Editing Sidon (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Sidon}}

In antiquity, Sidon held prominence as a significant [[Phoenicia]]n city. Nestled on a mainland promontory and boasting two harbors.<ref name=":02" /> Throughout ancient history, Sidon had many conquerors: [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrians]], [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Babylonians]], [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]], [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]], [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], and finally [[Ancient Rome|Romans]]. Under Persian rule, it eclipsed [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] to become the paramount city in Phoenicia.<ref name=":02" /> In the New Testament era, [[Herod the Great]] visited Sidon. Both [[Jesus]] and [[Paul of Tarsus|Saint Paul]] are said to have visited it, too (see ''[[#Biblical Sidon|Biblical Sidon]]'' below). The city was eventually conquered by the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Arabs]] and then by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gwiazda |first1=Mariusz |last2=Piątkowska-Małecka |first2=Joanna |last3=Wicenciak |first3=Urszula |last4=Makowski |first4=Piotr |last5=Barański |first5=Tomasz |date=2021-05-01 |title=The Sidon's/Ṣaydā Northern Hinterland during the Early Byzantine–Early Islamic Transition |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/712931 |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |language=en |volume=385 |pages=171–200 |doi=10.1086/712931 |issn=0003-097X}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Breen |first1=Colin |last2=Forsythe |first2=Wes |last3=O’Connor |first3=Marianne |last4=Westley |first4=Kieran |date=2014 |title=The Mamluk/ Ottoman-period Maritime Cultural Landscape of Lebanon |url=https://honorfrostfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Lebanon-Report-University-of-Ulster-May-2014.pdf |journal=Centre for Maritime Archaeology |pages=20–36}}</ref>

===Prehistory===
Sidon has been inhabited since very early in [[prehistory]]. The archaeological site of Sidon II shows a [[Stone tool|lithic]] [[Assemblage (archaeology)|assemblage]] dating to the [[Acheulean]], whilst finds at Sidon III include a [[Heavy Neolithic]] assemblage suggested to date just prior to the invention of [[pottery]].<ref name= CW/>

===Late Bronze===
Around 1350 BC, Sidon was part of the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|Egyptian Empire]] and ruled by [[Zimredda of Sidon]]. During the Amarna Period, Egypt went into decline, leading to uprising and turmoil in the Levant. There was rivalry between Lebanese coastal city-states fighting for dominance, with [[Abimilki|Abimilku of Tyre]] in the south, and [[Rib-Hadda|Rib-Hadda of Byblos]] in the north. Byblos became significantly weakened as the dominant city on the Lebanese coast. Further north, the Akkar Plain rebelled and became the [[Amurru kingdom|kingdom of Amurru]] with Hittite support. The Mitanni Empire, an ally of the Egyptians, had dominated Syria but now fell apart due to the military campaigns of [[Šuppiluliuma I|Suppiluliuma I of Hatti]]. Tutankhamun and his general Horemheb scrambled to keep Egyptian control over southern Levant, as the Hittites became overlords in the north.

The oldest testimony documenting words in the [[Phoenician language]] of Sidon, is also from this period. The Book of Deuteronomy (3, 9) reads: "the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion". In other words: [[Mount Hermon]] was called "Sirion", in (the Phoenician language of) Sidon.

===Iron Age===
{{Main|Phoenicia|Canaan|King of Sidon}}
[[File:Protome from Eshmun Sanctuary.jpg|thumb|Persian style bull [[protome]] found in Sidon gives testimony of the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] rule and influence. Marble, 5th century BC]]
Sidon was one of the most important [[Phoenicia]]n cities, and it may have been the oldest. From there and other ports, a great Mediterranean commercial empire was founded. [[Homer]] praised the skill of its craftsmen in producing glass, purple dyes, and its women's skill at the art of embroidery. It was also from here that a colonising party went to found the city of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]. Tyre also grew into a great city, and in subsequent years there was competition between the two, each claiming to be the metropolis ('Mother City') of [[Phoenicia]].

During the Phoenician era, Sidon thrived on two pivotal industries: glass manufacturing and [[Tyrian purple|purple dye]] production. The city's glass production operated on an extensive scale, while the manufacturing of purple dye held nearly equal importance.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Jacoby |first=David |title=Trade, Commodities, and Shipping in the Medieval Mediterranean |year=1997 |at=pp.&nbsp;455&nbsp;ff and notes&nbsp;[17]–[19] |article=Silk in Western Byzantium before the Fourth Crusade}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite book |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1991 |isbn=0-195-04652-8 |location=New York, NY & Oxford, UK |page=1701 |article=Porphyrogennetos}}</ref> The magnitude of Sidon's purple dye production was evident through a considerable mound of discarded ''[[Murex trunculus]]'' shells discovered near the southern harbor.<ref name=":02" /> These shells were broken to extract the precious pigment, so rare that it became synonymous with royalty.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

In AD 1855, the sarcophagus of King [[Eshmunazar II|Eshmun’azar]] II was discovered. From a Phoenician inscription on its lid, it appears that he was a "king of the Sidonians," probably in the 5th century BC, and that his mother was a priestess of [[Astarte|‘Ashtart]], "the goddess of the Sidonians."<ref>Thomas Kelly, Herodotus and the Chronology of the Kings of Sidon, [[Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research]], no. 268, pp. 39–56, 1987</ref> In this inscription the gods [[Eshmun]] and [[Baal|Ba‘al]] Sidon 'Lord of Sidon' (who may or may not be the same) are mentioned as chief gods of the Sidonians. ‘Ashtart is entitled ''‘Ashtart-Shem-Ba‘al,'' '‘Ashtart the name of the Lord', a title also found in an [[Ugaritic]] text.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sugimoto |first=David T. |date=2014 |title=Transformation of a Goddess |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/520f9c9be4b0210b06eba019/t/6078ad41f497d45a67b1c316/1618521411692/Transformation+of+a+goddess-astarte.pdf}}</ref>

[[Nebuchadnezzar II]] subjugated the city to be part of the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]].{{sfn|Tucker|2019|p=876}} Sidon's navy played a significant role in the [[Battle of Salamis]] in 480 BC, aligning with the Persian fleet against the Greeks. From the mid-fifth century BC onward, warships became a prominent feature on the city's coinage.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Gates |first=Charles |title=Ancient cities: the archaeology of urban life in the ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-83057-4 |edition=2nd |location=London |pages=197, 190, 191}}</ref> At the end of the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] era, in 351 BC, Phoenicia was invaded by [[Artaxerxes III]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Waldemar |first=Heckel |title=Who's Who in the Age of Alexander the Great |date=2008 |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=9781405154697 |pages=172}}</ref>

===Persian and Hellenistic periods===
[[File:Archäologisches Museum Istanbul 2013-03-18y.jpg|thumb|Tomb of the Mourning Women, Hellenistic [[necropolis]] of Sidon, now in the [[Istanbul Archaeology Museums]]]]
Like other Phoenician city-states, Sidon suffered from a succession of conquerors, first by the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in the 6th century BC, ending with its occupation by [[Alexander the Great]] in 333 BC, and the start of the [[Hellenistic period]] of Sidon's history.<ref name=":3" /> The Persian influence seems to have been profound, as is observed in the change of the architectural style of the city. 
In exchange for supporting his conquest of [[Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt|Egypt]], King [[Cambyses II]] of Persia awarded Sidon with the territories of [[Tel Dor|Dor]], [[Jaffa|Joppa]], and the [[Sharon Plain|Plain of Sharon]].{{efn|[[Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II|See lines 18–20 of the Eshmunazar II sarchophagus inscription.]]}}{{efn|The territories of the Phoenician cities could be discontiguous: thus, the lands and the cities of Dor and Joppa belonging to the Sidonians were separated from Sidon by the city of Tyre.{{sfn|Elayi|1997|p=66}}}}{{Sfn|Briant|2002|p=490}}

Under the [[Diadochi]] or successors of Alexander, it enjoyed relative autonomy and organised games and competitions in which the greatest athletes of the region participated. In the Hellenistic period [[Royal necropolis of Ayaa|necropolis of Sidon]], important finds such as the [[Alexander Sarcophagus]] (likely the tomb of King [[Abdalonymus]] rather than Alexander<ref name=":02" />), the [[Lycia]]n tomb and the Sarcophagus of the Crying Women were discovered, which are now on display at the [[Istanbul Archaeology Museum|Archaeological Museum]] of [[Istanbul]].<ref name="Turkey">{{Cite news |url= http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/turkey/istanbul/attraction-detail.html?vid=1154654614207 |title= Istanbul Archaeology Museum |access-date= 10 May 2008 |newspaper= The New York Times |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120524104810/http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/turkey/istanbul/attraction-detail.html?vid=1154654614207 |archive-date= 24 May 2012 }}</ref>

===Roman period===
When Sidon fell under Roman domination, it continued to mint its own silver coins.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wicenciak |first=Urszula |date=2019-09-02 |title=Aspects of economic activity in Phoenicia during Roman and Byzantine times. The case of olive oil and amphora production in Chhim, in the chora of Sidon |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00758914.2020.1854973 |journal=Levant |language=en |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=314–336 |doi=10.1080/00758914.2020.1854973 |issn=0075-8914}}</ref> The city was embellished by [[Herod the Great|Herod]], king of [[Herodian kingdom|Judaea]],<ref name=":03" /> who built there a theatre.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Rogers |first=Guy MacLean |title=For the Freedom of Zion: the Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66-74 CE |date=2021 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-24813-5 |location=New Haven |pages=22, 536}}</ref> By the [[First Jewish–Roman War]], Sidon sheltered enough [[Jews]] that local pagans hesitated to attack them during the broader massacre of Jews in Greco-Syrian towns in 66 CE, as documented by [[Josephus]].<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Schulze |first=Kirsten |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/*-SIM_0007390 |title=Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World |publisher=Brill Reference Online |editor-last=Stillman |editor-first=Norman A. |chapter=Sidon|date=October 2010 }}</ref>[[File:Roman era Phoenecia.png|thumb|The [[Tabula Peutingeriana|Peutinger Table]] showing the location of Tyre and Sidon within the Roman Empire]]

The Romans built a theater and other major monuments in the city, and [[Sidon Mithraeum|an underground Mithraeum]] was discovered. In the reign of [[Elagabalus]], a [[Colonia (Roman)|Roman colony]] was established there. During the [[Byzantine Empire]], when the [[551 Beirut earthquake|great earthquake of AD 551]] destroyed most of the cities of [[Phoenice (Roman province)|Phoenice]], the [[law school of Berytus]] took refuge in Sidon. The town continued quietly for the next century, until the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant]] in 636.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":4" />

===Crusader-Ayyubid period===
[[File:SidonSeaCastle.jpg|thumb|[[Sidon Sea Castle]], built by the [[Crusader states|Crusaders]] in AD 1228]]
On 4 December 1110, Sidon was captured after the [[siege of Sidon]], a decade after the [[First Crusade]], by King [[Baldwin I of Jerusalem]] and King [[Sigurd I of Norway]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A History of the Crusades, Vol. II: The Kingdom of Jeru… |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/428520.A_History_of_the_Crusades_Vol_II |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Goodreads |language=en}}</ref> It then became the center of the [[Lordship of Sidon]], an important vassal-state of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]. [[Saladin]] captured it from the Crusaders in 1187, but German Crusaders restored it to Christian control in the [[Crusade of 1197]]. It remained an important Crusader stronghold until it was destroyed by the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubids]] in 1249. In 1260, it was again destroyed by the [[Mongols]] led by [[Kitbuqa]].{{sfn|Runciman|1987|p=308}} The remains of the original walls are still visible.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sawaya |first=Gioia |date=2018-12-07 |title=Archaeology of Superpositions, as seen in Sidon's Sea Castle |url=https://hiddenarchitecture.net/archaeology-of-superpositions-as-seen-in-sidons-sea-castle/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Hidden Architecture |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marriner |first1=Nick |last2=Morhange |first2=Christophe |last3=Doumet-Serhal |first3=Claude |date=November 2006 |title=Geoarchaeology of Sidon's ancient harbours, Phoenicia |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2006.02.004 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |volume=33 |issue=11 |pages=1514–1535 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2006.02.004 |bibcode=2006JArSc..33.1514M |issn=0305-4403}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Frost |first=Honor |date=March 1973 |title=The offshore island harbour at Sidon and other Phoenician sites in the light of new dating evidence |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-9270.1973.tb00492.x |journal=International Journal of Nautical Archaeology |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=75–94 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-9270.1973.tb00492.x |bibcode=1973IJNAr...2...75F |issn=1057-2414}}</ref>

During the 12th century, [[Benjamin of Tudela]] noted the presence of approximately twenty Jews, possibly families, in Sidon, which he described as a "large city."<ref name=":03" />

===Ottoman period===
After Sidon came under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turkish]] rule in the early 16th century, it became the capital of the [[Sidon Eyalet]] (province) and regained a great deal of its earlier commercial importance.<ref name=":0" /> In 1521, [[Moses ben Mordecai Bassola|Moses Basola]] encountered twenty families of [[Musta'arabi Jews|Musta'rabi Jews]] during his visit to Sidon.<ref name=":03" />

During the 18th century, the city was dominated by the Hammud family of notables, who monopolized the production and exporting of cotton in the region and built numerous palaces and public works in the city. The Hammuds also served as government customs agents and tax collectors for various Ottoman religious foundations.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Winter |first1=Stefan |url=https://www.academia.edu/44396298 |title=Saïda à l'époque des agha-s: la famille Hammud et l'État ottoman au XVIIIe siècle |journal=Archivum Ottomanicum |date=2020 |volume=37 |pages=219–242 |access-date=8 March 2022 |archive-date=13 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213161506/https://www.academia.edu/44396298 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the [[Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–41)|Egyptian–Ottoman War]], Sidon, like much of [[Ottoman Syria]], was occupied by the forces of [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt]]. His ambitions were opposed by the British Empire, which backed the Ottomans. The [[British Empire|British]] Admiral [[Charles Napier (Royal Navy officer)|Charles Napier]], commanding a mixed squadron of British, Turkish and Austrian ships, bombarded Sidon on 26 September 1840, and landed with a column. Sidon capitulated in two days, and the British went on to [[Acre, Israel|Acre]]. This action was recalled in two Royal Navy vessels being named {{HMS|Sidon}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Colledge |first1=James Joseph |title=Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th century to the present |last2=Warlow |first2=Ben |date=2006 |publisher=Chatham Publ |isbn=978-1-86176-281-8 |edition=New rev. |location=London}}</ref>

The 19th century brought significant changes to the Jewish community of Sidon. By 1830, the community, comprising around twenty-five families of primarily Arabic-speaking merchants, had customs akin to those of [[Old Yishuv|Judean Jews]]. Starting in 1850, the community witnessed growth as [[Maghrebi Jews]], initially settled in the [[Chouf District|Chouf Mountains]] above Beirut, migrated to Sidon and [[Beirut]] amidst escalating [[Druze]]-[[Maronites|Maronite]] tensions and the ensuing 1860 war. With roots in mountain traditions, they introduced citrus cultivation on the outskirts of Sidon, leading to the construction of a new [[synagogue]] in 1860 to meet the needs of the expanding community.<ref name=":03" />

From 1887 the [[Royal necropolis of Ayaa|Royal necropolis of Sidon]] was extensively excavated by the Ottomans, and its treasures transferred to [[Istanbul]] (like the [[Alexander sarcophagus]]). Sidon was a small fishing town of 10,000 inhabitants in 1900.

===After World War I===
[[File:Sidon-coast.jpg|thumb|Sidon with a view of the Mediterranean coast]]
After [[World War I]] it became part of the French [[League of Nations mandate|Mandate]] of [[French Mandate of Lebanon|Lebanon]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lebanon - French Mandate, Mediterranean, Phoenicians {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Lebanon/French-mandate |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> During [[World War II]] the city, together with the rest of Lebanon, was [[Syria–Lebanon Campaign|captured by British forces]] fighting against the [[Vichy French]], and following the war it became a major city of independent [[Lebanon]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bacha |first=François El |date=2021-05-08 |title=Lebanon / History: Lebanon in the turmoil of WWII and its independence |url=https://libnanews.com/en/lebanon-history-lebanon-in-the-turmoil-of-wwii-and-its-independence/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Libnanews, Le Média Citoyen du Liban |language=en-US}}</ref> Following the [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight]], [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] refugees arrived in Sidon, as in other Lebanese cities, and were settled at the large refugee camps of [[Ein el-Hilweh]] and [[Mieh Mieh (camp)|Mieh Mieh]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lax |first=Chaim |date=2023-03-09 |title=The Palestinian Refugees: 1948 to Today |url=https://honestreporting.com/the-palestinian-refugees-1948-to-today/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=HonestReporting |language=en-US}}</ref> At first these consisted of enormous rows of tents, but gradually houses were constructed. The refugee camps constituted de facto neighborhoods of Sidon, but had a separate legal and political status which made them into a kind of enclaves. At the same time, the remaining Jews of the city fled, and the Jewish cemetery fell into disrepair, threatened by coastal erosion.

On [[Easter Sunday#Eastern Christianity|Easter Sunday]], 19 April 1981, at least sixteen people were killed in Sidon after the ([[South Lebanon Army]]) SLA's long-range artillery indiscriminately shelled the city centre. It was reported that it was in response to a request from [[Bashir Gemayel]] in connection with ongoing Syrian attacks on [[Lebanese Forces|Phalangist]] positions around [[Zahle]]. Israel denied involvement.<ref>[[Middle East International]] No 149, 8 May 1981; Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]], Editor [[Michael Adams (journalist)|Michael Adams]]; [[John Bulloch (journalist)|John Bulloch]] pp.6-7. No 148, 24 April 1981; [[Jim Muir]] p. 3</ref> After the 1982 Israeli [[Operation Peace in Galilee|invasion]] of Lebanon Sidon was occupied by the [[Israel Defence Force|Israeli army]] for almost two and a half years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=Dan |date=1985-02-17 |title=Israel Quits Sidon in 1st Pullout Step : No Incidents Mar Troop Withdrawal in South Lebanon |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-02-17-mn-3532-story.html |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

On 18 August 1997, following a roadside bomb near [[Jezzine]] which killed two teenage members of a [[South Lebanon Army|SLA]] leader's family, SLA artillery shelled Sidon killing seven civilians and wounding thirty-five. [[Hizbollah]] responded the following day by firing 60–80 rockets into the [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon|security zone]] and northern Israel. According to [[UNIFIL]] observers the missiles appeared to be targeted at uninhabited areas. The attack on Sidon is credited with leading to a truce between Hizbollah and [[Amal Militia|Amal]] and increased cooperation between the two groups and the [[Lebanese Army]]. This was evident in the [[Ansariya ambush]] the following month.<ref>Middle East International No 557, 29 August 1997; Michael Jansen, pp. 3-7. No 558. 12 September 1997.</ref>

On 8 June 1999 two gunmen entered the Palais de Justice, Sidon's main courthouse, and shot dead three magistrates and a chief prosecutor. The attackers escaped. No group claimed responsibility but suspicion focused on [[Osbat al-Ansar]] whose leader had been sentenced to death ''in absentia'' for the murder of the head of the [[Sufi]] [[Al-Ahbash]] movement and the attempted assassination of the [[mufti]] of [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]]. He was believed to be in hiding in the [[Ain al-Hilwa]] refugee camp.<ref>Middle East International No 602, 18 June 1999; Jim Quilty p.9</ref>

Studies in 2000 showed a population of 65,000 in the city, and around 200,000 in the metropolitan area. The little level land around the city is used for cultivation of wheat, vegetables, and fruits, especially citrus and bananas. The fishing in the city remains active with a newly opened fishery that sells fresh fish by bidding every morning. The ancient basin was transformed into a fishing port, while a small quay was constructed to receive small commercial vessels (see "Old City" and the "Architecture and landscape" sections below).
{{wide image|Panorama of Sidon from the castle.jpg|900px|alt=Panorama of Sidon as seen from the top of the Sea Castle, 2009|{{center|Panorama of Sidon as seen from the top of the Sea Castle, 2009}}}}
[[Saida Municipal Stadium]] was inaugurated in 2000 for the [[Asian Cup 2000|Asian Football Confederation's Cup 2000]].