Baal I was a king of
Tyre (680–660 BC). His name is the same as that of the
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
n deity,
Baal
Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...
. He was tributary to the
Assyrians, who had conquered the rest of Phoenicia.
Treaty with Esarhaddon
In c. 675 BC, Baal I entered into a
vassal treaty with Esarhaddon
Esarhaddon, also spelled Essarhaddon, Assarhaddon and Ashurhaddon ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , also , meaning " Ashur has given me a brother"; Biblical Hebrew: ''ʾĒsar-Ḥaddōn'') was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of hi ...
(currently in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
) in exchange for Tyre's trading rights.
These two rulers are possibly depicted together on the
Victory stele of Esarhaddon
The Victory stele of Esarhaddon (also Zenjirli or Zincirli stele) is a dolerite stele commemorating the return of Esarhaddon after his army's 2nd battle and victory over Pharaoh Taharqa in northern ancient Egypt in 671 BC. It was discovered in 188 ...
, issued in c. 670 BC. In the stele, which was erected to commemorate the defeat of Egypt, the figure that supposedly represents the Phoenician king was shown with pierced lips tied to strings that were coiled around Esarhaddon's left hand.
Sources noted that Baal I was a prominent vassal and may have enjoyed exceptional favor in Assyria due to several factors. His navy helped the Assyrians capture
Abdi-Milkuti, the king of
Sidon
Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
, and cement Assyrian authority in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
.
He may also have assisted the Assyrians in their war against
Elam
Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
. Baal I was also the first ruler in the list of tributaries who provided materials for Esarhaddon's palace at
Nineveh
Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...
.
By 671, BC Baal I defied Assyria after it secured an alliance with
Taharqo, king of Cush.
Esarhaddon attacked Tyre and Baal I later capitulated, ceding most of his mainland towns. His daughters were sent to the Assyrian king along with substantial dowries. Scholars, however, cited that Esarhaddon failed to conquer Tyre.
Baal I was never captured and he kept his throne. While Esarhaddon claimed in the Victory Stele that he conquered the city, he merely managed to blockade the island, cutting it from its supply of water and food.
Ashurbanipal's reign
The king of Tyre was again cited in the inscriptions of Esarhaddon's son Ashurbanipal. He was first mentioned for his participation in the king's second campaign along the Delta and the Nile valley to establish the Assyrian domination in Egypt.
The inscriptions recorded a later war with Baal I due to his relations with Egypt. The king may have also refused to pay tribute.
In retaliation, Ashurbanipal blockaded the harbor of Tyre until Baal I surrendered.
Ashurbanipal's account of the siege stated:
ecausehe did not honor my royal commands and did not obey the pronouncements from my lips, I set up blockades against him. To prevent his people from leaving, I reinforced its garrison. By sea and dry land, I took control of all of his routes and thus cut off all access to him.
Around 668, Baal I was cited paying tribute and sending naval assistance to Ashurbarnipal's campaign against Egypt.
He also sent his son Yehawmelek to
Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal (Neo-Assyrian language, Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "Ashur (god), Ashur is the creator of the heir") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BCE to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king o ...
(r. 668–627 BC) with heavy tribute. According to Ashurbanipal's own account, Baal's son was later sent back as an act of mercy.
Baal also enjoyed special rights and privileges even on the mainland, which some scholars suggested may have required a new treaty.
References
See also
*
List of Kings of Tyre
The King of Tyre was the ruler of Tyre, the ancient Phoenician city in what is now Lebanon. The traditional list of 12 kings, with reigns dated to 990–785 BC, is derived from the lost history of Menander of Ephesus as quoted by Josephus in ''Ag ...
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Kings of Tyre
7th-century BC rulers in Asia
People from Tyre, Lebanon
7th-century BC Phoenician people