The Siege of Tyre
Military History: Alexander the Great
Chapter 5 · The Siege of Tyre (332 BCE)
Why Tyre?
The Trigger
The Tyrians offered friendship but would not let Alexander into the island city to sacrifice to their god Melqart, whom the Greeks identified with Heracles. They meant to stay neutral.
The Real Reason
Alexander's plan was to defeat Persia's navy by capturing its bases (Chapter 3). A strong, independent Tyre behind him could shelter a Persian fleet and threaten his supply lines and Greece itself.
The Problem
The city stood on an island about a kilometre offshore, with walls reported as up to 150 feet high on the landward side, and a strong fleet of its own.
The Causeway
With no fleet able to challenge Tyre's, Alexander decided to build a causeway (a mole) across the strait, so his siege engines could reach the walls. It was made of stone and timber, much of it taken from the old mainland city, and was about 200 feet wide.
- January 332 BCE Work begins. Near the shore the water is shallow and progress is quick.
- Early months As the causeway reaches deeper water and comes within range of the walls, Tyrian archers, catapults, and ships attack the workers. Two tall siege towers are built at the end to protect them.
- Spring 332 BCE The Tyrians sail a fire ship, packed with pitch and other fuel, against the causeway. The towers burn, and a sortie by boat wrecks much of the work. Alexander orders a wider causeway built.
Winning the Sea
The causeway alone wasn't enough. What changed the siege was a fleet. After Issus, the Phoenician cities whose ships served Persia had surrendered to Alexander, and their crews returned home.
| Source of ships | Approximate number |
|---|---|
| Phoenician cities (such as Sidon, Byblos, Aradus) | About 80 |
| The kings of Cyprus | About 120 |
| Other allies | About 23 |
| Total | About 223 |
The Assault
Battering rams and catapults were mounted on ships, lashed together in pairs to make stable platforms. The Tyrians dropped large stones into the water to keep them away, and divers cut the anchor cables; the Macedonians hauled the stones out and switched to chains. The rams probed the walls for weak points until, on the south side, a section gave way.
Alexander launched a combined attack: the fleet forced its way into both harbours while troops, including the hypaspists, crossed from ships onto the breach. Alexander himself was among the first on the walls. Once inside, the Macedonians, furious after the long siege, showed little mercy.
| Outcome | Details |
|---|---|
| Killed in the fighting | About 6,000–7,000 Tyrians |
| Executed | About 2,000 men; Curtius says they were crucified along the shore |
| Enslaved | About 30,000 |
| Spared | Those who took refuge in the temple of Melqart, including the king |
Gaza
Marching south toward Egypt, Alexander met one more stronghold that refused to surrender: Gaza, on a hill near the coast. It took about two months, with siege mounds built up against the walls, and Alexander was badly wounded in the shoulder. After it fell, the road to Egypt was open (Chapter 6).
Questions to Sit With
Quick Reference — Chapter 5
- Tyre, an island city about a kilometre offshore, refused to admit Alexander; he besieged it from January to July 332 BCE
- He built a causeway about 200 feet wide across the strait; a Tyrian fire ship destroyed its siege towers
- After Issus, the Phoenician and Cypriot fleets joined him: about 223 ships in all
- Ship-mounted rams breached the south wall; the city was stormed
- About 6,000–7,000 were killed, about 2,000 executed, and about 30,000 enslaved; those in the temple of Melqart were spared
- The causeway turned Tyre into a permanent peninsula; Gaza fell after a two-month siege, opening the way to Egypt
What's Next
Chapter 6: Egypt & the Founding of Alexandria.