City
Sidon
SY-din · Modern Saida (Sidon), Lebanon
Sidon is a city of the biblical world, known today as Saida (Sidon), Lebanon.
What is known
History
- Founded
- An ancient Phoenician port city, older than nearby Tyre
- Population
- Estimated 20,000–30,000 residents in the Roman era
- Industry
- Maritime trade and glassmaking
- Coordinates
- 33.5606° N, 35.3758° E
Archaeology
Sidon's best-known standing monument is the Sea Castle, a 13th-century Crusader fortress believed to reuse stone from an earlier temple to the Phoenician god Melqart. Excavations elsewhere have documented continuous occupation from the Early Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period, when the city produced the famous Alexander Sarcophagus.
Scripture references
- Matthew 15:21
- Acts 27:3
On a modern map
Further reading
Reflect
Near Sidon, Elijah was fed by a widow who had almost nothing — when has help reached you from the place you least expected?
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