Phoenicia under Hellenistic rule

The Argead Dynasty, also known as the Temenid Dynasty, came to control Phoenicia under the Conqueror Alexander the Great. The Argead Dynasty ruled Phoenicia until the death of Alexander in June 323 BCE. Known for his spreading of Greek culture, Alexander brought many elements of Hellenism with him during his reign over Phoenicia. Alexander's conquest of Phoenicia began during his attack on the Persian Empire. Emboldened by a victory over the Persian army at the Granicus River (334 BCE), Alexander went on to take the entirety of Asia Minor. To further cripple Persian forces, Alexander turned his attention towards coast cities, as taking control of them would deprive the Persians of naval bases. This brought Alexander into contact with the Phoenicians, as they were large contributors to the Persian navy. However, the Phoenicians desired freedom from Persian control, so many were quick to surrender to the armies of Macedonia, as Alexander has promised conquered cities freedom and self-determination should they surrender to him. Unlike other Phoenician cities, Tyre did not surrender control to Alexander. Upon reaching the city, envoys told they Macedonians that while they would not give up control of the city, they would submit to his demands. Alexander wished to make a sacrifice to the Greek god Heracles in the city's temple of Melqart, who is considered the Phoenician counterpart to Heracles, as his arrival coincided with a festival held to honor Heracles. The Tyrians, worried that the dedication to a Hellenistic god would both dishonor the god Melqart as well as signal a challenge to the sovereignty of the city, denied Alexander's request, offering him to make a sacrifice outside of the city. These rituals served to further reinforced the Hellenistic culture on the Phoenicians by making typical Greek activities, such as dramatic contests, commonplace with in the territory. Despite the reinforcement of Greek culture in cities like Tyre, there was no apparent effort to completely remake Phoenicia under the control of Alexander. Unlike other conquered territories, the main Phoenician cities were not renamed or refounded by their new Hellenistic leaders, and instead kept their traditional Phoenician names. The Greek language, while incorporated into the territory, never completely replaced the Phoenician language, and the two seemed to coexist within the society. On a similar note, many Phoenician religious traditions and cults were discovered to have survived the rule of the Argead Dynasty, as many of these cults began to incorporate elements of Greek cults, thereby blending the two cultures into one. This blend of Phoenician and Greek culture is also seen throughout the society at the time, such as the designs of coins – which featured both Phoenician and Greek inscriptions. Later on, these coins would depict both figures which originated from Phoenician mythology and those from Greek mythology, combined with Greek lettering. One instance of this was the depiction of the Greek hero Cadmus, who was known as a prince of Phoenicia, on various coins. == The Seleucid and Ptolemaic Dynasty ==