Tyre , Arabic Ṣūr, City (pop., 2003 est.: 117,100), southern Lebanon. It was a major Phoenician port from c. 2000 bc through Roman times and later was noted for its silken garments and Tyrian purple dye. Probably founded as a colony of Sidon, it was first mentioned in the 14th century bc; it is frequently mentioned in the Bible. Tyre successfully resisted a 6th-century-bc siege of 13 years by the Babylonian king Nebuchadrezzar II, but it fell to Alexander the Great in 332 bc. Ruled later by the Seleucid dynasty and then by the Romans, it passed to the Muslims in the 7th century ad. After its capture by the Crusaders in 1124, it became a chief city of the kingdom of Jerusalem (see Crusades). It fell again to the Muslims in 1291 and was destroyed. The modern city was included in Lebanon in 1920 and was occupied by Israeli forces (1982–85). Its main economic activity is fishing. Tyre’s ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984.
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