Alexander preparing for the siege of Tyre

After the Battle of Issus, Alexander was more determined than ever to take all the harbors of the eastern Mediterranean to outmaneuver the Persian maritime power. He marched to Marathus (modern Amrit) and from there onward to Byblos, who both surrendered. 

The next famous city on Alexander’s route was Sidon, whose inhabitants were only too happy to get rid of their Persian satrap, Straton. They welcomed the Macedonian king as their liberator. A new ruler had to be found, and Hephaistion was instructed to search for the appropriate candidate. King Abdalonymus was a respectable and honest man, and the people loved him. Out of gratitude for this appointment, Abdalonymus, at a later age, commissioned the famous Alexander sarcophagus that is now on display at the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul.  

As Alexander marched further south, he reached powerful Phoenician Tyre. The city had prospered because of its trade in purple dye, which was highly valued throughout the ancient world. Already in the early 6^th century BC, this richness had attracted the attention of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. He laid siege to Tyre for 13 years without success. This simply illustrates the challenges Alexander was about to face.  

Tyre was of strategic importance, a massive fortress island surrounded by well-defended high walls separated from the mainland by a deep channel. It had two natural harbors, one on the north side facing Sidon and another one south looking towards Egypt. The Tyrians felt pretty secure since they enjoyed the protection of a substantial Persian fleet in both ports. 

Before reaching the city, Alexander was met by its envoys, stating that they would abide by any of his instructions. The Macedonian king gracefully thanked the representatives and expressed his wish to enter Tyre to sacrifice to Heracles, who was, in fact, their god Melqarth or Baal. Basically, the Tyrians accepted Alexander’s arrival but refused to admit him or his Macedonians inside their fortress on the island. 

Alexander needed to take Tyre to safeguard his back on his march further south to Egypt. The only way was to lay siege to the city – a tremendous and complicated task because he had disbanded most of his own fleet and the remaining ships were no match to the Persian forces. Clearly, the fortress could not be taken from the sea alone, and thus Alexander decided to build a causeway to connect the island to the mainland. It was a tedious and dangerous operation as the Tyrians had no intention to let this happen. 

Construction went underway and progressed steadily in the shallow waters near the coastline. Stones from the old city of Tyre were used for the foundation of the mole, and piles were driven into the mud to keep the stones in place (see: Alexander's Isthmus, Tyre, Lebanon). But as the Macedonians reached deeper water, matters changed dramatically. Progress slowed down because many more stones were needed to fill the depth while the Tyrian ships could now approach the causeway and attack the exposed workers. In response, Alexander built two towers mounted with artillery and faced them with hides to somehow protect his soldiers on the mole. The army could drive the enemy away from their precarious shelter with their own missiles. 

The Tyrians were not to be discouraged and decided to take a cattle-ship and stuff it with dry brushwood and straw. They added two masts to create a higher pile of inflammable material, including pitch and sulfur, to fan the fire. They also attached caldrons filled with liquids that could be poured onto the fire to increase its fury. To ensure these vessels would come as close as possible to the causeway, they added heavy ballast in the aft section to lift the bows to a maximum. Triremes pulled these burning vessels close to the Macedonia towers, and as they caught fire, the Tyrians withdrew immediately to save themselves. The fire was an absolute inferno. 

Although this attack meant a severe setback, it would not deter Alexander from executing his plan. Instead of repairing the substantial devastation, he started the works all over again. He built a broader mole at the shoreside with enough space for more towers and instructed his engineers to construct new engines.

  

Alexander, as always, saw the greater picture. He moved back to Sidon to gather as many ships as possible to annihilate the enemy navy since that was imperative to conquer Tyre. At this stage, the king was joined by two Persian satraps, who, after learning that Aradus and Byblos were in Macedonian hands, decided to side with Alexander. Sidon contributed with its own warships, bringing the total Phoenician ships to about eighty. After his victory at Issus and having taken Phoenicia, Alexander’s fleet was spontaneously joined by Rhodes with ten ships, three ships from Soli and Mallus, and ten more from Lycia. The king of Cyprus also decided to join his forces to Alexander’s and sailed to Sidon with some 120 ships. With so many of these previously Persian allies now fighting on Alexander’s side, the situation of the Macedonians suddenly looked much better. 

This most certainly was the turning point in the entire siege! 

Continued in Alexander besieging Tyre.

[Pictures from World History, Dan Diffendale (Melquart) and United States Military Academy, Dept of History (map)]