The Siege of Tyre: Alexander the Great and the Gateway to Empire

by David A. Guenther, Julian Elfer (narrator)

The island city of Tyre along the coast of Lebanon was for centuries an impregnable fortress and key to unlocking Phoenician and Persian power in the Near East. Its fall was first prophesied in the Book of Ezekiel; but it would not be Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who would take the city as the Bible foretold, but a Macedonian warrior king, Alexander. Alexander's siege of 332 BC was one of the most remarkable events in the classical world.

The Siege of Tyre is the first book-length treatment of this critical and fascinating campaign, featuring catapults, triremes, religious invocations, close combat, and marvels of engineering, including a massive man-made causeway from the mainland to the island. The siege is thoroughly analyzed from the standpoint of what is plausible given the nature of the technology of the time and what we now know of the geology and physical fortifications of ancient Tyre. Critical to the siege were evolving technologies, including innovations in catapult design, military engineering, and naval architecture. David A. Guenther also takes into account recent scientific discoveries about the geology of the ancient seabed around Tyre and its effect on the siege. Finally, the book points out possible gender-biased views on topics such as sacred temple prostitution and the fate of women in besieged cities of the ancient world.

Genres: History

Audible Audio

Published November 5, 2024

Reviews

[Sean]

Recommended for those with a particular interest in Alexander, ancient siegecraft, or possibly those interested in the use of ancient primary source material. A little esoteric for someone with only a casual interest in ancient history.

The audio version was generally good but be warned that you’ll have a lot of tables recited at you. Likely better as a physical read.

[Lynnie]

In my opinion: well-researched and digestible. This serves as an excellent, well-rounded explanation of the technical Siege of Tyre as well as its surrounding context. Debate between sources is explained thoroughly as so is debate between scholars. I listened to this on audio because I didn’t want to purchase the hardcover, but will absolutely be buying a hard-copy once it’s released in paperback format to close-read.

[Robert]

This was a fine book, that talked about the siege of Tyre, but it was written by a Historian who wrote it like a history paper. It talked about sources about how the siege worked and it was written in a very boring way. Overall, I found the story told to be meandering without a focus.