{"id":155590,"date":"2023-04-15T16:05:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T16:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culture.org\/?p=155590"},"modified":"2023-04-15T16:05:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T16:05:00","slug":"alexander-the-greats-remarkable-engineering-feats-conquering-the-cities-of-tyre-and-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culture.org\/history\/alexander-the-greats-remarkable-engineering-feats-conquering-the-cities-of-tyre-and-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Alexander the Great&#8217;s Remarkable Engineering Feats: Conquering the Cities of Tyre and Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"           <!--  <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n                jQuery(document).ready(function() {\r\n                    jQuery(\".key-accordion-item .key-menu\").on(\"click\", function() {\r\n                        if (jQuery(this).parent().hasClass(\"active\")) {\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                        } else {\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-content\").slideUp();\r\n                            jQuery(\".key-accordion-item\").removeClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).parent().addClass(\"active\");\r\n                            jQuery(this).next().slideDown();\r\n                        }\r\n                    });\r\n                })\r\n            <\/script> -->\r\n\r\n\r\n            <!-- start html -->\r\n\r\n            <div class=\"news-key-takeaway-wapper\">\r\n                                <span style=\"background-color:#EF8638;\">Key Takeaways<\/span>\r\n                <ul class=\"news-key-nbox\" style=\"border-color:#EF8638;background-color:rgba(239, 134, 56, 0.1);\">\r\n                                                        <li>Alexander the Great's engineering feats during his conquests demonstrated his exceptional military and innovative skills.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>The sieges of Tyre and Gaza, two well-fortified ancient cities, were examples of Alexander's engineering prowess.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>To capture Gaza, Alexander ordered his troops to fill the moat with sand and debris, allowing them to construct a large earthen ramp to breach the city's walls.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>To conquer Tyre, which was originally an island and had high walls, Alexander ordered the construction of a large causeway (or mole) using rubble from demolished buildings on the mainland.<\/li>\r\n                                                                    <li>Alexander's engineering marvels during the sieges of Gaza and Tyre not only enabled his military victories but also left lasting impacts on the geography and urban development of the regions.<\/li>\r\n                                                <\/ul>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            \n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alexander the Great, renowned for his military prowess, also demonstrated exceptional engineering skills during his conquests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges is evident in the sieges of Tyre and Gaza, two ancient cities with formidable defenses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In both cases, Alexander utilized innovative engineering strategies to defeat the enemy and cement his rule in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Siege of Gaza &#8211; A Well-Fortified Hilltop City<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gaza was a strategically important city that controlled the main trade route between Egypt and Mesopotamia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The city was located on a hill, protected by a massive wall and a deep, dry moat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Alexander the Great moved through the region in 332 BCE, he understood the significance of capturing Gaza to ensure uninterrupted trade and establish his dominance over the Egyptian territories.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alexander&#8217;s forces initially faced difficulty in breaching Gaza&#8217;s defenses due to the height of the hill and the challenge of crossing the moat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In response, Alexander employed a bold engineering solution: he ordered his troops to fill the moat with sand and debris, which allowed them to construct a large earthen ramp to reach the city walls.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite facing fierce resistance from the city&#8217;s defenders, Alexander&#8217;s army managed to break through the walls and ultimately capture Gaza after a two-month siege.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Siege of Tyre &#8211; An Ingenious Causeway to an Island Fortress<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, Tyre, an ancient Phoenician city in modern-day Lebanon, was a vital trade center and seaport.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Originally an island, Tyre boasted impressive high walls and a reputation for impregnability, having withstood several sieges, including a 13-year effort by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 332 BCE, after defeating Darius III, Alexander arrived in Phoenicia with the goal of capturing Tyre, which served as the Persian&#8217;s last harbor in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lacking a naval fleet and unable to gain entry through trickery or negotiation, Alexander devised an ingenious plan to conquer the island city.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>                        <!-- <div class=\"container-c\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- <div class=\"row justify-content-between\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- <div class=\"col-post-800\"> -->\r\n                        <!-- start html -->\r\n                        <div class=\"blockquote-wapper\">\r\n                            <div>\r\n                                <span class=\"text_quot\">\r\n                                    <p>In 332 BCE, after defeating Darius III, Alexander arrived in Phoenicia with the goal of capturing Tyre, which served as the Persian&#8217;s last harbor in the region.<\/p>\n                                <\/span>\r\n\r\n                                <div class=\"quot_icon\">\r\n                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-content\/themes\/culture\/icons\/i_quot.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\">\r\n                                <\/div>\r\n                            <\/div>\r\n\r\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"quot_tick\" src=\"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-content\/themes\/culture\/icons\/i_quot_tri.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\">\r\n                        <\/div>\r\n                        <!-- end html -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                        <!-- <\/div> -->\r\n                                    <\/h2>\n<h2><strong>Building a Causeway to Conquer Tyre<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Determined to capture Tyre, Alexander ordered the construction of a large causeway (or mole) across the narrow channel using rubble from demolished buildings on the mainland.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the mole neared the island, the Tyrians harassed Alexander&#8217;s builders, who then built two 50-meter high siege towers to defend the mole.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Tyrians used a fireship to destroy the towers and parts of the causeway, but Alexander remained undaunted. He rebuilt the causeway and set off to gather a fleet of over 250 vessels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Returning with his superior fleet, Alexander resumed construction on the mole and extended it all the way to the city.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His forces breached the walls at the southern end and quickly captured the city. The conquest came at a high cost to the Tyrians: 6,000 men were killed in action, 2,000 were crucified, and another 30,000 were sold into slavery.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Lasting Impact on Geography and Urban Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alexander&#8217;s engineering marvels during the sieges of Gaza and Tyre not only enabled his military victories but also left lasting impacts on the geography and urban development of the regions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The construction of the mole that connected Tyre to the mainland formed a wide, heavily urbanized peninsula, changing the coastline permanently.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, the earthen ramp used to breach Gaza&#8217;s walls left a reminder of the ingenuity that allowed Alexander the Great to conquer seemingly impregnable cities and expand his empire.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":155591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155590"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culture.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}