Portal:Bible/Selected article
In 500 B.C. the Persians gave the Sidonians all the coastline from Dor to Joppa in gratitude for use of their fleet in the Persian invasion of Greece. The Sidonians used this site as an anchorage for merchant ships on the trade route to Egypt, and this location slowly grew into an important coastal town. The city was originally called Straton's Tower after its alleged founder Straton, the king of Sidon. He built a lighthouse and fortifications around this small town in order to protect the port. This Phoenician city fell to Alexander Yannai in 96 B.C. and became part of the Hasmonean kingdom until Pompey conquered it in 63 B.C. It was temporarily under the control of Cleopatra of Egypt, but then the city was returned to Roman emperor Augustus.
