TYRE AND SIDON

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23993, 17 June 1941, Page 7

TYRE AND SIDON

I'OBTS ONCE GBEAT SIEGES OF HISTORY BIBLICAL REFERENCES The ports of Tyre and Sidon, although they have shrunk into insignificance in modern times, each had its day of pomp and power, and each has a history stretching back into the dim mists of antiquity. Thev have frequent places in the pages of the Old and New Testaments, where they are nearly always mentioned toget her. Tvre; now a port of tbe Lebanese Republic, is built partly on an island and partly on the mainland. Once tbe great mart of the Mediterranean world, only the northern of the two harbours it once possessed still survives, and it is reduced to a small trade in cotton and tobacco. The first building of a causeway connecting the island with tbe shore is attributed to Hiram, King of Tyre, who was "ever a lover of David" and who entered into a treaty with Solomon to supply him with skilled labour and material for the building of his famous temple. Long Attacks Withstood From her island fortress, Tyre- could defy her enemies, and for the most part the might of Assyria and Babylon s'pent itself against her defences in vain. On one occasion the city was blockaded from land for live years, and in the sixth century B.C. it endured a Li-years siege from Nebuchadnezzar. In tbe year Tyre fell to Alexander the Great after a terrible siege lasting for seven months, and its inhabitants were slaughtered or sold into slavery. However, by the time of the early Itoman lOmperors Tyre bad become a flourishing port, and in mediaeval history it was a place of considerable importance, especially as the stronghold of tbe Crusaders. After the fall of Acre tbe Christians deserted the city, which was then destroyed by the Moslems. Sidon was tbe chief city of ancient Phoenicia, and was formerly famous for its purple dyes, glass and wines. During the Crusades it was alternately in the hands of the I 1 ranks and the Mohammedans, but finally fell into tbe bands of the latter in 1291. Denounced by Prophets Both the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel chanted the destruction of Tyre and Sidon in doom songs which incidentally reveal the dignity and power of those cities at that time. "Is this your joyous cit.v, whose antiquity is ol ancient days?" asks Isaiah. "Who hath taken counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants arc princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?" Ezekiel addresses Tyre as "Thou that art situate at tbe entry of the sea, which art merchant of the people for many isles . . . thy builders have perfected thy beauty. And the prophet goes on to detail the city's rich trade with many surrounding cities and nations, and her supremacy on the sea. In the New Testament Tyre and Sidon were favourably compared by Christ with the Galilean towns of Chorazin and Botbsaida and Capernaum. "ft shall be more tolerable foi Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you." At one time He had manv followers from the "borders of Tyre" and Sidon," and it was to that district that He withdrew on one occasion to seek rest and privacy. INDIAN REGIMENTS CAMPAIGN IN EAST AFRICA (Reed. 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, June 15 Besides Indian cavalry, eight regiments of the Indian Army are named bv the War Office as having taken part in recent operations in Fast Africa, says a British official wireless message. The.v are the Punjab Regiment, the Sikh Regiment, the Frontier Force Regiment, the Frontier Force Rifles, the Rajputaria Rifles, the Royal Garhwal Rifles, the Mahratta Light Infantry and the Baluch Regiment. Colonial forces which took part in the same campaign are given as the Sudan Defence Force, the King's African Rifles, the Gold Coast Regiment, and the Nigeria Regiment, while Cypriot and Palestinian units fought in Greece. BELGIUM'S PLIGHT FOOD POSITION CRITICAL LONDON, Juno 10 The food situation in Belgium is reported to be critical. This is said to bo due to the demands of the German troops, the "black" market, and the inability to obtain imports. Only one-quarter to one-half of the pre-war consumption of food is obtainable. In urban and industrial centres people aro unable to procure their full allowance of these small rations. CROATIA SIGNS PACT LONDON, June 16 Croatia joined the Axis Pact ceremonially at Venice yesterday. Ribbentrop, Ciano, Croatian and other pact representatives were present.