Sidon

Sidon
Sidonian /suy doh"nee euhn/, adj., n.
/suyd"n/, n.
a city of ancient Phoenicia: site of modern Saida.

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Arabic Ṣaydā

Seaport (pop., latest est.: 140,000), southwestern Lebanon.

Located on the site of a city founded in the 3rd millennium BC, it was a principal city of Phoenicia from the 2nd millennium BC and a parent city of Tyre. Ruled successively in ancient times by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians, it was conquered by Alexander the Great (с 330 BC). Under Roman rule by the 1st century BC, it was an important centre for the manufacture of glass and purple dyes. It changed hands several times during the Crusades and fell to the Muslims in 1291. It flourished for a while under Ottoman rule after 1517.

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Arabic  Ṣaydā,  also spelled  Saida , or  Sayida 

      ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon and the administrative centre of al-Janūb (South Lebanon) muḥāfaẓah (governorate). A fishing, trade, and market centre for an agricultural hinterland, it has also served as the Mediterranean terminus of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline, 1,069 mi (1,720 km) long, from Saudi Arabia, and the site of large oil-storage tanks.

      Sidon, one of the oldest Phoenician cities, was founded in the 3rd millennium BC and became prosperous in the 2nd. It is frequently mentioned in the works of the Greek poet Homer and in the Old Testament; and it was ruled in turn by Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Alexander the Great, the Seleucids of Syria, the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, and the Romans. At that time Sidon was famous for its purple dyes and glassware. Herod I the Great embellished the city, and Jesus visited it. During the Crusades, Sidon changed hands several times and was destroyed and rebuilt. Under Ottoman rule, it flourished almost continuously for 400 years from the year 1517, especially in the 17th century under Fakhr ad-Dīn II, a semi-independent Druze amīr. The French developed Sidon as the port for Damascus; in 1791, however, the Ottoman governor of Lebanon, Aḥmad al-Jazzār, drove the French merchants from its gates, thereby largely killing its trade. In 1837 the city was ravaged by an earthquake but was rebuilt.

      A large necropolis has yielded numerous sarcophagi (stone coffins), including those of two Sidonian kings of the Phoenician period, Eshmunazar and Tennes, and the famous Alexander sarcophagus, depicting battle and hunting scenes, now at Istanbul. Other ruins include two crusader castles and the Phoenician Temple of Eshmun (Eachmoun).

      A highway and railroad connect Sidon with Beirut, 25 mi north. The city has a sizable Christian (Maronite) community. Many residents are Palestinian refugees. Pop. (2003 est.) 149,000.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Sidon — صيدا Staat …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sidon — • City in Syria. Mentioned in the Bible. Is home to both a Melkite Rite and a Maronite diocese • Titular metropolis of Pamphylia Prima Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Sidon      …   Catholic encyclopedia

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  • Sidon — Sidon, MS U.S. town in Mississippi Population (2000): 672 Housing Units (2000): 220 Land area (2000): 0.124566 sq. miles (0.322625 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.124566 sq. miles (0.322625 sq …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Sidon, MS — U.S. town in Mississippi Population (2000): 672 Housing Units (2000): 220 Land area (2000): 0.124566 sq. miles (0.322625 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.124566 sq. miles (0.322625 sq. km) FIPS… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Sidon — Sidon, Stadt in Phönicien, am Mittelmeer, von seinem Gründer Sidon, Kanaans Sohn, benannt, n. And. von dem reichen Fischfang, welcher an der Küste betrieben wurde; mit dreifacher Mauer befestigt u. mit gutem Doppelhafen; sie war die älteste Stadt …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Sidon — (auj. Saydâ au Liban) anc. cité de Phénicie, cap. d un royaume cananéen (XVe s. av. J. C.). Elle fut attaquée par les Peuples de la Mer (v. 1200 av. J. C.). Rivale de Tyr, elle atteignit son apogée du XIIe au IXe s. av. J. C. Détruite par les… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Sidon — ancient Phoenician city, from Gk. Sidon, from Phoenician Tzidhon, lit. fishing place, from tzud to hunt, to capture …   Etymology dictionary

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