Sidon
Lebanon · Asia
About Sidon
Sidon ( SY-dən), or Saida, is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, to the south, and the Lebanese capital of Beirut, to the north, are each about 40 kilometres (25 miles) away. Sidon has a population of about 80,000 within the city limits, while its metropolitan area has more than a quarter-million inhabitants.
The Phoenician name Ṣīdūn (𐤑𐤃𐤍, ṣdn) probably meant "fishery" or "fishing town". It is mentioned in Papyrus Anastasi I as ḏjdwnꜣ. It appears in Biblical Hebrew as Ṣīḏōn (Hebrew: צִידוֹן) and in Syriac as Ṣidon (ܨܝܕܘܢ). This was Hellenised as Sidṓn (Ancient Greek: Σιδών), which was Latinised as Sidon and entered English in this form. The name appears in Classical Arabic as Ṣaydūn (صَيْدونْ) and in Modern Arabic as Ṣaydā (صَيْدَا).
As a Roman colony, it was notionally refounded and given the formal name Colonia Aurelia Pia Sidon to honour its imperial sponsor.
During the crusades, Sidon was known in Latin as Sagittus and in Old French as Saete, Sayette or Sagette.
In the Book of Genesis, Sidon was the first-born son...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.