Tyre is an ancient city spoken of in scripture. Its inhabitants were the civilization which invented the alphabet. This is also the city where Jezebel came from. According to the writings in scripture, it was ruled over by none other than the devil himself. A prophecy was given whereby the city would be utterly destroyed and flattened to the ground and that fishermen would spread their nets out to dry on its bare surface. And yet many of the wealthy inhabitants of Tyre escaped to the sea, to their colony in Africa which would become Rome’s main rival for mastery of the world. We will start by looking at some of the biblical references related to Tyre, and then go through some of the history and significant wars leading to its destruction.

Biblical references

In scripture Tyre is first prominently mentioned in relation to king Solomon, having made a covenant with him to supply cedar and skilled craftsmen for the temple in Jerusalem in exchange for Solomon supplying the island with agricultural products.

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Tyre was the foremost producer of luxury goods and the major trader and naval power in the region. Ezekiel 26-28 is a long prophecy describing Tyre’s beauty and wealth and also foretelling its annihilation. The three chapters have countless similarities with the judgement of Mystery Babylon in Revelation 17-18. Here is a snippet of the chapter referring to Tyre’s trading glory:

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Clearly there is an emphasis on luxury goods throughout this above description. Now lets compare this with the prophecy of Mystery Babylon:

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The resemblance is undeniable. Many interpret Mystery Babylon to be referring simply to Rome, but there is definitely a Tyrian connection to be made here.

Following the description of Tyre’s beauty and naval empire there is a fearsome prophecy of extinction:

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This is not just a prophecy of capture or plunder. Being made like the “top of a rock” and a place bare enough for fishermen to dry their nets on speak to total annihilation. Not only will Tyre be taken over by hostile forces, but they will raze its buildings to the ground and render it uninhabitable. Rarely is a biblical prophecy so harsh in describing a future judgement.

The king of Tyre: Lucifer

The first portion of Ezekiel 28 prophesies to the prince of Tyre, while the last half refers to the “king.” Why is this subtle detail important? The “prince” of Tyre refers to the human ruler, but the “king” is referring to Lucifer, the invisible ruler of the city.

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Clearly the above passage is not referring to a human ruler. Was the human king of Tyre in the garden of God? Created with pipes and musical instruments built in? Can the human ruler of Tyre be called the “anointed cherub”? On the mountain of God? Walking back and forth among the fiery stones?

Obviously the “king” of Tyre is a reference to Lucifer and not the city’s mere human ruler.

Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander’s Attacks

The destruction of Tyre was supposed to have been fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar, but he was unsuccessful in this mission and could not take the island. From 586–573 BC Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Tyre. Although commanding the most powerful empire in the world, he could not break their defenses, which were considered impregnable. In addition, Tyre maintained naval superiority and could ferry in food and resources, bypassing the siege. As a result, the Babylonians had to abandon the siege. This is failed mission is mentioned later on in Ezekiel:

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So for a while it seemed as if Tyre had escaped fate and that the prophecy would not come true. Far from destruction they were in fact only growing in prosperity, sending out colonies to Africa and Spain to supply them with silver and trading products. In 333BC the Tyrians pushed their luck a little too hard as Alexander the Great (widely considered the greatest general of all time) entered the territory. He requested that the Tyrians would allow him to make an honorary sacrifice to their god Melqart in their island city. The Tyrians rebuffed Alexander, suggesting he sacrifice in their sister city on the mainland and forbidding him access to their island. Enraged, Alexander destroyed the mainland city and threw its rubble into the sea to build a land-bridge to the island city. Even today Tyre is no longer an island, but a peninsula due to this act. The Greek forces crossed this bridge with siege engines and sacked the island city. He flattened Tyre and sold its remaining inhabitants into slavery.

Plot twist

When Alexander broke down the walls of Tyre, all of the wealthiest and most powerful inhabitants had already been planning several steps ahead. Tyre had full naval supremacy and thus they moved their families, resources, and wealth to one of the Tyrian colonies known as “Carthage.” This African base would soon rival Rome for mastery of the globe. When Alexander broke through, it was mostly the poor and soldiers who were left to bear the brunt of the Greek hostility. The city had already been evacuated of much of its treasure, merchandise, ships, women and children.

Carthage: Tyre 2.0

At the conclusion of the siege, the ancient historian Diodorus of Sicily mentions:

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So Tyre lived on, in its African colony Carthage. Carthage controlled most of the north African shoreline as well as Spain and several Mediterranean islands. The influx of wealthy Tyrian refugees could only cause the city to expand and prosper in even greater measures than before. The commercial success of Carthage brought jealousy to Rome, a city eager for war and conquest. Much of Rome’s early wealth came from plunder and tribute from conquered territory. Rome however, lacked a real navy and thus it appeared there would be no way they could take over the lucrative Mediterranean trade routes.

The 1st and 2nd Punic Wars

1st: The Mamertines, a group of mercenaries on Sicily being attacked by Syracuse, appealed to both Rome and Carthage for assistance. This resulted in a competition among the two formerly friendly great powers for control of this sphere of influence. Rome was powerful only on land while Carthage dominated the seas and was also reasonably strong on land. Fortunately for Rome there just so happened to have been a Carthaginian naval vessel which ran had aground on Roman territory. The Romans reverse-engineered this Carthaginian design and began a massive construction project using this ship as a template for their own navy, immediately building 120 ships. There was one major innovation however, which was the “corvus.” This was a bridge with a pike on the end that could be lowered onto the enemy ship when in close proximity. The Roman legions would then storm the enemy ship, turning the naval battle into a land battle and thus the vessel would be easily captured. Although Carthage had a larger territory and greater wealth, they lost the war due to the innovative Roman strategies and adaptability. Carthage was stuck with a treaty requiring them to pay the Romans 3,200 talents of silver (82,000 kg) as well as handing over Sicily and its surrounding islands.

2nd: In 219 BC the famous Carthaginian general Hannibal laid siege to Saguntum, a city under Roman protection. The Romans soon formally declared war on Carthage. This initiated the second Punic war, the WW2 of its time and the most destructive ancient battle to have ever happened. Over 750,000 would die in this conflict; a record given the ancient world’s low population. Hannibal was in a difficult situation. The Romans now controlled the seas, and the only land route from Spain to Italy would be through the treacherous Alps. Unbelievably the general somehow managed to cross this mountain range with his entire army despite all of the hostile tribes in the area as well as the cold weather and lack of supplies; even the war elephants made it across. The Romans were completely caught off guard by this strategic maneuver and immediately put on the defensive. Hannibal won battles at Ticinus, Trebia, and Lake Trasimene, and the Romans under the general Fabian begin using scorched earth tactics and avoiding open engagement. Eventually the armies met in the battle of Cannae, where Hannibal brought a force of 50,000 mercenaries against a larger Roman army of 85,000 legionaries. Employing the “double envelopment” tactic, he slaughtered the Roman legions while losing less than 6,000 of his own troops. Roman allies began to defect en-mass to Hannibal, including most of southern Italy. Hannibal then began to march towards the ultimate prize: the city of Rome.

With all this victory it seems surprising that Carthage could still manage to lose the war. The city was not willing to send any serious reinforcements to their general or to conscript an army of citizens however. They were not willing to fight a total war like the Romans. The civilian population was known to be hostile and uncooperative to their military leaders, sometimes crucifying generals who failed in battle. Hannibal was not given enough resources, siege equipment, and reinforcements from Carthage to take Rome, although he was on their doorstep. The Carthaginian armies fought by the other general Hasdrubal, soon suffered defeat in Spain, cutting off supplies. Eventually Hannibal was forced to return to Africa with all his military gains lost. Scipio invaded Africa and defeated Hannibal’s army, resulting in heavy war indemnities. 300,000kg of silver were required, Carthage was required to destroy all of their ships except 10 (to ward off pirates), they lost all of its territory except for the area directly surrounding the city, and they were forbidden to wage any war without permission from Rome. Rome was now the undisputed dominant power in the world and would be for the next 600 years. All of this loss was entirely preventable if Carthage had been willing to put their all into the fight like Rome. Carthage had the clear advantage and could have easily won if they were willing to supply and reinforce their general so that he could capture Rome. Instead, Carthage would soon suffer total destruction and extinction from the face of the earth.

Total Annihilation: The Third Punic War

Rome’s ally Numidia, an African state neighboring Carthage, took advantage of the weakness of their former master and began raiding the countryside around Carthage. Carthage decided to fight back, but lost in battle against the Numidians. This alone would be bad enough, but to add insult to injury Rome considered this a violation of treaty since permission had not been first requested. Rome laid out an ultimatum, requiring the inhabitants of Carthage to completely destroy their own city and rebuild it 16km inland. This of course was an impossible request, but especially given Carthage was a seafaring culture and had no experience apart from the waters. Upon their refusal, Rome laid siege to and broke into the city. The slaughter was unlike anything previous. Killing squads were rotated to avoid the Roman troops being too traumatized by the continuous massacre of civilians. The civilians who survived the onslaught were all sold into slavery and the city was burnt and leveled to the ground.

The Roman general Scipio Africanus understood that there would come a time when Rome too would meet a destructive fate. Here is a quote from the Roman general Scipio:

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Afterwards, the leaders sowed the city soil with salt. This meant no crops or gardens would ever be able to grow in that ground and thus the city would never be inhabited in the future. This the gruesome biblical prophecy of utter desolation was finally fulfilled.

Why such harsh judgement?

So we see the biblical prophecy against Tyre was fulfilled only partially on Tyre itself, but moreso on its spiritual successor Carthage. To understand why total destruction was given rather than capture, we must look at the sins of Carthage. They were focused greatly on material wealth and luxury over personal virtue and sacrifice. This resulted in them having no standing army except for mercenaries which could be hired from neighbors. Ezekiel 16:49 “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.”

And yet this was far from their worst sin.

Moloch worship and child sacrifice were invented by the Phoenicians (Tyre and colonies). The name “Moloch” is related to the Tyrian god “Melqart.” Baal Haamon is another god which required child sacrifice. The word “Haamon” means “burning,” and there would be a fire burning continuously around the god’s statue where live children or infants would be thrown to. If a major commercial voyage was to take place, a pledge would sometimes be made where upon the vessel returning successfully, a child would be offered to the god in thanks. Even as the city Carthage was being destroyed, the last act of the leadership was the leader’s wife sacrificing her children in the fire, then leaping into the flames herself.

Here is a historical description of the practice

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One of the justifications for Israel’s slaughter of the Canaanites was the child sacrifice they were engaged in, among other things.

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Abortion and the family

The family is no longer considered important. Marriage is falling. Relationships are temporary with indefinite boyfriend/girlfriend setups. Boomers and Millennials blame each other for everything wrong in the world and do not consider the other’s views. Worst of all, abortion is prominent.

Never before had there been a culture so enthusiastic in sacrificing their children. Throughout human history children were considered a precious gift. Other cultures such as the Greek Spartans considered women who died in childbirth as heroes equivalent to soldiers who died in war. Carthage on the other hand thought of children as disposable commodities. The westernized world is the exception, just like Carthage, where wealth and convenience are valued over family, committing this abomination against God to have the parents sacrifice their own children through abortion just to have a little extra wealth and leisure time and avoid “inconvenience.”

We would do well to remember the Roman general Scipio’s words, that no empire ever does last forever. We are beginning to see many parallels between the western world and Carthage and this is not a good place to be. Rather than being willing to pay for orphanages or group homes, we complain about the economic burden that would take place if we had to take care of these children. The blood cries out from the ground and the vials of wrath are continuously filling. What happens when the vials overflow? Carthage found out the hard way and perhaps it will not be long before we do as well. We have to reject abortion and be willing to do what it takes to take care of unwanted children. Even if orphanages are not a perfect solution, they are a better one than death. We need to be willing to bear the expense. Allowing children to be killed thoughtlessly and conveniently will bring the blood upon the hands of our civilization. That is a far heavier price to pay than any expense to take care of unwanted children.

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