Alexander the Great and the use of geological elements, to defeat the city of Tyre (332 BC)
Its past and present impact
Keywords:
Phoenicia, Tyre, Alexander The Great, Engineering, Geology, LebanonAbstract
The coastline of the city of Tyre (Lebanon) is currently characterized by a wave-dominated tombolo, where a peculiar sandy isthmus connects the former offshore island to the adjacent mainland. This unique coastal formation is the geological legacy of a long history of natural and other human-environment interactions spanning at least 23 centuries. In 332 BC, during Alexander the Great's war against the Persian Empire, and after a prolonged seven month siege of the city, Alexander and its engineers, skillfully took advantage of Tyre's unique geological/geomorphological setting, by constructing a 1,000-meter-long and 80-meter-wide breakwater to ultimately besiege and capture the island fortress. The breakwater Alexander built, profoundly deformed Tyre's coastline and caused a rapid progradation of its natural spit of land, evolving into its present-day appearance.
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