Tennes (Tabnit II in the

Phoenician language Phoenician ( ) is an extinct language, extinct Canaanite languages, Canaanite Semitic languages, Semitic language originally spoken in the region surrounding the cities of Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre and Sidon. Extensive Tyro-Sidonian trade and commerci ...

) was a

King of Sidon The King of Sidon was the ruler of Sidon, an ancient Phoenician city in what is now Lebanon. Scholars have pieced together the fragmented list from various archaeological finds since the 19th century. Egyptian period * c.1700s BC Zimrida * c. 13 ...

under the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

. His predecessor was

Abdashtart I Abdashtart I (in Greek, Straton I) was a king of the Phoenician city-state of Sidon who reigned from 365 BC to 352 BC following the death of his father, Baalshillem II. Reform His accession appears to have taken place in a period of econom ...

(in Greek, Straton I), the son of

Baalshillem II Baalshillem II was a Phoenician King of Sidon ( – ), the great-grandson of King Baalshillem I, and a vassal of the Achaemenid Empire. He succeeded Baana to the throne of Sidon, and was succeeded by his son Abdashtart I (in Gre ...

, who ruled the Phoenician city-state 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. ...

from (), having been associated in power by his father since the 380s. It remains uncertain whether his known heir and successor, Tennes, was his son or some other close relative.Sagona, C. (ed.), ''Beyond the Homeland: Markers in Phoenician Chronology'' (Leuven, 2008), p. 106

Rebellion of Sidon against the Achaemenid Empire

Soon after the failure of the Egyptian campaign of the Achaemenid ruler

Artaxerxes III Ochus ( grc-gre, Ὦχος ), known by his dynastic name Artaxerxes III ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 359/58 to 338 BC. He was the son and successor of A ...

, the Phoenicians declared their independence from Persian rule. This was also followed by rulers of Anatolia and

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 ...

. Artaxerxes initiated a counter-offensive against

by commanding the satrap of Syria

Belesys Belesys was a satrap of Syria for the Achaemenid Empire in the 4th century BCE. Belesys was involved in suppressing the rebellion of Sidon in 351 BCE. After the defeat of Artaxerxes III in his Egyptian campaign, Phoenicia declared independence ...

and

Mazaeus Mazaeus or Mazday (Aramaic: 𐡌𐡆𐡃𐡉 MZDY, Greek: Μαζαῖος ''Mazaios'') (died 328 BC) was an Achaemenid Persian noble and satrap of Cilicia and later satrap of Babylon for the Achaemenid Empire, a satrapy which he retained under Ale ...

, the satrap of Cilicia, to invade the city and to keep 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 ...

ns in check. Both satraps suffered crushing defeats at the hands of Tennes, who was aided by 4,000 Greek mercenaries sent to him by

Nectanebo II Nectanebo II (Egyptian: ; grc-gre, Νεκτανεβώς ) was the last native ruler of Ancient Egypt, as well as the third and last pharaoh from the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned from 358 to 340 BC. Under Nectanebo II, Egypt prospered ...

and commanded by

Mentor of Rhodes Mentor of Rhodes ( grc, Μέντωρ Ῥόδιος) () was a Greek mercenary and later Satrap of the Asiatic coast. He fought both for and against Artaxerxes III of Persia. He is also known as the first husband of Barsine, who later became mistr ...

. As a result, the Persian forces were driven out of

. After this, Artaxerxes personally led an army of 330,000 men against

. Artaxerxes' army comprised 300,000 foot soldiers, 30,000

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

, 300 triremes, and 500 transports or provision ships. After gathering this army, he sought assistance from the Greeks. Though refused aid by

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

, he succeeded in obtaining a thousand Theban heavily-armed

hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( grc, ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Polis, city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with ...

s under Lacrates, three thousand

Argives Argos (; el, Άργος ; grc, label=Ancient Greek, Ancient and Katharevousa, Ἄργος ) is a city in Argolis, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inh ...

under Nicostratus, and six thousand Æolians,

Ionians The Ionians (; el, Ἴωνες, ''Íōnes'', singular , ''Íōn'') were one of the four major tribes that the Greeks considered themselves to be divided into during the ancient period; the other three being the Dorians, Aeolians, and Achae ...

, and Dorians from the Greek cities of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. This Greek support was numerically small, amounting to no more than 10,000 men, but it formed, together with the Greek mercenaries from Egypt who went over to him afterwards, the force on which he placed his chief reliance, and to which the ultimate success of his expedition was mainly due. The approach of Artaxerxes sufficiently weakened the resolution of Tennes that he endeavoured to purchase his own pardon by delivering up 100 principal citizens of Sidon into the hands of the Persian king, and then admitting Artaxerxes within the defences of the town. Artaxerxes had the 100 citizens transfixed with

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

s, and when 500 more came out as supplicants to seek his mercy, Artaxerxes consigned them to the same fate. Sidon was then burnt to the ground, either by Artaxerxes or by the Sidonian citizens. Forty thousand people died in the conflagration. Artaxerxes sold the ruins at a high price to speculators, who calculated on reimbursing themselves by the treasures which they hoped to dig out from among the ashes. Tennes was put to death by Artaxerxes III in 346-345 BC. Artaxerxes later sent Jews who supported the revolt to

Hyrcania Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspia ...

, on the south coast of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tennes 4th-century BC rulers in Asia Kings of Sidon Rebellions against the Achaemenid Empire Rulers in the Achaemenid Empire People executed by the Achaemenid Empire 4th-century BC Phoenician people