Sidon

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Sidon صيدا Saida
City
Sidon Location in Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°33′38″N 35°23′53″E / 33.56056°N 35.39806°E / 33.56056; 35.39806Coordinates: 33°33′38″N 35°23′53″E / 33.56056°N 35.39806°E / 33.56056; 35.39806
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	South Governorate
District	Sidon District
Area
• City	3 sq mi (7 km2)
• Metro	10 sq mi (25 km2)
Population
• City	80,000
• Metro	266,000
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Website	www.sidon.com

Sidon, known locally as Sayda (Arabic: صيدا‎), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Tyre and 40 km (25 miles) south of the capital, Beirut. In the Book of Genesis, Sidon was the first-born son of Canaan, who was a son of Ham, thereby making Sidon a great grandson of Noah.

Name[edit]

The Phoenician name Ṣīdūn (𐤑𐤃𐤍, ṣdn) probably meant "fishery" or "fishing town".^[1] It appears in Biblical Hebrew as Ṣīḏōn (צִידוֹן) and in Syriac as Ṣidon (ܨܝܕܘܢ). This was hellenized as Sidṓn (Greek: Σιδών), which was Latinized as Sidon. The name appears in Classical Arabic as Saydoon (صَيْدونْ) and in Modern Arabic as Ṣaydā (صيدا).

As a Roman colony, it was notionally refounded and given the formal name Colonia Aurelia Pia Sidon to honor its imperial sponsor.

History[edit]

Persian style bull protome found in Sidon gives testimony of the Aecheminid rule and influence. Marble, 5th century BC

Sidon has been inhabited since very early in prehistory. The archaeological site of Sidon II shows a lithic assemblage dating to the Acheulean, whilst finds at Sidon III include a Heavy Neolithic assemblage suggested to date just prior to the invention of pottery.^[2] It was one of the most important Phoenician cities, and it may have been the oldest. From there and other ports a great Mediterranean commercial empire was founded. Homer praised the skill of its craftsmen in producing glass, purple dyes, and its women's skill at the art of embroidery. It was also from here that a colonizing party went to found the city of Tyre. Tyre also grew into a great city, and in subsequent years there was competition between the two, each claiming to be the metropolis ('Mother City') of Phoenicia. Glass manufacturing, Sidon's most important enterprise in the Phoenician era, was conducted on a vast scale, and the production of purple dye was almost as important. The small shell of the Murex trunculus was broken in order to extract the pigment that was so rare it became the mark of royalty.

The Peutinger Map showing Tyre and Sidon in the 4th century

In AD 1855, the sarcophagus of King Eshmun’azar II was discovered. From a Phoenician inscription on its lid, it appears that he was a "king of the Sidonians," probably in the 5th century BC, and that his mother was a priestess of ‘Ashtart, "the goddess of the Sidonians."^[3] In this inscription the gods Eshmun and Ba‘al Sidon 'Lord of Sidon' (who may or may not be the same) are mentioned as chief gods of the Sidonians. ‘Ashtart is entitled ‘Ashtart-Shem-Ba‘al '‘Ashtart the name of the Lord', a title also found in an Ugaritic text.

Sidon Sea Castle, built by the Crusaders in AD 1228

In the years before Christianity, Sidon had many conquerors: Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, and finally Romans. Herod the Great visited Sidon. Both Jesus and Saint Paul are said to have visited it, too (see Biblical Sidon, below). The city was eventually conquered by the Arabs and then by the Ottoman Turks.

Like other Phoenician city-states, Sidon suffered from a succession of conquerors. At the end of the Persian era in 351 BC, it was invaded by the emperor Artaxerxes III and then by Alexander the Great in 333 BC, when the Hellenistic era of Sidon began. Under the successors of Alexander, it enjoyed relative autonomy and organized games and competitions in which the greatest athletes of the region participated. In the Necropolis of Sidon, important finds such as the Alexander Sarcophagus, the Lycian tomb and the Sarcophagus of the Crying Women were discovered, which are now on display at the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul.^[4]

When Sidon fell under Roman domination, it continued to mint its own silver coins. The Romans also built a theater and other major monuments in the city. In the reign of Elagabalus, a Roman colony was established there. During the Byzantine period, when the great earthquake of AD 551 destroyed most of the cities of Phoenice, Beirut's School of Law took refuge in Sidon. The town continued quietly for the next century, until it was conquered by the Arabs in AD 636.

Sidon with a view of the Mediterranean coast

On 4 December 1110 Sidon was captured, a decade after the First Crusade, by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem and King Sigurd I of Norway. It then became the centre of the Lordship of Sidon, an important lordship in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Saladin captured it from the Crusaders in 1187, but German Crusaders restored it to Christian control in the Crusade of 1197. It would remain an important Crusader stronghold until it was finally destroyed by the Saracens in 1249. In 1260 it was again destroyed by the Mongols. The remains of the original walls are still visible.

After Sidon came under Ottoman Turkish rule in the early 16th century, it became the capital of the Sidon Eyalet (province) and regained a great deal of its earlier commercial importance.

During the Egyptian–Ottoman War, Sidon - like much of Ottoman Syria - was occupied by the forces of Muhammad Ali of Egypt. His ambitions were opposed by the British Empire, which backed the Ottomans. The British Admiral Charles Napier, commanding a mixed squadron of British, Turkish and Austrian ships, bombarded Sidon on September 26, 1840, and landed with the storming column. Sidon capitulated in two days, and the British went on to Acre. This action was recalled in two Royal Navy vessels being named "HMS Sidon".

Modern era[edit]

After World War I it became part of the French Mandate of Lebanon. During World War II the city, together with the rest of Lebanon, was captured by British forces fighting against the Vichy French, and following the war it became a major city of independent Lebanon.

Following the Palestinian exodus in 1948, a considerable number of Palestinian refugees arrived in Sidon, as in other Lebanese cities, and were settled at the large refugee camps of Ein el-Hilweh and Mieh Mieh. At first these consisted of enormous rows of tents, but gradually houses were constructed. The refugee camps constituted de facto neighborhoods of Sidon, but had a separate legal and political status which made them into a kind of enclaves. At the same time, the remaining Jews of the city fled, and the Jewish cemetery fell into disrepair, threatened by coastal erosion.

Sidon was a small fishing town of 10,000 inhabitants in 1900, but studies in 2000 showed a population of 65,000 in the city, and around 200,000 in the metropolitan area. The little level land around the city is used for cultivation of some wheat, vegetables, and fruits, especially citrus and bananas. The fishing in the city remains active with a newly opened fishery that sells fresh fish by bidding every morning. The ancient basin was transformed into a fishing port, while a small quay was constructed to receive small commercial vessels. (Refer to the "Old City" and the "Architecture and Landscape" sections below).

Panorama of Sidon as seen from the top of the Sea Castle, 2009

Saida International Stadium was inaugurated in 2000 for the Asian Football Confederation's Cup 2000.

Impact on Sidon of regional underdevelopment[edit]

According to a recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report "data also point to an increase in urban poverty especially in Lebanon's largest cities suburbs such as Beirut, Tripoli and Saida, as illustrated by poverty-driven symptoms (child labour, over-crowding and deteriorated environment conditions)."^[5]

In another UNDP report, the author discusses the development predominance of Beirut over the rest of the regions of Lebanon (North, South and Beqaa) is a well-known imbalance that can be dated to the early 19th century.^[6] With the expansion of Beirut in the 1870s, urban growth in the future capital-city outgrew Tripoli and Saida. Transportation routes, missionary schools, universities and hospitals as well as the Beirut port development and the commerce of silk participated to the fortification of Beirut as a major trade center for Mediterranean exchange (ARNAUD 1993; LABAKI 1999: 23). However, the establishment of Great Lebanon in 1920, under the French mandate, added the poorer areas of the North (Akkar), Beqaa (Baalbak-Hermel) and the South (Jabal Aamel) to the relatively affluent cities of Mount Lebanon. This addition made of Lebanon a country composed of unequally developed regions. This legacy remains a heavy load to bear socially, culturally, economically and politically. Even though the public policies elaborated by the young Lebanese State were attempting to have regional perspectives, the early urban planning schemes reveal a development approach exclusively axed on Beirut and its suburbs.

The post war development policy of the State, promoted by Hariri government (1992–1998), was centred around balanced development and is widely inspired by the 1943 Pact and the 1989 Taef agreement (LABAKI1993: 104). However the application of this policy aims mainly at the rehabilitation and construction of roads and infrastructures (electricity, telephone, sewage). Another of its components is the rehabilitation of government buildings (airport, port, schools, universities and hospitals). Transportation projects (mainly concentrated on the coastal line) constitute 25% of the budget of 10-year economic plan developed by the CDR (BAALBAKI 1994: 90). However, all these projects are predominantly concentrated around Beirut, ignoring the regions.

The Former Makab (waste dump) and the Treatment Plant[edit]

Near the southern entrance to the city used to be a 'rubbish mountain' called at the time by the locals the Makab; namely, a 600,000 cubic metre heap that reached the height of a four-story building. It was originally created to dispose of the remains of buildings destroyed in Israeli air strikes during the 1982 invasion, but it then became the main dump for the city. Growing out of the sea, it became an environmental hazard, with medical waste and plastic bags polluting nearby fishing grounds.^{[citation needed]}

Sidon politicians, including the Hariri family, failed for decades to resolve the Makab crisis—which has endangered residents health (especially during episodic burning). In 2004, Engineer Hamzi Moghrabi, a Sidon native, conceived the idea to establish a treatment plant for the City's decades-old chronic waste problem. He established the privately funded IBC Enviro and the treatment plant became operational in 2013.^{[citation needed]}

The Ministry of Environment came up with a $50,000+ plan to clean the whole area and transform the dump into a green space, along with other heaps in the country. Qamla beach in Sidon, a coast in close proximity to the Sea Castle, witnessed a large municipal cleanup in May 2011, as it was an easy target of rubbish being washed up by the Makab. These plans aim to revive the former glory of the city's coasts and attract tourists who avoided swimming in Sidon's sea before. The project of cleaning the region where the waste dump has already started, and currently a waves-barrier is being built, and the vast bulk of the waste dump being cleared.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Local government[edit]

The city of Sidon is administrated by the Municipality of Sidon. The municipality is constituted of a council of 21 members including the City Mayor and his Deputy. It has administrative and financial independence but remains under the control and supervision of the central government, specifically the Ministry of Interior. The municipality's jurisdiction is limited to a region of 786 hectares in area and 5 meters in elevation, while each of the city's suburbs is administrated by its own independent municipal council. Sidon is the center of the Governorate of South Lebanon, and hosts the seat of the Governor of Southern Lebanon. The city is also the center of the Sidon District and the Union of Sidon and Zahrani Municipalities (founded in 1978 and contains 15 municipalities). Sidon hosts the southern regional headquarters of a series of governmental facilities like the Central Bank of Lebanon, Électricité du Liban, Central Telecommunications Station and others. It is also the home of the Justice Palace of South Lebanon in its new headquarters on East Boulevard (the old headquarters were an old Ottoman Saray that is currently occupied by the LSF and is planned to be transformed into a cultural center by the municipality).^{[citation needed]}

In the 2000 and 2005 parliamentary elections, the Sidon District along with the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts formed the first electoral district of South Lebanon. However, in the 2009 elections – and due to the reactivation of the 1960 electoral law – the city of Sidon was separated from its district to form a separate electoral district.^{[citation needed]}

Demographics[edit]

Sidon is the seat of the Greek Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Sidon and Deir el Qamar, and has housed a significant Catholic population throughout its history.^{[citation needed]} Sidon also hosts the seats of the Sunni Mufti and the Shiite Ayatollah of South Lebanon.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1930s, when Lebanon was still under the French mandate, Sidon had the largest Jewish population in Lebanon, estimated at 3,588, with 3,060 in Beirut.^[11]

Main sights[edit]

Alleyway inside the Old Souks.

• Sidon Sea Castle, a fortress built by the Crusaders in the early 13th century. It is located near the Port of Sidon.
• Sidon Soap Museum. It traces the history of the soap making in the region and its different manufacturing steps.
• Khan el Franj ("Caravanserai of the French"), built by Emir Fakhreddine in the 17th century to accommodate French merchants and goods in order to develop trade with Europe. This is a typical khan with a large rectangular courtyard and a central fountain surrounded by covered galleries.
• Debbane Palace, a historical residence built in 1721, an example of Arab-Ottoman architecture. It is currently in the process of being transformed into the History Museum of Sidon.^[12] This villa was earlier occupied by the Hammoud family in the 18th century and also by members of the famous Ottoman aristocrats of the Abaza clan in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The vaults at the ground level being originally stables for the villa residents and then turned into shops as part of the old souks, and known until recent time by association to the Abazas.
• The Castle of St. Louis (Qalaat Al Muizz). It was built by the Crusaders in the 13th century on top of the remains of a fortress built by the Fatimid caliph Al Muizz. It is located to the south of the Old Souks near Murex Hill.
• Eshmun Temple, dedicated to the Phoenician God of healing. Built in the 7th century BC, it is located in the north of Sidon near the Awali river.
• The British War Cemetery in Sidon. Opened in 1943 by units of His Majesty's (King George VI) British Forces occupying the Lebanon after the 1941 campaign against the Vichy French troops. It was originally used for the burial of men who died while serving with the occupation force, but subsequently the graves of a number of the casualties of the 1941 campaign were moved into the cemetery from other burial grounds or from isolated positions in the vicinity. The cemetery now contains 176 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War and nine war graves of other nationalities. It was designed by G. Vey. It is perhaps that only garden in modern Sidon that is elegantly kept and cared for. It is not a public garden but can be visited when the wardens have its gateways opened^[13]

Education[edit]

Sidon is home to numerous educational facilities ranging from public elementary schools to private universities. According to a 2006 study, the city is home to 29 schools that serve a total of 18,731 students: 37% are in public schools, 63% are in private schools. Sidon also contains 10 universities, 5 of which are private universities.

Archaeology[edit]

Sidon I is an archaeological site located to the east of the city, south of the road to Jezzine. An assemblage of flint tools was found by P. E. Gigues suggested to date between 3800 and 3200 BC. The collection included narrow axes or chisels that were polished on one side and flaked on the other, similar to ones found at Ain Cheikh, Nahr Zahrani and Gelal en Namous.^[2] The collection appears to have gone missing from the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut.^[14]

Sidon II is said to be "near the church" at approximately fifty meters above sea level. P. E. Gigues suggested that the industry found on the surface of this site dated to the Acheulean.^[2]

Sidon III was found by E. Passemard in the 1920s, who made a collection of material that is now in the National Museum of Beirut marked "Camp de l'Aviation". It includes large flint and chert bifacials that may be of Heavy Neolithic origin.^[2]

Sidon IV is the tell mound of ancient Sidon with Early Bronze Age (3200 BC -) deposits, now located underneath the ruined Saint Louis Castle and what are also thought to be the ruins of a Roman theatre.^[2]

In indication of the high-profile of the old city of Sidon in archaeological expeditions, and mainly in the 19th century, in October 1860 the famous French scholar Ernest Renan was entrusted with an archaeological mission to Lebanon, which included the search for the antique parts of Sidon. The Phoenician inscriptions that he discovered, and his field data, were eventually published in his notebook the: Mission de Phénicie (1864–1874; Phoenician Expedition).

The St. Louis land-castle grounds were excavated in 1914–1920 by a French team. Then eastwards a new site was also excavated by another generation of French expeditions in the 1960s. This same site received renewed attention in 1998 when the Directorate General of Antiquities in Lebanon authorized the British Museum to begin excavations on this area of land that was specifically demarcated for archaeological research. This has resulted in published papers, with a special focus on studying ceramics.^[15]

The archaeological fieldwork was not fully undertaken since the independence of the Lebanon. The main finds are displayed in the National Museum in Beirut. The fieldwork was also interrupted during the long civil war period, and it is now resumed but at a timid and slow scale, and not involving major international expeditions or expertise. Perhaps this is also indicative of the general lack in cultural interests among the authorities of this city, and almost of the non-existence of notable intellectual activities in its modern life. There are signs that the locals are beginning to recognise the value of the medieval quarters, but this remains linked to minor individual initiatives and not a coordinated collective effort to rehabilitate it like it has been the case with Byblos, even though the old district of Sidon contains a great wealth in old and ancient architecture.

The Biblical Sidon[edit]

Shrine commemorating the last meeting place between St. Paul and St. Peter inside the Old City of Sidon.

The Bible describes Sidon (צִידוֹן‬ Tsīdōn) in several passages:

• It received its name from the "first-born" of Canaan, the grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:15, 19).
• The Tribe of Zebulun has a frontier on Sidon. (Gen. 49:13)
• It was the first home of the Phoenicians on the coast of Canaan, and from its extensive commercial relations became a "great" city. (Joshua 11:8; 19:28).
• It was the mother city of Tyre. It lay within the lot of the tribe of Asher, but was never subdued (Judges 1:31).
• The Sidonians long oppressed Israel (Judges 10:12).
• From the time of David its glory began to wane, and Tyre, its "virgin daughter" (Isaiah 23:12), rose to its place of pre-eminence.
• Solomon entered into a matrimonial alliance with the Sidonians, and thus their form of idolatrous worship found a place in the land of Israel (1 Kings 11:1, 33).
• Jezebel was a Sidonian princess (1 Kings 16:31).
• It was famous for its manufactures and arts, as well as for its commerce (1 Kings 5:6; 1 Chronicles 22:4; Ezekiel 27:8).
• It is frequently referred to by the prophets (Isaiah 23:2, 4, 12; Jeremiah 25:22; 27:3; 47:4; Ezekiel 27:8; 28:21, 22; 32:30; Joel 3:4).
• Elijah sojourned in Sidon, performing miracles (1 Kings 17:9–24; Luke 4:26).
• Jesus visited the region or "coasts" (King James Version) of Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 15:21; Mark 7:24) and from this region many came forth to hear him preaching (Mark 3:8; Luke 6:17), leading to the stark contrast in Matthew 11:21–23 to Korazin and Bethsaida.
• From Sidon, at which his ship put in after leaving Caesarea, Paul finally sailed for Rome (Acts 27:3, 4).

Sanchuniathon[edit]

• The account ascribed to the Phoenician historian Sanchuniathon makes Sidon a daughter of Pontus, son of Nereus. She is said there to have first invented musical song from the sweetness of her voice.

International relations[edit]

Twin towns and sister cities[edit]

Sidon is twinned with:

• Constanţa, Romania
• Sofia, Bulgaria
• Sochi, Russia

Notable families[edit]

• Azzam
• Jawhari
• Abou Zaynab
• Osseiran
• El-Bizri
• Rizkallah (Riskalas / Greek)
• Bsat
• Hariri
• Jomaa
• Lutfi
• Jumblatt-not originally from Sidon
• El Jubeily
• Moghrabi
• Saad
• Sabeh Aayoun (سبع أعين)
• Saniora
• Shammaa
• Baba
• Solh
• Zaatari
• Zantout
• Zeidan
• Ansari
• Kalo
• Gharamti

Notable people[edit]

In antiquity and the pre-modern era[edit]

• Dorotheus of Sidon (1st century BC) Greek astrologer associated with Sidon.
• Zeno of Sidon, an Epicurean philosopher of the 1st century BC (c. 150 – c. 75 BC), who was born in the city of Sidon in Phoenicia.
• Antipater of Sidon (2nd century BC): Poet
• Boethus of Sidon (c. 75 – c. 10 BC): Peripatetic philosopher
• Diodotus of Sidon (1st century BC): Peripatetic philosopher, brother of Boethus of Sidon and one of the teachers of the historian, geographer, and philosopher Strabo
• Early-Christian martyrs, Zenobius and his sister Zenobia, executed under Diocletian, 3rd century AD
• Boulos (Paul) al-Rahib, Melchite Bishop and scholar of the 13th century AD
• Euthymios Saifi, Melkite Catholic Bishop of Sidon and Tyre, 1643–1723
• Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera, archer who is associated with the stories of Jesus Christ in the New Testament

In the modern era[edit]

• Adel Osseiran, co-founder of modern Lebanon, was a prominent Lebanese statesman, a former Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, and one of the founding fathers of the Lebanese Republic. Adel Osseiran played a significant role at various points in the history of modern Lebanon, such as the struggle for independence (1943), the mini-civil war of 1958, and the Lausanne Conference for Peace(1984)
• Raymond Audi, international banker, and former Minister of Refugees in the government of Lebanon
• Ali Osseiran Member of Parliament and Former Minister
• Afif al-Bizri, (Afif El-Bizri) former Chief of Staff of the Syrian armed forces with a high-standing military rank and political profile during the Syria-Egypt republican union of the Nasser era.
• Hisham El-Bizri, filmmaker, producer, professor
• Nader El-Bizri, philosopher, architect
• Samih Osseiran, Former Member of Parliament
• Nazih El-Bizri, former member of parliament, government minister, mayor, and physician
• Ghassan Hammoud, physician, founder Hammoud Hospital University Medical Center
• Rafic Hariri, former Prime Minister, billionaire and international businessman
• Bahia Hariri, former Minister of Education in the governments of Lebanon and philanthropist
• Saad Hariri, youngest former Prime Minister of Lebanon
• Bahaa Hariri, international businessman and billionaire, son of Rafic Hariri
• Hamzi Moghrabi, Founder of IBC Co., Sidon waste management plant
• Sheikh Mohamad Osseiran, Jaafari Mufti of Sidon
• Maarouf Saad, former deputy representing Sidon in the national parliament and founder of the Popular Nasserite Party
• Fouad Siniora, former Prime Minister of Lebanon, minister of finance, and member of parliament
• Riad Solh, former Prime Minister of Lebanon
• Sami Solh, former Prime Minister of Lebanon
• Fayza Ahmed (Al-Rawwass), Arab singer formerly based in Egypt

See also[edit]

• Sidon Eyalet (Ottoman era)
• Kfar Beit
• Kitbuqa
• Zimredda (Sidon mayor)
• Amarna letter EA 144
• Tabnit sarcophagus
• Eshmunazar II sarcophagus
• Abdashtart I
• Evagoras II
• Abdalonymus

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). "^{article name needed}". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.
• Additional notes taken from Collier's Encyclopedia (1967 edition)

Further reading[edit]

• Aubet, Maria Eugenia. The Phoenicians and the West: Politics, Colonies and Trade. 2d ed. Translated by Mary Turton. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
• Markoe, Glenn. Phoenicians. Vol. 2, Peoples of the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
• Moscati, Sabatino. The World of the Phoenicians. London: Phoenix Giant, 1999.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sidon.

• Sidonianews (Sidon News Portal) (in Arabic)
• Lebanon, the Cedars' Land: Sidon
• Sidon excavations