fufpecting their own king, were preparing for a vigorous defence. The city was furnished with arms, and provifions of all forts, to hold out a long fiege; and the citizens had fortified themselves with a triple trench, and an high wall. Befides the mercenaries, the place was gar rifoned with a brave body of tall, ftout Sidonians, well difciplined; and the fea-coaft was guarded with a fleet of an hundred large gallies. But thefe preparations were of no avail. Tennes no fooner heard that the Perfian army was drawing near, than, feigning to go to the general affembly of the Phoenicians, he marched out with a body of five hundred men, and, taking along with him an hundred of the chief citizens to be created fenators, as he pretended, went ftrait to the enemy's camp, and delivered them up to Ochus, who received him as a friend; but caused all the citizens, as authors of the rebellion, to be immediately put to death. This feverity of Ochus, joined with the treachery of Tennes, ftruck fuch terror into the Sidonians, that five hundred more of the citizens, all men of rank, threw themselves at their enemy's feet, and implored his mercy. Ochus afked Tennes, whether it was in his power to put him in poffeffion of the city; for he was unwilling to take it upon treaty, being bent on the utter ruin of the Sidonians, in hopes that fuch an inftance of feverity would induce the other Phoenicians voluntarily to fubmit. Tennes affured him, he could deliver the city into his hands whenever he pleafed; whereupon Ochus caufed the five hundred citizens, though they were come out with olive-branches in their hands, as badges of fubmiffion, to be fhot with darts upon the fpot. After this barbarous execution, he and Tennes marched at the head of the Perfian army towards the city, and were admitted without the leaft oppofition by Mentor, and the Greek mercenaries, to whom Tennes, in leaving the city, had delivered up one of the gates for that purpose. The Sidonians, on the approach of Ochus's army, had defignedly burnt all their fhips, to prevent any perfon's withdrawing himself from the defence of his country. There- Yr. of Fl. fore, finding themfelves thus betrayed, and the enemy within the walls, without any means left them to make their efcape, either by fea or land, they fhut themselves up with their wives and children in their houses, and, fetting fire to them, confumed themselves, to the number of forty thousand, with all their valuable effects. Tennes met with no better fate than his fubjects had experienced. For, Ochus, feeing he could do him no farther service, and 1997. Ante Chr. 35%. Sale. and detefting in his heart the treachery of the man, caufed his throat to be cut, left he fhould out-live the ruin which he himself had brought upon his country. Sidon, being at that time in a very flourishing condition, a vast quantity of gold and filver was melted down by the flames, and found in the afhes, which Ochus fold for great fums of money. The ruin and total deftruction of Sidon terrified the other cities of Phoenice to fuch a degree, that they all voluntarily fubmitted to the conqueror, each of them making peace with the king upon the best terms they could obtain. Neither was Ochus unwilling to compound with them, that he might be no longer retarded from putting in execution the defign he had upon Egypt. Thus all Phoenice was again brought under the Perfian yoke ; and the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, touching the destruction of Sidon, were fulfilled. After Tennes reigned Strato; for fuch of the Sidonians as, by being abfent on traffick at sea, or on other occafions, had escaped the maffacre, returning home after Ochus was gone back into Perfia, rebuilt the city, but ever afterwards bore an immortal averfion to the Perfian name. No wonder then, if in a few years after their calamity, they fo readily fubmitted to Alexander the Great, eagerly embracing that opportunity of fhaking off the yoke they groaned under. For the Sidonians are counted among the first in those parts who sent ambasfadors to Alexander, as he marched through Phoenice, to make their fubmiffion. Strato it feems did not approve of this refolution, but could not prevent it, the citizens being obftinately bent against the Perfians. Yr. of Fl. For we are told that Alexander deprived him of the crown, because he fubmitted at the inftigation of the Ante Chr. citizens, and not of his own accord". Theopompus, as 2015. 333. quoted by Athenæus, gives him the character of a moft lewd and voluptuous prince; and tells us in particular, that in order to affemble the women, and have thereby an opportunity of choofing the most beautiful for his own ufe, he inftituted public fports, confifting chiefly of dancing and finging, wherein fuch as excelled the others were amply rewarded. Ælian P fays he died an unna Diod. Sic. lib. xvi. Juftin. lib. xi. cap. 10, lib. xii. cap. 13. P. 531-533. n Curt. lib. iv. cap. 2. tural tural death. Of one Strato, king of Sidon, St. Jerom 9 relates, that, having adhered to the king of Egypt against the Perfians, and finding himself in danger of falling into the hands of an enemy, from whom he had no reason to expect any favour, he refolved to prevent the impending calamity, by laying violent hands on himself; but fainting in the execution of his defign, his wife, who was prefent, fnatching, with a manly refolution, the fword out of his hand, freed him from that perplexity, by putting first him, and then herself, to death, without fhewing the leaft concern. But the circumftances of this king's death, if true, plainly fhew that he was not the fame person whom Alexander the Great tripped of his dominions, on account of his attachment to the Perfian intereft. This Strato, king of Sidon, is alfo mentioned by Maximus Tyrius'. Strato was fucceeded by Ballonymus, of whofe affump- Ballonymus tion to the throne we have the following account from Diodorus. Alexander having depofed Strato, gave Hephæftio power to bestow the crown of Sidon upon which of his friends he pleased to promote. Hephæftio thus authorised, named to the royal dignity one of the chief citizens, in whofe house he then lodged, and was fplendidly entertained, defiring him to accept of it as a pledge of his friendship, and an acknowlegement of the many favours he had received in his houfe. The citizen, not at all dazzled by the fight of a crown, returned the generous gueft a thoufand thanks; but at the fame time earnestly begged he would excufe him from affuming a dignity to which he had no title, as not being of the royal family. Hephæftio was not a little furprised at this anfwer; but finding the Sidonian in earneft, defired he would name fome one of the royal race to be invested with the dignity which he himself had refused. He accordingly named Ballonymus, a man of an unblemished character, but fo poor, that he was reduced to live in a very obfcure condition, and to maintain himself with his daily labour. However, his poverty and mean condition were no objection to Hephæftio, who immediately dif patched a meffenger to him with the royal robes, and tidings of his elevation to the throne. The meffenger found him all in rags, working in a garden as a common labourer. He was actually employed in drawing water Hier. contra Jovian, lib. i. D Max. Tyr. Serm. iv. out Yr. of F'. 1292. Ante Chr. 1056. Abibal. out of a well, when the meffenger acquainted him with his elevation to the throne, and cloathed him with the royal robes. He accepted without delay the new dignity, and proceeding with the meffenger towards the city, was there received by Hephæftio with all the marks of diftinction due to his character. Being introduced into the forum, among the joyful fhouts of the people, extremely pleafed with his election, he was proclaimed king of Sidon. The fame occurrence is related, with some small variation of circumstances, by Plutarch", Curtius *, and Juftin. Plutarch calls this king Alynomus; Curtius fays his name was Abdolomius; and Juftin makes it Abdalominus. Plutarch afferts he was king of Paphus; and Diodorus represents both him and his predeceffor as kings of Tyre. But in this particular we have abandoned him, to follow the current of hiftory, which places Strato and Ballonymus among the kings of Sidon. All we know of his reign is, that to the laft he proved faithful to the Macedonians, to whom he was indebted for his crown. And now that we have brought the kings of Sidon down to the conqueft of Phoenice by the Macedonians, let us return to the kings of Tyre. Kings of Tyre. We are left quite in the dark as to the series of the kings who reigned at Tyre before Abibal, with whom Jofephus and Theophilus Antiochenus begin the fucceffion they have furnished us with from Menander the Ephefian, and Dius, both authors, as Jofephus calls them, of unquestionable credit. Dius, by birth a Phoenician, wrote the hiftory of Tyre, extracted from the public records, which were carefully preferved in that city. And Menander compiled the lives and actions of princes, both Greek and Barbarian, as the fame Jofephus tells us, from public archives. The first king of Tyre mentioned by thofe hiftorians is Abibal, or Abeimal, as he is named by Theophilus. With regard to his actions, and the years of his reign, we are left quite in the dark. He was contemporary with David, and probably joined with the neighbouring nations. against him, fince David counts the inhabitants of Tyre among his enemies. t Diodorus Siculus, lib. xvii. u Plutarch de Fortuna Alexandri, lib. ii. × Curtius, lib. iv, cap, 2. y Juftin, lib. ix. cap. to. z Pfalm lxxxiii. 7. 1302. Ante Chr. 1046. Abibal was fucceeded by his fon Hiram, whom Theo- Yr. of Fl. philus calls fometimes Hieromus, and fometimes Hieromenus; Jofephus denominates him Hiram and Irom; Tatian and Zonaras write Chiramus. This prince maintained a close friendship with king David, to whom he Hiram. fent ambaffadors, probably, to congratulate him upon his victory over the Jebufites, whom he had just then driven from the strong hold of Zion, and to conclude an alliance. He prefented him with cedar-trees, and sent skilful workmen to build him a palace in Jerufalem *. And hence he is faid in Scripture to have been "ever a lover of David." Upon the death of David, and the fucceffion of Solomon to the throne, the affection Hiram had ever maintained for the father, prompted him to fend a con gratulatory embaffy to the fon, upon the news of his acceffion to the government. Upon the return of those ambaffadors, Solomon embraced the occafion, and wrote a letter to Hiram, in these terms: "King Solomon to king Hiram, greeting. "Be it known to thee, O King, that my father David "had it a long time in his mind to erect a temple to the "Lord; but being perpetually in war, and under a "neceffity of clearing his hands of his enemies, and "making them all his tributaries, before he could attend "this great and holy work, he hath left it to me, in "time of peace, both to begin, and to finish it, accord"ing to the direction, as well as the prediction, of Al"mighty God. Bleffed be his great name, for the pre"fent tranquility of my dominions! and by his gracious "affiftance, I fhall now dedicate the best improvements. "of this liberty and leisure to his honour and worship. "Wherefore I make it my request, that you will let fome "of your people go along with fome fervants of mine, "to Mount Libanus, to affift them in cutting down ma"terials for this building; for the Sidonians understand "it much better than we do. As for the workmen's "reward, or wages, whatever you think reasonable, shall "be punctually paid them." Hiram was much pleased with Solomon's letter, and returned him the following answer: "King Hiram to king Solomon. "Nothing could have been more welcome to me, than "to understand that the government of your bleffed fa xa Sam. v. 11, and 1 Chron. xiv. 1. D 2 y 1 Kings, v. 1. "ther |