Hiram I (Tire)

Hiram, king of Tire (* 999 BC , † 935 BC ) was a Phoenician king. He enlarged and fortified the island city of Tire on the west coast of the Middle East and strengthened its mediating role between the Orient and the Occident.

He developed Tire, the old end point of the caravan routes in the Middle East, into the dominant trading center of the Mediterranean, whose branches extended to Italy , the Iberian Peninsula , West Africa and possibly Britain .

In the Old Testament , Hiram is mentioned several times:

• in the 1st Book of Kings: 5.15–32 EU ; 7.13 EU ; 7.40-45 EU ; 9.11-14 EU ; 9.27 EU ; 10.11 EU and 10.22 EU
• in the 2nd book of the chronicle: 2.2 EU ; 2.10-13 EU ; 4.11-16 EU ; 8.2 EU ; 8.18 EU ; 9.10 EU and 9.21 EU

Hiram was based on the story of the Bible in relations with the Kingdom of Israel under King David ( 1 Chronicles 14.1  LUT Luther Bible) and its builders under Solomon ( 1 Kings 5:18  LUT ). Among other things, he supported him in the construction of the Jerusalem temple with building materials and craftsmen. On behalf of Solomon he set up a merchant fleet in the Red Sea and also drove to the gold country of Ophir ( Abyssinia ). There is no extra-biblical evidence of this 10th century Hiram, which is why its historicity is questioned.

However, in the annals of Tiglath Pilesar III. twice a tributary ruler called Hirummu . This is often referred to in research as Hiram II, who was king of Tire in the thirties of the 8th century and traded with the Kingdom of Israel. It is under discussion that the situation in the time of Hiram II is actually depicted in the Bible's tale of Solomon.

See also

• List of the kings of Tire
• Hiram Abif
• Jachin and Boaz

literature

• Reinhard G. Lehmann :  Hiram. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.
• Michael Sommer : The Phoenicians. Merchants between Orient and Occident (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 454). Kröner, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-520-45401-7 .
• Israel Finkelstein , Neil A. Silbermann: David and Solomon. CH Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-54676-5 , p. 150 f. (on the history of Solomon).
• Reinhard Lehmann:  Hiram. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.

predecessor	Office	successor
Abi-Baʾal	King of Tire 10th century BC Chr.	Baʾal-Eser I.