Economy and Trade

Tyre prospered through maritime trade, skilled manufacturing, and the movement of goods between the Mediterranean and inland kingdoms.

Its merchants traded timber, textiles, metal goods, glass products, luxury items, and agricultural produce. The city became especially famous for costly purple dye produced from marine mollusks.

Its relationship with Solomon illustrates the exchange of Lebanese timber and technical expertise for food and other resources. Ezekiel 27 gives an elaborate literary picture of the city’s far-reaching trade connections.

Tyrian trading networks helped carry Phoenician goods and cultural practices to Cyprus, North Africa, and the western Mediterranean.