Turn the whole island into a peninsula - the 1-0-2 siege strategy of the most successful conqueror of the ancient world

To capture Tire, Alexander the Great turned an entire island into a peninsula.

Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military commanders of all time. His empire stretched from east to west, across a stretch of land from Greece to India--nearly the entire world known to Europeans at the time.

In that conquest, Tire is an important target. Originally a city-state off the coast of present-day Lebanon, Tire became extremely prosperous with maritime trade and the production of purple dye from the murex sea snail - a luxury in those days.

The Tire people also founded Carthage on the coast of North Africa - one of the maritime super empires of the ancient world - a powerful rival to the later Roman empire.

The city-state of Tire then consisted of two main parts, including Old Tire on the Lebanese coast, and a new city on an island 800 meters from the shore. The island was elaborately defended with thick and high walls and watchtowers.

Map of the island of Tire during the siege of Alexander the Great.

The island of Tire was considered "impregnable", but Alexander the Great thought otherwise.

Refusing to submit in 333 BC, Alexander the Great defeated the Persian king Darius III and quickly marched on Egypt. Coastal cities like Sidon and Byblos soon surrendered to the young king.

However, the Tire were confident that their strong walls and position 800 meters from shore would protect them against any army. It is known that the walls surrounding Tire are up to 45 meters high.

In addition, they also count on the support of Carthage - a former colony and powerful ally.

It is important to mention that despite his defeat in battle, Darius III of Persia did not lose the war. Meanwhile, Tire was being used as a harbor by the Persian navy and was threatening Alexander the Great's rear. For that reason, the Macedonian rulers needed to capture this city as soon as possible.

When Alexander the Great sent a letter of solicitation to the Tire, his messenger was murdered. Furious, he told the Tire they might be on an island, but he would do whatever it took to make it part of the mainland.

To the amazement of the Tire people, Alexander began to build two giant dikes leading to this island nation, in order to bring the siege tower close enough for the range of archers and catapults.

The attacking army is building siege towers and sea dikes.

Alexander's engineers were ordered to build two siege towers up to 50 meters high of wood, covered with hides to protect from fire. The top of the tower is equipped with giant ballista crossbows with catapults.

The Tire army counterattacked by dropping an old barge loaded with flammable materials such as dry wood, sulfur, and oil and ramming it into two towers, successfully burning them down. In addition, they also sent warships to continuously attack Alexander's dike construction.

Collecting wood for raw materials in the neighboring mountains to build the tower was also extremely difficult when the villagers were plundered by Arab tribes. However, the genius strategist does not see these difficulties as obstacles. He launched a conquest into the mountains to destroy the harassing tribes.

Then, realizing that the siege of Tire could not be successful without superiority over the sea, the king headed north towards Byblos and Sidon to prepare a mighty navy. Here, he acquired a fleet of 80 galleys with seasoned crew.

Hearing of the young Emperor's consecutive military victories, the king of Cyprus continued to provide him with 120 more warships of the same type. An additional 23 aircraft continued to be sent from the Greek allies.

Unequal war Suddenly, Alexander's fleet from zero had 223 ships, locking Tire on the sea. Before that huge navy, Tire's ships could only rest in peace in the harbor, protected by fortified walls.

Soon after, the dike and 2 siege towers were completed. The Emperor's army continuously bombarded the city, from both land and sea fleets. During the siege, the assault force soon discovered a weak point south of the fortified wall.

After 7 months of siege, the walls of Tire were successfully breached. The Greeks and Macedonians flooded the city, and the rest is history. Thousands of Tire soldiers were killed or sold into slavery, the whole city was razed to the ground. Meanwhile, the attackers only lost somewhere around 400 troops.

Current map of Tire city. The yellow line is the old shoreline and the red line is the two dike roads of the siege.

With this victory, Basileus of Macedonia sent a message to all the prosperous city-states on the Mediterranean coast: "Follow me and prosper, or resist and be razed."

After Tire became part of history, Alexander built a new trading center, the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Alexandria quickly rose to become a prosperous capital, famous for the Lighthouse of Alexandria - one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, and the library of the same name - also one of the most important works of the time.