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Greek city of Arados in Phoenicia
Bronze 20mm (5.73 grams) Struck 132-131 B.C.
Reference: Sear 6002; B.M.C.26.37,301-2
Turreted bust of Tyche right, palm-branch behind shoulder.
Prow of galley left, with Athena figurehead, on which is Poseidon seated left,
holding wreath and trident; above, Phoenician letters (= a n); beneath
Phoenician date numerals (= year 128 = 132/1 B.C.).
An important city of northern Phoenicia, Arados itself occupied an island but it controlled an extensive area on the
mainland.
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Arwad – formerly known as Arado, Arados ,
Arvad, Arpad, Arphad, and Antiochia in Pieria (Greek:
Αντιόχεια της Πιερίας), also called Ruad Island – located in the
Mediterranean Sea
, is the only inhabited island in
Syria
. The town
of Arwad takes up the entire island. It is located 3 km from
Tartus
, Syria’s
largest port. Today, it is mainly a fishing town. (Arados was also a Greek name
for Muharraq
near Bahrain
.)
Ancient history
The island was settled in the early 2nd millennium BC by the
Phoenicians
.
Under Phoenician control, it became an independent kingdom called Arvad or
Jazirat (the latter term meaning “island”). The Phoenician name for the city was
probably (Aynook).
In Greek it was known as Arados. The city also appears in ancient sources as
Arpad and Arphad.
The city was renamed Antiochia in Pieria by
Antiochus I Soter
. The island was important as a base for commercial
ventures into the
Orontes
valley.
Arvad was an island city off the coast of Syria some 30 miles north of
Tripolis
. It was a barren rock covered with fortifications and houses
several stories in height. The island was about 800 feet long by 500 feet wide,
surrounded by a massive wall, and an artificial harbor was constructed on the
east toward the mainland. It developed into a trading city in early times, as
did most of the Phoenician cities on this coast. It had a powerful navy, and its
ships are mentioned in the monuments of
Egypt
and
Assyria
. It
seems to have had a sort of hegemony over the northern Phoenician cities, from
the mouth of the Orontes to the northern limits of Lebanon, something like that
of Sidon in the south. It had its own local dynasty and coinage, and some of the
names of its kings have been recovered.
Its inhabitants are mentioned in the early lists of
Genesis
(10:18), and
Ezekiel
(27:8,11) refers to its seamen and soldiers in the service of
Tyre. It brought
under its authority some of the neighboring cities on the mainland, such as
Marathos
and
Simyra, the former nearly opposite the island and the latter some miles to the
south. Thutmose III
, of Egypt, took it in his campaign in north Syria (1472 BC) and
it is noticed in the campaigns of
Ramesses
II
in the early part of the 13th century BC (Breasted, Ancient Records).
It is also mentioned in the
Tell el-Amarna
Letters as being in league with the
Amorites
in
their attacks on the Egyptian possessions in Syria (44 and 28, B.M. Tell el-Amarna
Letters). About the year 1200 or later, it was sacked by invaders from Asia
Minor or the islands, as were most of the cities on the coast (Paton, Syria
and Palestine, 145) but it recovered when they were driven back. Its
maritime importance is indicated by the inscriptions of the Assyrian kings.
Tiglath-pileser I
(circa 1020) boasts that he sailed in the ships of Arvad.
Ashurnasirpal II
(circa 876) made it tributary, but it revolted, and we find
200 men of Arvad mentioned among the allies of
Hadadezer
of Aram Damascus
at the
Battle of Qarqar
, when all Syria seems to have been in league against
Shalmaneser II
(circa 854). At this time the king of Arvad was Mattan Baal.
It was afterward tributary to
Tiglath-pileser III
and
Sennacherib
, the king who paid it to the latter being Abd-ilihit (circa
701). Ashurbanipal
(circa 664) compelled its king Yakinlu to submit and send one
of his daughters to become a member of the royal harem (Rawlinson, Phoenicia,
456-57). Under the Persians Arvad was allowed to unite in a confederation with
Sidon and Tyre, with a common council at Tripolis (ibid, 484). When
Alexander the Great
invaded Syria in 332 BC Arvad submitted without a
struggle under her king Strato, who sent his navy to aid Alexander in the
reduction of Tyre. It seems to have received the favor of the Seleucid kings of
Syria and enjoyed the right of asylum for political refugees. It is mentioned in
a rescript from Rome about 138 BC, in connection with other cities and rulers of
the East, to show favor to the Jews. It was after Rome had begun to interfere in
the affairs of Judea and Syria, and indicates that Arvad was of considerable
importance at that time.
Crusades history
During the time of the
Crusades
,
the island of Ruad was used as
bridgehead
or staging area by the Crusaders, as they attempted to retake
Tortosa
after
they lost the city in 1291.
In the end of 1300, a message came from the Mongol leader
Ghazan
asking
to coordinate operations, inviting the Cypriots to meet him in Armenia.
The Cypriots then prepared a land-based force of approximately 600 men: 300
under
Amalric of Lusigan
, son of
Hugh III of Cyprus
, and similar contingents from the Templars and
Hospitallers.
The men and their horses were ferried from Cyprus to a staging area on the
island of
Ruad
, a mile off the coast of
Tortosa
.
From there, they had a certain amount of success attacking Tortosa (some sources
say they engaged in raids, others that they captured the city), but when the
hoped-for Mongol reinforcements were delayed (sources differ on whether the
delay was caused by weather or illness), the Crusaders had to retreat to Ruad.
When the Mongols still did not appear, the majority of the Christian forces
returned to Cyprus, though they left a garrison on Ruad which was manned by
rotating groups of different Cypriot forces. Pope
Clement V
formally awarded the island to the Knights Templar, and it was the
last piece of land that the Crusaders maintained in the Holy Land, as they were
fighting a losing battle against the Muslims.
A few months later, in February 1301, the Mongols did arrive with a force of
60,000, but could do little else than engage in some raids around Syria. Kutluka
(Qutlugh-Shah for the Mongols, Cotelesse in Frank sources) stationed 20,000
horsemen in the
Jordan valley
to protect Damas, where a Mongol governor was stationed.
Soon however, they had to withdraw.
The garrison on Ruad Island was being manned by Templars at the time: 120
knights, 500 bowmen and 400 Syrian helpers, under the Templar
Maréchal
(Commander-in-Chief)
Barthélemy de Quincy
. In September 1302 a Mamluk fleet landed a force,
starting the
Siege of Ruad
. The Crusaders finally had to surrender on September 26, 1302,
following a promise of safe conduct.
The promise was not honoured, and all the bowmen and Syrian helpers were killed,
and the Templar knights sent to Cairo prisons.
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