. § 2.) He reigned thirty-two years, and was the founder of a new dy- nasty. Badezor, his son, succeeded to the throne, and after a reign of six years was followed by Matteu, or Mutto, who ruled for thirty-two yeare. The reign of his successor, Pygmalion, brings us into contact with classical history and tradition, through the founda- tion of Carthage by his sister Elisa, or Dido, which took place not long after his accession. Probably, however, this was only a second foundation, as in the case of Tyre itself. The whole story, which indicates a struggle between an aristocratical and sacerdotal party and the monarchical power, has been obscured by mythical traditions and the embellishments of poets ; but it need not be repeated here, as it will be found in the Dictiotiary of Biogi-aphy and Mytho- logy, s. V. Dido. Pygmalion occupied the throne forty-seven years, and after his reign there is a gap in the history of Tyre. When we can next trace the Phoenicians in the Scriptures, we find them at war with Israel. The prophet Joel, who flourished about the beginning of the eighth century b. c, bitterly complains of the outrages committed by Tyre and Sidon on the coasts of Judaea, and his complaints are repeated by Amos, a contemporaiy prophet. This was the chief period of the maritime ascendency of the Phoenicians, and their main ofience seems to have been the carrying off of youths and maidens and selling them into slavery. Towards the end of the same century we find Isaiah prophesying the destruction of Tyre. It was about this period that the Assyrians began to grasp at the countries towards the west, and to seek an establishment on the sea-board of the Me- diterranean ; a policy which was continued by the succeeding empires of the Babylonians, Medes, and Persians. The expedition of Shalmaneser, who, after reducing the kingdom of Israel, turned his arms against Phoenicia, is recorded by Josephus from the history of Menander. (^Ant. ix. 14.) After overrunning the whole of Phoenicia, he retired without attempting any permanent conquest. He seems to have been assisted by several Phoenician cities, as Sidon, Ace, and even Palae-Tyrus, which were oppressed by the domination of Elulaeus, king of Tyre. These cities furnished him with sixty ships for a second attempt upon Tyre : but this fleet was defeated by the Tyrians with only twenty vessels. Shalmaneser blockaded them on the land side for a space of five years, and prevented them from having any fresh water except what they could preserve in tanks. How this blockade ended we are not informed, but it was probably fruitless. We have no further accounts of Elulaeus, except that he had reduced to obedience the revolted town of Citium in Cyprus previously to this invasion. After his reign another long gap occurs in the his- tory of Phoenicia, or rather of Tyre, its head. This silence would seem to indicate that it was enjoying the blessings of peace, and consequently increasing in prosperity. The Phoenician alliance was courted