City
Tyre
TYRE (rhymes with "fire") · Modern Sour (Tyre), Lebanon
Tyre is a city of the biblical world, known today as Sour (Tyre), Lebanon.
What is known
- Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon and healed a Canaanite woman's daughter, one of his few ministries to Gentiles (Matthew 15:21-28)
- Jesus said Tyre and Sidon would have repented "in sackcloth and ashes" had they seen the miracles done in Galilee (Matthew 11:21-22)
- Paul stopped here on his return to Jerusalem, finding disciples who warned him not to go (Acts 21:3-6)
History
- Founded
- An ancient Phoenician port city, famous for centuries as a maritime power
- Population
- Estimated 40,000–50,000 residents at the city's Roman-era height
- Industry
- Maritime trade and famous purple-dye production
- Coordinates
- 33.2708° N, 35.1961° E
Archaeology
A UNESCO World Heritage Site with two main excavated zones, including Roman baths, a colonnaded mosaic-paved street, and one of the largest Roman hippodromes ever found. Systematic archaeology was largely halted by Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, so parts of the site's chronology remain incompletely published.
Scripture references
- Matthew 11:21-22
- Matthew 15:21-28
- Acts 21:3-6
On a modern map
Further reading
Reflect
In the region of Tyre, a foreign mother refused to stop asking — what do you want badly enough to keep asking for?
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