The cities and Assyria

CHAPTER VIII

The Phœnician Cities and the Assyrian Empire—How the Cities Preserved Their Autonomy Through Tribute, Fleet, and Fortress

The Assyrian Empire was the greatest military power the Near East had ever seen. From the ninth to the seventh century BCE, its armies conquered Mesopotamia, Syria, the Levant, and Egypt. They crushed Israel. They crushed Damascus. They crushed Babylon. They crushed Thebes. They did not crush Tyre.

The Early Period: Tribute and Autonomy

Under Ashurnasirpal II and Shalmaneser III, the Phœnician cities paid tribute but retained their native kings, their religion, and their commercial networks. The Assyrians wanted cedar, metals, and luxury goods — not administrative control over a maritime people whose skills they could not replicate.

The Crisis of the Eighth Century

Under Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, and Sennacherib, Assyrian policy shifted toward annexation. Israel was destroyed in 722 BCE. The Phœnician cities paid heavier tribute and survived. Sennacherib's campaign against Tyre forced King Luli to flee to Cyprus, but the island itself was never captured.

Correction of the Hebrew Account

The prophet Isaiah (23) predicted Tyre's destruction by Assyria. It never happened. The Hebrew oracles against Tyre are theological wish‑fulfilment, not history.

Esarhaddon and the Treaty with Ba'al of Tyre

Esarhaddon's prism lists twelve kings of the seacoast, including Ba'al of Tyre and Manasseh of Judah. The treaty between Esarhaddon and Ba'al, found at Nineveh, grants Tyre extensive commercial rights in exchange for tribute. The Assyrians recognised that controlling Tyre required accommodation, not annihilation.

Sidon was less fortunate. In 677/676 BCE, Esarhaddon sacked the city and built a new Assyrian centre on its ruins. The destruction of Sidon was a warning, but Tyre adapted and survived.

Ashurbanipal and the Egyptian Campaign

Ashurbanipal's annals record that the Phœnician cities supplied ships and sailors for the invasion of Egypt. Without the Phœnician fleet, the Assyrian army could not have reached Thebes. The dependence was mutual.

The Phœnician Strategy

The cities never openly rebelled. They paid tribute, supplied ships, and preserved their autonomy. When the Assyrian Empire collapsed in 612 BCE, the Phœnician cities were still standing.

Sources for Chapter VIII: A.K. Grayson, Assyrian Royal Inscriptions (1972–1976); Esarhaddon's Prism B, British Museum; Esarhaddon's Treaty with Ba'al of Tyre (SAA 2.5); Isaiah 23; Josephus, Antiquities IX.283–287; Josette Elayi, The History of Phoenicia (2013); H. Jacob Katzenstein, The History of Tyre (1973).