Sidon

Sidon

Sidon is ancient port city in Asia.

History

In October 1110 AD, King Sigurd Magnusson and his fleet attacked the city. Two months later, Sidon's forces lost and the city surrendered to King Sigurd, who (Demona noticed) had since then lost both his luck and his nerve. ("Fortune Favors the Brave...")

Real World Background

Sidon also known as Ṣaydā (صَيْدَا in Arabic) is located in in modern day Lebanon, but stone tools date a human presence in the area as far back as 4000 BC, well before the invention of pottery. It's name is Phoenician in origin, 𐤑𐤃𐤍, which likely meant "fish-town". As early as the 15th Century BC, the city (and neighboring Tyre) had mastered the production of purple fabrics dyed from liquid squeezed from the glands of sea snails. [1] In addition, Homer refers to Sidon's reputation for silverwork and embroidery in the Illiad. (Books 6:290-291, 23:743-744) [2]

By 1350 BC, Sidon was part of the Egyptian Empire. It was later conquered by various Babylonian and Persian rulers before Alexander the Great took the city in 333 BC. By the 10th Century, Sidon was part of the Fatimid Empire and, as depicted in the comics, it was besieged in 1110 AD and eventually absorbed as a vassal state for the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the first Crusade. In the 16th Century, it became a province of the Ottoman Empire. Lebanon broke away from the Ottomans in 1920, first under French rule, then later independent in its own right in 1946, following France's admission to the United Nations.

See Also

• Sidon at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia