Ancient history of Latakia (Syria)

Latakia is an ancient seaport and a strategic gateway between East and West: built by Seleucus I Nicator in the second century BC on the site of a Phoenician settlement.

Like most other cities of the Levantine coast, Latakia was occupied by all of Syria’s conquerors, playing a role in the Arab Conquest and in the Crusades. It only came to prominence in the wake of Alexander the Great conquest, when it was transformed into a major city of the Seleucid empire.

In the late Bronze Age of the second millennium BC the site was small Phoenician settlement called Ramitha, one of fifty prosperous Phoenician coastal colonies along the Mediterranean coast.

Initially, the settlement was dependent on the nearby city of Ugarit, a powerful metropolis and the first international port. With the arrival of the marauding tribes, known as the Sea Peoples at the beginning of the Iron Age, around 1200 BC the region was thrown onto chaos but the Phoenician colonies survived.

The original settlement became part of the Assyrian Empire, later falling to the Persians, who incorporated it into their fifth satrapy Abar Nahara.

It was taken in 333 BC by Alexander the Great, just after the great battle with the Persians at Issus not far to the north. After the death of Alexander in Babylon in 323 BC, Northern Syria fell under the control of Seleucus I Nicator.

Seleucus built the town of Latakia under the name of Laodicea, in honor of his mother.

In 638 AD, Latakia was lost to Byzantium after the Arab armies swept into Syria. The Byzantines mounted a devastating road in 705 but it was not until 968hat they reasserted their control in the area.
Ancient history of Latakia 

Ancient Byblos

The first settlers in this city established themselves on the higher of the two hills of the tell, very near the cliff where they built a village of relatively big huts, some 1.2 hectares in extent. This city was the northernmost of ancient Phoenicia’s three major seaports, together with Sidon and Tyre.

Called Gebal by the Phoenicians, Byblos was one of the earliest cities of the Near East probably occupied by around 5000 BC.  The name Byblos derives from the Greek word bublos meaning ‘papyrus scroll’, reflecting the city’s importance as an intermediary in the papyrus trade between Egypt and the Aegean world.

During the Old and Middle Kingdoms, Byblos was Egypt’s principal associate in Near Eastern tarred.

The city’s international prestige was because of the abundance of its cedar, pine and cypress forests growing in the nearby mountains which furnished the timber and aromatic resins highly prized by the Egyptians.

In the Phoenician heyday of the 900s-700s BC Byblos was the nation’s capital with a powerful navy and trade routes extending to Greece and Egypt.

Byblos’s political fortunes in the era 700-300 BC followed those of greater Phoenicia and the city quickly faded in importance after the founding of the early Seleucid-Greek city of Antioch (300BC).
Ancient Byblos

Ancient city of Tyre

The eldest Tyre, which is ancient times bore the name of Sor, and also called the daughter of Sidon, was situated on the mainland at the seashore, 80 km south of Beirut.

Tyre was built by the Sidonians and became the rival of Sidon, as well as the chief city of Phoenician. According to Herodotus Tyre was founded around 2700 BC. Titus Flavius Josephus says that Tyre was founded 240 years before the building of Solomon’s temple.

Tyre was enormously powerful, proud and rich, receiving the trade and tribute of many lesser cities. The wealth Tyre came by trading with the Mediterranean nations,

It was founded on the mainland, but after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC until 573 BC, King of Babylon, second city was built on small rocky island, half a mile from the shore, but the latter never attained the importance of the first Tyre.

Alexander the Great in 331 BC took Tyre after a siege of eight months. Tyre recovered from its second capture, attained once more considerable distinction and was made a free city by the Romans.

In 218 BC, the city was taken possession of by Antiochus the Great. It next became subject to the Seleucid, and was sold to a Roman named Marion, whose wealth was so great that he was enabled to purchase the whole principality.

Under the Romans, Tyre was a large and strong city, with safe and capacious harbor and a flourishing trade.
Ancient city of Tyre

Ancient history of Carthage (Tunisia)

According to the Roman historian Appian the city was built by Dido, a Tyrian princess, 50 years before taking of Troy or about 1234 BC and 481 years before the foundation of Rome. While Philistos of Syracuse dates its foundation to 1215 BC.

It was founded by settlers from Phoenician Tyre. However based on modern science and archeology, the year of city’s foundation has been set at 814 BC on the basis of the writings of ancient authors starting from Timaeus of Taormina who lived in the 3rd century.

The foundation of Carthage was part of Phoenician expansion to the west and the associated colonization that aimed not only at establishing trading posts and securing sea route, but also at founding self-sufficient and autonomous city.

Carthage were very weak at first, grew larger by insensible degrees, in the country where it was founded. 

The leadership of Carthage arose as a reaction to the Greek threat to the Phoenician position in the western Mediterranean.

Its dominion was not long confined to Africa. This city extended her conquests into Europe, invaded Sardinia, made herself mistress of a great part of Sicily and reduced to her subjection of almost the whole of Spain.

Carthage’s maritime economy was based upon system of treaty trade, which set commercial parameters and offered trade protection for its respective participants.

Rome final war with Carthage in 149 – 146 BC destroyed Carthage city. The city was razed, the survivors sold into slavery and the land turned into province.
Ancient history of Carthage (Tunisia)