The governments of such Phoenician cities as Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos were led by hereditary monarchs throughout their history. Those individual cities typically acted autonomously from each other and only rarely did they form mutual alliances. The absolute power of the Phoenician kings, even if they had at their disposal a council of elders for consultation, is attested by various ancient sources, including the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament. Below the king, matters of government were also carried out by a priestly class and those elite households who controlled the international trade upon which Phoenicia so prospered.
More about: Phoenician GovernmentDefinition
Timeline
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c. 4000 BCEFounding of the city of Sidon.
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c. 2900 BCE - c. 2300 BCEFirst settlement of Baalbek.
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c. 2750 BCEThe city of Tyre is founded.
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1115 BCE - 1076 BCEReign of Tiglath-Pileser I of Assyria who conquers Phoenicia and revitalizes the empire.
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c. 1000 BCEAhiram becomes king of Sidon.
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980 BCEIttobaal becomes king of Sidon.
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969 BCE - 936 BCEHiram I reigns as king of Tyre.
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940 BCEAbibaal becomes king of Sidon.
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935 BCE - 919 BCEBaal-eser I reigns as king of Tyre.
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920 BCEYehimilk becomes king of Sidon.
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918 BCE - 910 BCEAbdastrato reigns as king of Tyre.
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909 BCE - 898 BCEMethustratos reigns as king of Tyre.
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900 BCEElibaal becomes king of Sidon.
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897 BCE - 889 BCEAstharymos reigns as king of Tyre.
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888 BCEPhelles reigns as king of Tyre.
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887 BCE - 856 BCEIthobaal I reigns as king of Tyre.
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880 BCEShiptibaal becomes king of Sidon.
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855 BCE - 830 BCEBaal-asor II reigns as king of Tyre.
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829 BCE - 821 BCEMattan II rules as king of Tyre.
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820 BCE - 774 BCEPygmalion rules as king of Tyre.
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750 BCE - 740 BCEIthobaal II reigns as king of Tyre.
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739 BCE - 730 BCEHiram II reigns as king of Tyre.
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730 BCE - 729 BCEMattan II rules as king of Tyre.
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729 BCE - 694 BCEElulaios rules as king of Tyre.
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680 BCE - 640 BCEBaal I reigns as king of Tyre.
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c. 301 BCE - c. 195 BCETyre, as all other Phoenician cities, belongs to the Ptolemies, rulers of hellenistic Egypt.
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c. 195 BCEAfter the battle at Panion, the Seleucids finally take the rule of Phoenicia from the Ptolemies. Tyre and the other Phoenician cities will remain in the Seleucid power until the Roman conquest of Syria.
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64 BCETyre becomes a Roman colony.