Ithobaal I (or
Ethbaal; Biblical Ethbaal, 1 Kings 1631) was a king of
Tyre who founded a new dynasty. During his reign, Tyre expanded its power on the mainland, making all of
Phoenicia its territory as far north as
Beirut, including
Sidon, and even a part of the island of
Cyprus. At the same time, Tyre also built new overseas colonies
Botrys (now
Batrun) near
Byblos, and
Auza in
Libya.
Primary information related to Ithobaal comes from Josephus’s citation of the Phoenician author Menander of Ephesus, in Against Apion i.18. Here it is said that the previous king, Phelles, “was slain by Ithobalus, the priest of Astarte, who reigned thirty-two years, and lived sixty-eight years; he was succeeded by his son Badezorus (Baal-Eser II).”
The dates given here are according to the work of F. M. Cross[1] and other scholars[2][3] who take 825 BC as the date of Dido’s flight from her brother Pygmalion, after which she founded the city of Carthage in 814 BC. See the chronological justification for these dates in the Pygmalion article.
Ithobaal held close diplomatic contacts with king Ahab of Israel. First Kings 1631 relates that his daughter Jezebel married Ahab (874 – 853 BC),[4] and Phoenician influence in Samaria and the other Israelite cities was extensive. In the 1 Kings passage, Ithobaal is labeled king of the Sidonians. At this time Tyre and Sidon were consolidated into one kingdom.
