Tyre

Tyre, an ancient city of Phoenicia, situated on the E. coast of the Great Sea or Mediterranean, in 33° 12' lat., on the same site as the small modern town of Sur. Besides this island-city (now connected with the mainland by an isthmus which arose through the accumulation of sand on either side of Alexander's Causeway) there was a large town called Palaetyrus, on the neighboring shore. The island-city is mentioned in an Egyptian papyrus, as far back as the 14th century B.C., and the Old Testament abounds in allusions to its commercial activity. Tyre was occupied by the Crusaders from 1124 to 1291. After their departure it fell into the hands of the Moslems who reduced it to a heap of ruins. The present town has been built since 176G, when the Metawileh arrived in the neighbourhood.