Sidon

Sidon (Heb. Zidon), anciently a city of Phœnicia, situated on the east coast of the Mediterranean, half-way between Tyre and Beyrout. It soon rose, both by its exceptional position and the enterprising character of its inhabitants, to the first position among the cities of Phœnicia (q.v.), so that the whole country is sometimes designated by the name of Sidon, 'the Great,' 'the Metropolis.' The extensive commerce of Sidon is well known from ancient authorities. Its colonies extended over the coast of Asia Minor, the adjacent islands, Thrace and Eubœa, and even some parts of Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, northern Africa, in fact, nearly the whole of the ancient world. The Sidonian manufactures of glass and linen, purple dye and perfumes, were sources of vast wealth. At length it surrendered to Shalmaneser, king of Assyria. But under Assyrian, Chaldee, and Persian domination it retained a kind of independence for its internal affairs, and under the Persians reached its highest prosperity. An unsuccessful revolt against Artaxerxes Ochus ended in its temporary ruin (351 B.C.). Speedily rebuilt and repopled, it opened its gates to Alexander the Great (333 B.C.), and from that time forth it fell successively into the hands of Syrian, Greek, and Roman rulers. Through the middle ages little is heard of it, except that it was taken by the Crusaders. The present town of Saïda has 10,000 inhabitants, of whom 7000 are Mohammedans. In the neighbourhood are numerous rock-cut burial-places of the ancient Phœnicians, in which have been found the sarcophagus of Eshmunazar, king of Assyria, and others. The town was stormed by the allies under Napier in 1840.