Tennes | |
|---|---|
 Coinage of Sidon, dated 351/0 BC. Phoenicianpentekonter sailing left. Date above (here faint), waves below. King of Persia standing right, holding up lion by lock of mane;Aramaic letterstaw andayin between. | |
| Allegiance | Achaemenid Empire |
| Years of service | Circa 351-346 BC |
| Rank | King of Sidon |
| Battles / wars | Revolt against the Achaemenid Empire |
Tennes (Ancient Greek:Τέννης;[1]Tabnit II in thePhoenician language[2]) was aKing of Sidon under theAchaemenid Empire, who ruled the Phoenician city-state ofSidon from (r. c. 351 – c. 346 BC),[3] having beenassociated in power by his father since the 380s.[4] It remains uncertain whether his known heir and successor, Tennes, was his son or some other close relative.[5]His predecessor wasAbdashtart I (in Greek, Straton I),[6] the son ofBaalshillem II
Soon after the failure of the Egyptian campaign of the Achaemenid rulerArtaxerxes III, the Phoenicians declared their independence from Persian rule. This was also followed by rulers of Anatolia andCyprus. Artaxerxes initiated a counter-offensive againstSidon by commanding the satrap of SyriaBelesys andMazaeus, thesatrap of Cilicia, to invade the city and to keep thePhoenicians in check.[7] Both satraps suffered crushing defeats at the hands of Tennes, who was aided by 4,000 Greek mercenaries sent to him byNectanebo II and commanded byMentor of Rhodes.[8] As a result, the Persian forces were driven out ofPhoenicia.[9]
After this, Artaxerxes personally led an army of 330,000 men againstSidon. Artaxerxes' army comprised 300,000 foot soldiers, 30,000cavalry, 300 triremes, and 500 transports or provision ships. After gathering this army, he sought assistance from the Greeks. Though refused aid byAthens andSparta, he succeeded in obtaining a thousand Theban heavily-armedhoplites under Lacrates, three thousandArgives under Nicostratus, and six thousand Æolians,Ionians, and Dorians from the Greek cities ofAnatolia. This Greek support was numerically small, amounting to no more than 10,000 men, but it formed, together with the Greek mercenaries from Egypt who went over to him afterwards, the force on which he placed his chief reliance, and to which the ultimate success of his expedition was mainly due.
The approach of Artaxerxes sufficiently weakened the resolution of Tennes that he endeavoured to purchase his own pardon by delivering up 100 principal citizens of Sidon into the hands of the Persian king, and then admitting Artaxerxes within the defences of the town. Artaxerxes had the 100 citizens transfixed withjavelins, and when 500 more came out as supplicants to seek his mercy, Artaxerxes consigned them to the same fate. Sidon was then burnt to the ground, either by Artaxerxes or by the Sidonian citizens. Forty thousand people died in the conflagration.[9] Artaxerxes sold the ruins at a high price to speculators, who calculated on reimbursing themselves by the treasures which they hoped to dig out from among the ashes.[10]
Tennes was put to death by Artaxerxes III in 346-345 BC.[2][11] Artaxerxes later sent Jews who supported the revolt toHyrcania, on the south coast of theCaspian Sea.[12][13]
Rulers in theAchaemenid Empire | ||
|---|---|---|
Family tree - Achaemenid Kingdom | ||
| Kings of Kings of theAchaemenid Empire |  | |
| Satraps ofLydia | ||
| Satraps ofHellespontine Phrygia | ||
| Satraps ofCappadocia | ||
| Greek Governors ofAsia Minor cities | ||
| Dynasts ofLycia | ||
| Dynasts ofCaria | ||
| Kings ofMacedonia | ||
| Kings of Tyre | ||
| Kings of Sidon |
| |
| Satraps ofArmenia | ||
| Satraps ofEgypt | ||
| Satraps ofBactria | ||
| Satraps ofMedia | ||
| Satraps ofCilicia | ||
| Other known satraps | ||
In most territories, Achaemenid rulers were succeeded byHellenistic satraps andHellenistic rulers from around 330 BC | ||