Jump to content

Eshmunazar I

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eshmunazar I
Reignc. 575 BC– c. 550 BC
PredecessorNot documented
SuccessorTabnit I
Phoenician language𐤀𐤔𐤌𐤍𐤏𐤆𐤓‎
DynastyFounder of his namesake dynasty
ReligionCanaanite polytheism
<?>
You may needrendering supportto display the Phoenician alphabet characters in this article correctly.

Eshmunazar I(Phoenician:𐤀𐤔𐤌𐤍𐤏𐤆𐤓ʾšmnʿzr,atheophoric namemeaning 'Eshmunhelps') was a priest ofAstarteand thePhoenicianKing of Sidon(r. c. 575 – c. 550 BC). He was the founder of his namesake dynasty, and a vassal king of theAchaemenid Empire.Eshmunazar participated in theNeo-Babyloniancampaigns against Egypt under the command of eitherNebuchadnezzar IIorNabonidus.The Sidonian king is mentioned in the funerary inscriptions engraved on the royal sarcophagi of his sonTabnit Iand his grandsonEshmunazar II.The monarch's name is also attested in the dedicatory temple inscriptions of his other grandson, KingBodashtart.

Etymology

[edit]

Eshmunazaris theRomanizedform of the Phoeniciantheophoric name𐤀𐤔𐤌𐤍𐤏𐤆𐤓‎, meaning "Eshmun helps".[1][2]

Chronology

[edit]

The absolute chronology of theKings of Sidonfrom the dynasty of Eshmunazar I has been much discussed in the literature; traditionally placed in the course of the fifth century BC, inscriptions of this dynasty have been dated back to an earlier period on the basis ofnumismatic,historical and archaeological evidence. The most complete work addressing the dates of the reigns of these Sidonian kings is by the French historianJosette Elayiwho shifted away from the use ofbiblical chronology.Elayi used extant documentation, including inscribedTyriansealsandstampsexcavated by the Lebanese archaeologistMaurice Chehabin 1972 from Jal el-Bahr, a neighborhood in the north of Tyre,[3][4][5][6][7]Phoenician inscriptions discovered by the French archaeologistMaurice Dunandin Sidon in 1965,[8]and the systematic study of Sidonian coins.[note 1][9][10]According to her work Eshmunazar reigned fromc.575 BC to c. 550 BC.[11][12][13]

Historical context

[edit]

Sidon, which was a flourishing and independentPhoeniciancity-state,came underMesopotamianoccupation in the ninth century BC. TheAssyriankingAshurnasirpal II(883–859 BC) conqueredthe Lebanonmountain range and its coastal cities, including Sidon.[14]

In 705, the Sidonian kingLulijoined forces with theEgyptiansandJudahin an unsuccessful rebellion against Assyrian rule,[15][16]but was forced to flee toKitionwith the arrival of the Assyrian army headed bySennacherib.Sennacherib instatedIttobaalon the throne of Sidon, and reimposed the annualtribute.[17]WhenAbdi-Milkuttiascended to Sidon's throne in 680 BC, he also rebelled against the Assyrians. In response, the Assyrian kingEsarhaddoncaptured and beheaded Abdi-Milkutti in 677 BC after a three-year siege; Sidon was stripped of its territory, which was awarded toBaal I,the king of rival Tyre and loyalvassalto Esarhaddon.[18]

Sidon returned to its former prosperity, while Tyre was besieged for 13 years (586–573 BC) by theChaldeankingNebuchadnezzar II.[19]After theAchaemenid conquestin 529 BC, Phoenicia was divided into four vassal kingdoms: Sidon, Tyre,ByblosandArwad.[20]Eshmunazar I, a priest of Astarte and the founder of his namesake dynasty, became king around the time of the Achaemenid conquest of theLevant.[21][22]

Reign

[edit]

Little is known about Eshmunazar I's reign. According to Elayi, Eshmunazar was a usurper since, unlike the customs of the Phoenician royalty, the name of his father is not mentioned in any of the royal inscriptions.[23]Eshmunazar participated in theNeo-Babyloniancampaigns against Egypt under the command of eitherNebuchadnezzar IIorNabonidus.[23]The Sidonian king seized Egyptian stone sarcophagi belonging to members of the Egyptian elite; three of these sarcophagi were unearthed in the royal necropolis of Sidon.[24][25][26][27]

Epigraphic mentions

[edit]

Eshmunazar I is mentioned in the funerary inscriptions engraved on the royal sarcophagi of his sonTabnitand his grandsonEshmunazar II.[28][29]The monarch's name is also attested in the dedicatory temple inscriptions of his other grandson, KingBodashtart.[30]

Genealogy

[edit]

Eshmunazar I was the founder of his namesake dynasty; his heir was his sonTabnit,who fathered Eshmunazar II from his sisterAmoashtart.[31]

Eshmunazar I dynasty
Eshmunazar I
Tabnit IAmoashtart?
Eshmunazar IIBodashtart
Yatonmilk

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^Sidonian coins were the first coins to bear minting dates in antiquity based on the years of reign of the kings.

References

[edit]

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^Hitti 1967,p. 135.
  2. ^Jean 1947,p. 267.
  3. ^Kaoukabani 2005,p. 4.
  4. ^Elayi 2006,p. 2.
  5. ^Chéhab 1983,p. 171.
  6. ^Xella & López 2005b.
  7. ^Greenfield 1985,pp. 129–134.
  8. ^Dunand 1965,pp. 105–109.
  9. ^abElayi 2006.
  10. ^Elayi & Elayi 2004.
  11. ^Elayi 2006,p. 22.
  12. ^Amadasi Guzzo 2012,p. 6.
  13. ^Elayi 2013,p. 229.
  14. ^Bryce 2009,p. 651.
  15. ^Netanyahu 1964,pp. 243–244.
  16. ^Yates 1942,p. 109.
  17. ^Elayi 2018b,p. 58.
  18. ^Bromiley 1979,pp. 501, 933–934.
  19. ^Aubet 2001,pp. 58–60.
  20. ^Boardman et al. 2000,p. 156.
  21. ^Zamora 2016,p. 253.
  22. ^Jidejian 1971,p. 268.
  23. ^abElayi 2013,Tyr et Sidon à l'époque Nabonide ".
  24. ^Elayi 2006,p. 6.
  25. ^Versluys 2010,pp. 7–14.
  26. ^Buhl 1983,p. 201.
  27. ^Nitschke 2007,pp. 71–72.
  28. ^Derenbourg 1887,pp. 9–10.
  29. ^Haelewyck 2012,pp. 80–82.
  30. ^Halpern 2016,pp. 19–20.
  31. ^Elayi 2006,p. 5.

Sources

[edit]
Eshmunazar I
Eshmunazar I Dynasty
Preceded by
Unknown
 King of Sidon
c. 575–550 BC 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eshmunazar_I&oldid=1214574445"